2026 Toyota RAV4 HEV POV Test Drive

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Sport, it's going.

[00:00:02]Oh, instant torque from those electric motors. It's pretty wild. Let's see the underneath storage if there's a spare tire. It has a built-in navigation, so you don't have to rely on Waze. Trail and snow mode, but I doubt that we'll ever use that here. The center console can remove it and use this as a clutch bag. Oh, I'm just kidding.

[00:00:27]Hey guys, here we have the all-new Toyota RAV4 ADV and today we are going to be doing a POV test drive. But before that, let's go ahead and check out the exterior and interior first. The ADV is the adventure variant, so it has a much more rugged design to it. You can see some fog venting right there. An overall boxy design. You can still see this hammerhead design, a signature of Toyota. Now, this is the LTD variant, the top of the line, and we can see it has a sleeker front end with these honeycomb designs. And it does have some interesting details here. As we move towards the side, it is also very muscular black body cladding just to enhance that rugged appeal. You also get this 18-in alloy wheel design that has a somewhat of an off-road look to it. You get chunkier roof rails here with an ADV badge right there. The C-pillar has a swept up design for the greenhouse and you can see a floating roofline. And for the LTD, you get this 20-in wheel design, which is much more elegant to look at. Still retains those black body claddings.

[00:01:27]Still the same treatment of the tail light. And you also miss out on the aggressive roof rails. This is the rear of the RAV4 and you can see [music] it has a clean look. And let's check out the trunk space. You have a touch pad right here. [music] This is the cargo space of the RAV4. It is very cavernous and very long. You have some JBL speaker right here, the subwoofer. Let's see the underneath storage if there's a spare tire. Oh, there's a spare tire right here. Full size. You have some netting here for some smaller items. You have a power outlet back here.

[00:02:02]A cargo tunnel cover. The seats fold down 60/40, and you have some tie-down hooks right there. To close the boot, there's a button right here, and it is a power tailgate.

[00:02:15]Let's check out the rear seat space.

[00:02:19]So, this is set to my driving position.

[00:02:21]I have tons of legroom, footroom as well. As for headroom, I have about this much. Thanks to the boxy design of the C-pillar, it is fairly roomy at the back.

[00:02:32]Close the door.

[00:02:33]Fairly solid. As for rear door materials, you have a soft-touch material right here. This nicely padded insert as well as the armrest, and you get a small cubby right there to put a drink and whatnot. Rear amenities include heated seats, two USB type-C charging ports, and two rear AC vents.

[00:02:52]If you fold down the rear center armrest, you get two cup holders.

[00:02:56]And there's a bit of a hump here, but not as intrusive. Getting three abreast would be doable as well. So, let's hop on the front seat.

[00:03:08]Now, I have the key here with me. Have your lock, unlock, and trunk release.

[00:03:12]And to start the vehicle, just place the key inside and put your foot on the brake and press the power button.

[00:03:20]So, this is a hybrid. It initially starts in electric mode. To turn on the air conditioning, the climate control is right here on the touchscreen. You have some shortcuts for the temperature, but the fan speed can be controlled here.

[00:03:32]So, you have a traditional gear selector for the ADV. Put your foot on the brake, hit the unlock, and then put the gear in D. There's also a 360 camera. There's an electronic parking brake that automatically disengages. This is the home screen. This is a 12.9-in touchscreen.

[00:03:49]And it also supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

[00:03:55]The driver sees a 12.3-in digital gauge cluster.

[00:04:00]It has a minimal minimalist design, but you can also change the view.

[00:04:05]So, you can view the map. If you have a destination right there, you can view the adaptive cruise.

[00:04:13]The driver gets a leather wrap three-spoke design steering wheel with controls for the gauge cluster, volume controls, and the adaptive cruise control.

[00:04:25]There are some differences here in the ADV as compared to the LTD. One of which is this traditional gear selector. In the LTD, it is an electronic gear selector. And you also get a different um design for the inserts here on the doors and as well as on the dash. So, here you have a much more rugged geometrical shaped um design here as compared to the simple um monotone design of the LTD.

[00:04:54]You also get some orange accents here on the steering wheel together with the one here on the center console. The center console, you can open it both ways or you can remove it and use this as a clutch bag. Oh, I was kidding. You can flip it to have a padded center armrest.

[00:05:14]So, there's a lot of usability in here.

[00:05:16]You have two cup holders, a storage here for your wallet, your cards, and whatnot, and a slot here for your wireless charger, and another slot for the phone. There There's a button here for the driving mode. So, you have your normal, eco. So, it also changes the graphics for the gauge cluster. And you have sport. And then you have your auto hold function wherein if you have the car in drive, you're stuck in traffic, and you don't have to put the car in neutral because it will automatically hold the brakes for you.

[00:05:54]The window switches are located a bit higher than the usual locations, so it will take some time getting used to. The seating position is fairly good. You sit high up. You can see a great view of the road ahead. There's also a nice view of those hood bulges. It just feels like you're driving a Land Cruiser. You get some JBL tweeters right here. You also get this sunroof to let more light inside the cabin. You can open it. And one-touch opening sunroof.

[00:06:23]So, you have some touch capacitive lighting controls here. This is all the interior lighting that you're getting.

[00:06:29]It's very small. Crazy how lighting technology has come. So, this is the main screen. You can see your audio, your Bluetooth phone. And you can also set your navigation right here. It has a built-in navigation. So, you don't have to rely on Waze. So, you also have an EV mode right here, which you can use pure um electric driving.

[00:06:53]But, it only applies to city driving, because this is a hybrid. So, when you get the car going, the engine will automatically kick in. That's how you get the batteries to charge. You also get some different modes right here for your trail and snow mode, but I doubt that we'll ever use that here. So, let's flick it to sport mode.

[00:07:16]One sport. It's good.

[00:07:19]Woah, instant torque from those electric motors. Ooh.

[00:07:26]Steering is fine. It's fairly light.

[00:07:30]There is a lot of body roll.

[00:07:33]But, what do you expect? This is a crossover, after all.

[00:07:36]It's meant to be comfortable.

[00:07:45]>> Ooh.

[00:07:48]It's very responsive in sport mode.

[00:07:52]Steering is okay.

[00:07:56]Ooh.

[00:08:01]The all new Now we are in normal mode.

[00:08:13]I can hear a bit of the engine inside the cabin, but it is not as intrusive.

[00:08:20]But when you're in pure EV or electric mode, it is pretty quiet inside.

[00:08:32]You can also see the power meter right here on the gauge cluster. You can also view it here, I believe, on the center screen.

[00:08:46]Let's put the park in the car. This again the traditional gear selector.

[00:08:52]Very easy to use.

[00:08:54]The 360 camera is crisp.

[00:08:59]Can clearly see your surroundings. So, put it in park.

[00:09:03]Now to turn off the air conditioning, just press that.

[00:09:07]And to turn off the vehicle, just press the power button.

[00:09:12]All right, park.

[00:09:15]Hey guys, that was a POV test drive of the all new Toyota RAV4. If you enjoyed this video, please leave a like, and don't forget to subscribe to the channel to be notified once I upload a new video. This is TJ. I'll see you in the next video. Thanks [music] for watching.

[00:09:35]>> [music] [music] >> Hey.