Joining Toyota’s lineup this year is a plug-in hybrid variant of the top-selling RAV4 crossover. The 2021 RAV4 Prime, touted by Toyota as its fastest model after the Supra, has up to 302 hp, coming from a 176-hp, four-cylinder gasoline engine, electric motors, a booster converter and lithium ion battery. The RAV4 Prime, available only with all-wheel drive, is estimated to get 42 miles solely on battery power and has an 94 MPGe rating. Here’s a roundup of RAV4 Prime reviews from the automotive media.

“Driving the RAV4 Prime purely on electricity is a great experience. It’s punchy, smooth and nearly silent. As with other EVs, there’s tons of low-end torque, which makes this Toyota leap off the line when you nail the accelerator. Its enthusiasm does wane at higher speeds, but its performance is still solid, able to hit 60 mph in around 9.2 seconds. However, this vehicle’s performance shines most when driven as a hybrid. Throw that internal-combustion engine into the mix and this RAV4’s sprinting abilities improve by leaps and bounds, with its 0-to-60-mph time dropping by nearly 40%.

When navigating corners, the Prime feels like it has a touch more body roll than the RAV4 TRD I reviewed recently. This is likely because of its softer ride, which is partly due to loads of extra weight. At about 4,300 pounds in XSE trim, this vehicle is around 500 pounds heavier than the bulkiest RAV4 Hybrid, thanks to its much larger battery pack. To accommodate that additional mass, the vehicle’s chassis has been retuned. The steering is light to the touch, though it’s not as crisp as in other RAV4s. The Prime is, however, extremely quiet inside thanks to laminated front side glass and additional sound deadening, alterations that make for a serene driving experience. Braking feel is also praiseworthy. This plug-in SUV’s pedal has nice weight to it and is easy to modulate, with no discernible weirdness when transitioning from regenerative to friction braking.”

— Craig Cole, Roadshow by CNET

“What separates the Prime in Hybrid mode from the RAV4 Hybrid, which I’ve driven several times, is the immediate power delivery once you press the accelerator.

Although Toyota’s bragging rights regarding the RAV4’s acceleration are justified, the RAV4 Prime otherwise feels well-mannered but not particularly sporty.

Inspired by a one-sheet Toyota placed in the vehicle claiming that consumer research showed the Prime outperformed the Porsche Macan in almost every category (source not disclosed), I headed out on one of my favorite curvy backroads. The good grip from the Yokohama Avid GT rubber proved a positive, and partly concealed some queasy motions from the suspension when pressed harder on undulating pavement.”

— Bengt Halvorson, Green Car Reports

“Much like the RAV4 Hybrid, the RAV4 Prime’s acceleration is smooth and linear from a stop. Despite the extra horses, it doesn’t feel radically more powerful from a stop than its sibling. The gas engine is quick to jump in with an extra kick when you’re switching lanes on the freeway in hybrid mode. When the engine engages, however, you hear a loud groan.

Toyota says it tweaked the RAV4 Prime’s suspension for a smoother ride, but we didn’t notice a significant improvement from the RAV4 Hybrid. It massages out small bumps well enough but acts jittery over harsh pavement. Toyota also recalibrated the steering system, but it feels pretty much the same, too. It’s just as dull as it is in the RAV4 Hybrid.

Many hybrids suffer a mushy brake feel compared to traditionally powered vehicles. On the RAV4 Prime, the brakes take a little longer to bite down completely, but it’s something we feel we could get used to over time.”

— Kelly Lin, Motor Trend

“On the freeway, the Prime offers the same confident thrust that it does off the line. Merging and passing are completely effortless, and the hybrid system always seems to know exactly where it needs to be for what you’re trying to do. It’s intuitive and seamless to the point where it’s easy to forget just how much is going on behind all those benign gauges and toggles.

We expected the RAV4 Prime to disappoint us through corners, but instead we came away quite impressed. No, it’s not sharper than the RAV4 Hybrid XSE, but that’s just fine. Like that sportiest of current RAV4 trim levels, the Prime’s chassis holds its own just fine in terms of ride and handling, and while there’s an obvious soft edge to its dynamics, it never feels outmatched even on a winding road. The 19-inch wheels — a first for any RAV4 Hybrid model — help a bit in that regard without noticeably diminishing ride quality.”

— Byron Hurd, Autoblog

“The current RAV4 tied for last place in ride quality among seven compact SUVs we compared in 2019, but Toyota says the Prime received suspension revisions to improve refinement. Alas, the apple didn’t fall far enough from the tree: Shock absorption is generous enough with the SE’s 18-inch wheels, but isolation remains a problem. Body movement over undulating road surfaces is excessive enough to make the RAV4 Prime feel downright jittery at times. The XSE gets 19-inchers and lower-profile tires, which may worsen things still.

The steering exhibits lively feedback, requires medium effort and delivers quick enough directional changes, but the SE’s Dunlop Grandtrek all-season tires cede traction soon enough to turn any quick maneuvers into steady understeer. The AWD might aid traction, but it does little for dynamics: Feeding more power through a corner just makes for more push, at least until the electronic stability system cuts in. Here, the XSE might better resist the initial understeer, as it has wider tires and higher traction potential.”

— Kelsey Mays, Cars.com

“However, the Prime’s chassis dynamics are far less compelling than its punchy powertrain. Panic stops from 70 mph produce an alarming shuddering sound. And although the Prime has the largest brake rotors available on any RAV4, we recorded a lengthy 195-foot stop. There’s also plenty of body roll at the 0.75-g lateral grip limit. For comparison, the non-plug-in RAV4 hybrid stopped from 70 mph in 182 feet and gripped the skidpad at 0.81 g in our testing. Under more civilized driving conditions, the Prime has a firm brake pedal that lacks any regenerative weirdness, its steering is responsive, and aside from letting a few sharp impacts reverberate through its structure, its ride quality is supple.”

— David Beard, Car and Driver

“Whether driven in full EV or Hybrid mode, the RAV4 Prime leaves the line with smooth and immediate electric power. EV mode — which means it’s running purely under electric power, without any assist from the gas engine — has some gusto when accelerating at low speeds, but it doesn’t have the take-your-breath-away force of a Tesla, and you’ll likely need to muster all that the motor can deliver to pull out and pass a slower car on a two-lane road.

In Hybrid mode — which constantly cycles between electric motor, gas engine, and a combination of the two — the RAV4 Prime has an extremely rich power delivery. So rich, in fact, that it spins the front tires easily when accelerating hard with the steering wheel turned, for instance when turning onto another road from a stop. Toyota claims the RAV4 Prime can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.8 seconds, which is impressive acceleration.

But it’s the Prime’s relaxed nature that stood out the most for us. It always feels like it has good oomph in reserve, delivering its power with minimal noise or fuss most of the time. And even though the RAV4 Prime’s continuously variable transmission doesn’t perform simulated shifts to help keep engine revs low like some CVTs, it’s rare that the engine needs to rev very high. This may happen when flooring the throttle pedal to move with serious speed, but even then, the engine only roars for a short burst before the CVT settles the revs back down.”

— Mike Monticello, Consumer Reports