If the Venn Diagram of your friends has an overlap of people who like all-terrain tires and hybrid powertrains (you may need a magnifying glass to find that sliver), then Toyota has a solution. Enter the RAV4 Hybrid Woodland, an all-wheel-drive machine featuring TRD-tuned suspenders and an efficient four-banger hybrid engine.
To be sure, Toyota will sell every one of these things they can produce, microchip shortage or not. One needn’t be a member of the B&B to know RAVs have been incredibly popular since their introduction all those years ago and will likely continue their fame until the sun consumes us all. This fifth-gen model is built on the TNGA-K platform, bones referenced in this morning’s Lexus RX post but the luxury arm of the company refuses to use the ‘TN’ prefix for obvious marketing reasons.
The hybrid system under the hood of this RAV4 tag teams a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and CVT to shuffle power to all four wheels. The all-wheel-drive system uses an independent electric motor at the rear wheels, rather than a torque-distribution system in the transmission and an additional driveshaft to the rear. The system makes 219 horsepower in total and earned a 40 mpg combined rating from the EPA in standard trims. We assume this will drop slightly in the Woodland thanks to knobbier tires and protruding accessories which are unfriendly to aero.
Special to this trim are those Falken Wildpeak tires, snazzy bronze-hued wheels, mudflaps, and the de rigueur black badges. The roof rack is also said to be beefier for carrying supplies but no word if it’ll hold up to the rigors of a rooftop tent. LED lamps and fog lights are present and accounted for, as they are in almost all trims of this ilk. We will note the RAV is also presently available in Adventure and TRD Off-Road trims. Talk about thin slices of that Venn Diagram, though Toyota says the Woodland is the first hybrid off-road special edition SUV for the brand.
Elsewhere, all RAV4s will receive a few updates for the 2023 model year, including the new (and sorely needed) Toyota Audio Multimedia System. An 8-inch screen comes standard on lower-rung trims with snazzier models getting a 10.5-inch display. A new 12.3-inch gauge cluster can now be found on upper trims as well.
Pricing for the Woodland was not announced but it’s a safe bet to assume it’ll be more than the $38,000 being asked for the gasoline-powered TRD Off-Road trim. The most expensive hybrid right now is the Limited model at $38,075 plus freight.
[Images: Toyota]
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