We recently had the opportunity to drive a new hybrid Toyta RAV4 and with a clear conscience we can say that it is a great car. Toyota has managed to erase all the traditional weaknesses of crossovers, such as a desperate lack of space in the trunk, little space in the back row of seats, higher consumption or weaker performance.
He does not suffer from such a “ravka”. It has grown intergenerationally, it looks nice, it is pleasant to ride with it, there is a lot of space inside, the interior is “scented” with leather and soft plastics. Thanks to the support of electricity, it can also run under 5 liters in the city with an atmospheric two and a half liters. The chassis is comfortable during normal driving, not too swaying, nor too hard.
Toyota boasts that the RAV4 established the compact leisure SUV years ago. And the new generation with a state-of-the-art hybrid system confirms that the Japanese still know how to do it.
But!
Swedish colleagues from the editorial staff of Teknikens Värld recently took on a new “rave”. Their moose test is a world-renowned affair. The aim is to evaluate the vehicle’s ability to maneuver around an unexpected obstacle – the Swedish test simulates a situation where the driver suddenly has to avoid a large animal, which is why it is called an “elk”.
And such a lottery test has now been prepared by the Swedes for the Toyota RAV4 in the latest plug-in hybrid variant, which is now also available in the Czech Republic. And the “ravka” totally failed…
You might say that current SUVs just play on real SUVs and don’t need such “off-road” features. However, the moose test is not a completely useless test. This is one of the most demanding safety tests, which detects the car’s behavior during fast, unexpected evasive maneuvers. It verifies whether the car remains manoeuvrable even in such a situation.
“We didn’t expect this even in our wildest fantasies: the car almost spins around. My first thought behind the wheel: how can this happen in 2020? The stabilization system doesn’t seem to engage at all. The butt goes into a skid that continues until I don’t hit the steering wheel hard enough against it. The skid angle is extreme, “describes the test driver after the first test. And it was similar, even though the drivers took turns. Take a look at the test:
At 68 km / h, Toyota was not able to drive between the cones at all due to significant oversteer. She almost took off her tire. It remained on the right route at speeds below 63 km / h. The riders described this as a scandalously bad result. The best cars can choose a sharp ace at a speed of 70 to 80 km / h.
Last year, the full-hybrid RAV4 had similarly bad results, passing the moose test only after adjusting the stabilization settings. A few months ago, the Swedish representation of Toyota stated that all hybrid RAV4 on the European market received new software that should move the stabilization system (referred to as ESP or ESC in cars). But according to the results of this test, it doesn’t seem to help much.
Worse stability is somehow self-evident in heavy SUVs with a high center of gravity, as the Swedes in the past even managed to overturn some large cars in moose tests. In a car so wet with an otherwise precise hybrid system, the bad result is shocking.
At the same time, it points to the great weakness of modern e-books or crossovers. Most of them are cars to the city and sharp maneuvers can cause them a lot of trouble. And especially in versions supported by an electric motor, in which the batteries increase weight.
Other tested plug-in hybrid crossovers Mitsubishi Outlander or Volvo XC40 Recharge T4 also turned out badly. Although they had slightly better results than the “ravka”. “These types of cars are just really bad,” says Teknikens Värld’s harsh rating.
Toyota is suffocating that it will correct the shortage of its flagship. “We will take countermeasures and take the necessary steps to ensure that the plug-in hybrid RAV4 lottery test of Teknikens Värld magazine passes,” she said.
It is the plug-in hybrid design that is to be the top version of the fifth generation of RAV4. Toyota has just announced its prices for the Czech market start at 1.4 million crowns. The basis is a dynamic four-cylinder Dynamic Force petrol with a volume of 2.5 liters, supplemented by three electric motors. The total power of the system is 306 horses!
The RAV4 plug-in behaves like an electric car in normal operation. The default mode is electric driving, when the car travels up to about 75 kilometers in the city with a fully charged battery, which is with a margin of more than the average distance traveled by European drivers during daily commuting. If a power boost is required, the internal combustion engine is switched on. Unlike other similar technologies, the car behaves like a full-fledged hybrid with a consumption of up to 5 liters per 100 km while maintaining the same driving characteristics.
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