Questions To Ask Before Choosing A RAV4 Hybrid Or Plug-In Hybrid

Article by Downtown Toyota Brisbane’s Jon Wimhurst, Senior Toyota Sales Consultant

If someone is undecided between the RAV4 Hybrid and the RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid, I would not start by overloading them with specs. The specs matter, of course, but that is not where I would start the conversation. I would start with what they actually do with their car, because most people are not buying a new car for no reason, there is usually a problem they are trying to solve.

The first question I ask is normally pretty simple: what do you use your current car for? Is it for work, family, school runs, weekend trips, long drives, local driving, or is it going to be the main family car? That really tells you a lot and helps in discovery. If the car is doing shorter trips through the week, but they still want the ability to jump in it and do a longer drive when they need to, that is where the Plug-In Hybrid starts to make a lot of sense. You can use the electric side for the day-to-day running around, then hit normal mode and use the petrol hybrid side when the trip is longer.

If the car is doing a lot of longer, mixed driving, or the customer is not going to charge it at home, then we need to talk about whether the normal Hybrid is the better fit. It may just be the easier answer for the way they are actually going to use the car.

That is why I would always want to talk through the day-to-day first. What does Monday to Friday look like? What does the weekend look like? Are you just ducking around locally, or are you doing big kilometres? Are you sitting in traffic, going across Brisbane, heading to the coast, or driving to Sydney 20 times a year? Those answers matter more than just saying one is better than the other.

What is your current car not doing anymore?

This is where the buying reason usually comes out. Maybe it is too small. Maybe it uses too much fuel. Maybe it does not have the safety technology they want. Maybe the family has changed. Maybe the commute has changed. There is usually something.

People do not usually get up in the morning and say, “I want a new car,” unless they are a bit weird like me. Most of the time there is a reason. Their current car used to do the job, and now it does not. So I would ask what the old car has done well, what it is not doing now, and what the next car needs to solve.

Once you know what the old car is not doing, you can work out what the new car needs to do. That is a better way to make the decision than just asking which model has the bigger number on the spec sheet.

What does your weekly driving actually look like?

This is where the Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid conversation starts to separate a little bit.

If most of your week is short trips, like school runs, work close to home, shops, local appointments and running around Brisbane, the Plug-In Hybrid can start to make a lot of sense. You may be able to use the electric side for a fair bit of that normal weekly driving, then keep the petrol hybrid side for longer trips.

If your week is more unpredictable, or you are doing longer highway driving all the time, then the normal RAV4 Hybrid might be the simpler answer. You do not plug it in. You do not think about charging. You just drive it, and the hybrid system does what it is designed to do.

Neither answer is wrong. It is just about matching the car to the way it is actually going to be used.

Can you charge at home?

For the Plug-In Hybrid, this is a big one. You do not have to rely only on charging because it is still a petrol hybrid, but if you can charge at home, you are going to get more out of what makes the Plug-In Hybrid different.

If you can get home, plug her in, let her charge, and then use the electric side the next day, that is where the PHEV starts to become very useful. For someone doing shorter runs through the week, that could mean using much less petrol than they are used to.

If you cannot charge it at home, and you are not really going to plug it in anywhere else, then we would need to have a proper conversation about whether the normal Hybrid is the better answer for you.

It does not mean the Plug-In Hybrid will not work. It still has petrol and hybrid there. But if you are not going to use the plug-in side of it, then we need to be realistic about whether you are getting the benefit of what makes that car different.

The Plug-In Hybrid gives you the most value when you actually use what makes it different.

Do you want simple hybrid ownership or do you want to try electric?

Some people want the simplest option. They want to get in, drive, fill it with fuel when it needs fuel, and not think about anything else. That is the normal RAV4 Hybrid customer, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The normal Hybrid is very easy to live with. You do not plug it in. You do not need a charging routine. You still get the benefit of Toyota hybrid, but you are not changing the way you use the car.

If the answer is that you do want to try electric, but you are not ready for a full EV, the Plug-In Hybrid becomes a very interesting choice. It lets you use electric driving when it suits, but still gives you petrol and hybrid backup when you need it.

That is the nice middle ground. You can use the electric side for short trips, then use normal hybrid mode when you are going further. You are not locked into one way of driving the car.

Are you looking for the extra power as well?

Some customers will be looking at the Plug-In Hybrid for fuel savings or electric driving, but some will also like the extra power. That is a real part of the conversation.

There are customers who will say, “I just want that extra grunt. I do not know when I am going to use it, but I want it.” And fair enough. The Plug-In Hybrid gives them that extra electric side, but still keeps the RAV size, the RAV features, and the normal hybrid backup.

So it is not always just a cost question. For some people it is about electric driving. For some it is about the extra power. For some it is about having the best of both worlds.

What sort of family or lifestyle stage are you in?

This matters as well. Are you a growing family? Are you a shrinking family? Are the kids leaving home? Is it just a work car? Is it the one main family car? Are you doing more weekend driving now, or less than you used to?

The RAV is a good all-rounder. It will do a lot of jobs for a lot of people, but the right version still comes back to what your life looks like. 

If the family is doing lots of shorter driving through the week and they can charge at home, the Plug-In Hybrid could fit really well. If they just want a simple, practical SUV that anyone can get in, drive, fill with fuel and not think about charging, then the normal Hybrid may be the easier answer.

That is why I would not just ask what model someone likes the look of. I would ask what the car needs to do for the whole household.

The real question

The real question is not, “Which one is better?” The real question is, what does your day-to-day look like?

What do you use your car for now? What is it not doing anymore? Can you charge at home? Are you doing short trips or long trips? Do you want simple hybrid ownership, or do you want to start using the electric side more?

Once you answer that properly, the right car usually becomes pretty obvious.