[Music] who would have thought i'd be standing
here admiring a toyota rav4 it used to be such a box on wheels but
not anymore it's got a fancy new shape and this
particular model is the rav4 cruiser hybrid with
you guessed it hybrid power it costs around 46 000
and is in competition with cars like the subaru forester hybrid
and other mid-sized suvs that don't have a hybrid option yet like
the honda crv and mazda cx-5 here's how it did for this week's family
review if you're after a more detailed review
head to the cars guide website and if you're watching this on youtube
hit subscribe for more videos the exterior is modern and fresh with a
slanted back end and a smooth front end with a large
grille it feels very 2021 kind of like the car version
of a bear grylls you know smooth likable practical can take him
anywhere inside the car has some unique styling
features that really set it apart from its competitors
especially this rubber textured rubber finish
on the knobs and also on the bottom of shelves just gives it a very rugged
feeling [Music]
the upholstery is leather accented and the steering wheel is leather too
the center console is all nicely designed and quite functional
and you get a digital dash in front of this steering wheel
just feels really good to sit in here on the road there are two cupholders
in the front and you'll also get a spot for keys and a phone that charges your
phone and with the textured rubber finish it
will help stop your phone from sliding around
maybe not all together but it will help plus there is a large center storage bin
bottle holders in each door it has generous space in the front with enough
leg and headroom for taller people feels quite breezy in here
[Music] there is plenty of room back here for my
two children age six and eight and their school bags
can fit as well i'm 161 centimeters five foot three and
i can also fit easily back here and there's loads of space between my
knees and the seat in front of me that taller people will be able to fit
here as well rear passengers get two cupholders in
the center armrest and their own air vents you'll be able
to fit three children's car seats across here as well
i did it with two boosters and a baby capsule
of course it will depend on your car seats though
and the boot is huge there is 580 litres of space
which will fit a double pram it will fit suitcases or school bags or groceries
it's bigger than a honda crv and the subaru forester
but smaller than the volkswagen tiguan which has a sliding second row that this
car doesn't but it does have...
i so much prefer cars with a retractable cover
but being a hybrid how does it drive really nicely there's a silent start as
with all electric motors and then the petrol
engine kicks in for when you really need some power
it's a 2.5 liter four-cylinder petrol engine
that this car has, so it gives you plenty of power to go
up hills or coast along highways and remember it's not a plug-in hybrid
so you don't need to worry about charging the battery overnight this kind
of hybrid works with the engine charging the
batteries and then those batteries use the power when the car thinks it's
appropriate so basically it just uses less petrol than a regular
engine because it's dipping into stored energy
fuel consumption is a claimed 4.8 liters per 100ks which is
really good for a mid-sized suv this week the best that i did was 6.1 liters
per 100ks but that was a lot of suburb driving
there was i did barely any highway driving this
week which is usually what brings the fuel consumption down
parking is easy in this size car and especially with the steering wheel turns
beautifully so you're not getting an arm workout trying to squeeze into a park
there is a reverse parking camera but it's very low resolution
quite grainy and i would expect better from this
modern style car it comes with a whole spectrum of safety equipment across the
range so you'll get auto emergency braking with
pedestrian and cyclist detection there's lane departure alert with lane keep
assist blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert you'll get
seven airbags in the rav4 plus there's two isofix points and three
top tether points to fix kids car seats in safely
[Music] and it's fitted with apple carplay and
android auto which both cover all of your multimedia needs you can
make calls send texts listen to books podcasts your
music all via the screen the toyota rav4
cruiser hybrid makes a great family car the hybrid technology makes it a great
choice for those who are worried about going completely
electric and it's certainly a step in the right direction at least
it looks cool has a good amount of interior space and boot space
plus it has good safety and technology i gave it a family rating of 8.1 out of 10
and my kids gave it the same they love anything remotely electric
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