Toyota RAV4 review

The progressive outside styling meets a reasonably distinctive cabin – big blocky shapes conveying the sort of robust mental terrain that SUV drivers are presumably inhabiting. It's nicely finished too. The dash and door tops are skinned in a stitched padding, and several of the knobs and door pulls have a tactile striped rubber wrap. Pity the aluminium-effect parts are so transparently fake. One nice touch is how the drive mode selector glows a different colour depending on what you've selected.

The front seats feel like a homely place to sink into. They're heated in higher spec versions or even ventilated if you get the top spec PHEV car. All cars from Excel upwards get electrically adjustable front seats too. It’s fairly easy to get comfortable in here, and you get a good view out over the road and to the side. The sensors and rearview camera are welcome additions when it comes to parking though.

Is it spacious?

As a family SUV it ought to be roomy, and it is. In the back grown-ups have plenty of room in every direction, and the boot too is bigger than you get in most members of the mid-size crossover crowd. Only, does the powered tailgate have to be so excruciatingly slow? You end up stashing bits and pieces anywhere else about the car so that you don’t have to venture back there. It also bleeps very loudly, if you’re easily embarrassed. 

Still it’s an impressive load space, with 580 litres of boot capacity available to you, including a bit extra under the floor, and 1,690 litres of space if you fold the seats. The battery of the plug-in hybrid uses up some of that, but it’s only a tiny bit smaller. 

What’s the infotainment like?

The standard hybrid gets an eight-inch touchscreen with smartphone connectivity that’s mostly useful, while the PHEV goes an inch bigger. It took a long time for Toyota to finally offer the Apple/Android option, and you’re likely to default to those while you’re driving. 

While we're on the subject, the graphics of the main touchscreen are pretty ugly, and ditto the driver's display. You can opt for a small digital speedo or a big half-round one.

There are five USB ports around the cabin and wireless phone charging is available on the posher versions of the PHEV.