Toyota RAV4 Hybrid vs Plug-In Hybrid Which One Suits You Best?

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

The easiest way I would explain the difference is that the normal RAV4 Hybrid and the RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid are not doing exactly the same job.

The normal RAV4 Hybrid is the one most people get their head around pretty quickly once you explain it. You put fuel in it, you drive it, and the hybrid system does what it is designed to do. You do not plug it in. You do not have to go home and charge it. You do not have to change your week around the car.

You drive it, you brake, you stop and start, and that is what helps recharge the hybrid side of it. The car looks after that part for you.

The RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid is a little bit different because it gives you the ability to use the EV side of the car properly, but without having to go all the way to a full electric car. You have still got petrol, you have still got hybrid, and now you have got the plug-in electric side as well. You could almost call it three in one, and that is where it becomes interesting for customers who are curious about electric driving but still want that normal Toyota hybrid backup sitting there.

The normal Hybrid is still going to suit a lot of people

The normal RAV4 Hybrid is a great car for a very wide range of people. Forgive the simplicity of it, but it really does suit almost everyone. Families, singles, older people, mid-age drivers, people who have had RAVs before, people coming out of older petrol cars. Unless someone says to me, “Look, I need a proper four-wheel drive,” then you are into a different Toyota product, but for your normal day-to-day driving, the RAV4 Hybrid is a very easy car to recommend.

You can drive it around Brisbane, drive it to Sydney, drive it to Melbourne, do the school run, go to the shops, use it as the family car, or just have it as that good all-round SUV that does most things well. That is why the RAV has been so popular. It fits into a lot of different lives without asking the customer to do anything too different. (Check out our breakdown on who is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid best suited to. )

Where the Plug-In Hybrid starts to make sense

The Plug-In Hybrid starts to become interesting when you look at what your week actually looks like. If you are doing short runs through the week, dropping kids to school, going to work, running down to the shops, or doing local driving, then the electric side of the car becomes a real advantage. You may be able to do a lot of that on electric and save the petrol side for longer trips.

I use my own example here because it is the easiest way to explain it. My wife and I are considering one ourselves. Where we live and where she works, she could go to work Tuesday to Saturday and basically not use petrol during the week. Then, when she goes down to Mount Tamborine to see her sister, she can just hit normal mode and use the petrol hybrid side. That is the point of it. It is not saying you must drive electric all the time. It is giving you the option.  (To see exactly how these two options stack up specifically for local commutes, read our comparison on RAV4 Hybrid vs Plug-In Hybrid for Brisbane driving.  )

The Plug-In Hybrid is also the more powerful one

The other thing customers will notice is the power. The Plug-In Hybrid is expected to be the more powerful RAV, and for some customers that will be part of the decision. I have had customers say to me, “I just want that extra grunt. I don’t know when I’m going to use it, but I want it.” And fair enough.

You still get the RAV size, the RAV features, the things people already like about a RAV, but now you have got that extra electric side and the extra power that comes with it. Some customers will be looking at it for fuel savings, some will be looking at it because they are not ready for a full EV, and some will simply want the most powerful version of the RAV they can get. (See our guide on who is the Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid best suited to)

Charging should not be made harder than it is

This is the bit where people can get a little bit nervous, and that is fair enough. They want to know, “How do I charge it? How often do I charge it? Where do I charge it? What happens if I forget?”

If you have never owned anything plug-in before, of course those are the questions you are going to ask first.

The simple explanation is that you plug her in when you need to. If you are at home, you plug it in at home. If you are at a charging point, you can use that. If you have a wall charger, that may make it quicker. But if you do not charge it, you are not stuck on the side of the road because it is still a petrol hybrid vehicle. 

That is the bit people need to understand. A Plug-In Hybrid is not a full electric car. You have still got the normal hybrid side backing you up, and that takes away a lot of the concern people have when they first hear the word “plug-in”. (For a look at what to expect, we’ve outlined how charging works in the Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid.)  

So which one is right?

It comes back to how you use your car. If you want the simplest hybrid ownership experience, the normal RAV4 Hybrid is hard to go past. No plugging in, no changing your routine, just drive it and let the hybrid system do its job. If you have shorter day-to-day driving, you can charge at home, and you like the idea of using less petrol through the week, then the Plug-In Hybrid starts to make a lot of sense.

I would not sit there and say, “This one is better for everyone,” because that is not really how it works.

The question is, what does your day-to-day look like? What are you using the car for, where is it going, and how does it fit into your week? That is usually where the answer sits. (If you are still trying to wrap your head around how these technologies differ across the board, you can explore our overview on HEV vs PHEV vs EV: what is the difference.)

To find out more about your options with the Toyota RAV4 and Toyota Electrified contact Jon and the team at Brisbane’s Downtown Toyota today.