Toyota RAV4 EV

[oatnet]

Although we have decades of being true-blue hondaphiles, when we shopped for my wife's new car last year, the Rav4 was the top choice. Fit and finish was the best, and the Ooomph from the suprisingly economical V6 was stunning, enough to overcome having the rear door open the wrong direction.

From our comparisons, the CRV lacked the spunk of the V6, the turbo in the RDX was too peaky, and the handling of Forester/Outback were just too trucklike (useful in many applications, but not ours). We skipped the Nissan's, after renting a few on assorted trips and being unable to adjust to the binary brakes (either on or off, no inbetween), and were turned off by every single American brand we sat in at the LA auto show. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law was very concerned about toyota's after the runaway throttle incidents, and talked my wife out of the Rav4. We got a completely maxed-out 4WD CRV instead, and in true Honda fashion have really come to love it.

But a true EV Rav 4 would be really interesting.

JD

[Toshi]

I sent a message via webform to Toyota's corporate office putting out feelers regarding Seattle availability and/or service:

To whom it may concern-

My wife and I are very interested in purchasing a Toyota RAV4 EV once it becomes available. We live in Seattle, however. Are there plans to make the RAV4 EV available in Washington State? Failing that, if we bought a RAV4 EV from a California dealer and had it shipped to Washington post-sale would it be possible for our local Toyota dealer to provide warranty service for it?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

-[me], physician and EV enthusiast

The gratuitous mention of me being a doctor is in hopes that they'll take the message a bit more seriously. I also left out the whole bit about us not actually moving to Seattle for another 12 months--irrelevant for this purpose.

[Toshi]

the Rav4 was the top choice [despite] having the rear door open the wrong direction.

The barn door side-swinging rear door is my wife's sole concern with the RAV4 as well. Well that + availability as per the post above.

[Toshi]

I sent a message via webform to Toyota's corporate office putting out feelers regarding Seattle availability and/or service

Toyota's response, emphasis mine:

Dear [Toshi], [...]

The RAV4 EV [...] will initially only be available from select California Toyota dealerships in the San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego markets. At this time we do not have information on when this model will be launched in other states. [...]

Toyota dealerships nationwide will receive the training to properly maintain and service this new model. However, the timetable for this training will vary from region to region. We recommend contacting your local Toyota dealership and speaking with the Service Manager to confirm when their facility will be ready to provide service for the new RAV4 EV.

[...] Sincerely,

Ricardo Hernandez-Bonifacio
Toyota Customer Experience Center

The hedging about wider availability is understandable, as they haven't announced what they haven't announced. The line about nationwide Toyota dealerships' forthcoming ability to service the RAV4 EV is exactly what I wanted to hear, though!

Awesome.

[Toshi]

More RAV4 EV details emerge:

The battery has a nominal 41.8 kWh battery capacity as above, with the surprising thing being that the default charging settings are such that only 35 kWh are used in order to maximize the pack's lifetime, possibly to make sure that the 8 yr/100k mile warranty on that battery (as per CARB's regulations) doesn't turn into a money-sink for Toyota.

The 10 kW on-board Tesla charger "uses a standards-based charging interface", presumably SAE J1772, as opposed to Tesla-branded Tesla's, which use their own proprietary connector + adapters when on the road. This is a good thing, even though ChaDeMo Level 3 DC quick charging capability is conspicuously absent.

The projected EPA range certification is 92 miles with 35 kWh usable pack capacity and 113 miles when drawing down the full 41.8 kWh. For comparison, here are the EPA ranges for a few other EVs: 62 miles for the Mitsubishi iMiEV, 73 miles for the Nissan Leaf, and 76 for the Ford Focus Electric. If the 40 kWh Tesla Model S's range scales linearly with pack size as compared to its 85 kWh brother, then such a beast would go 124 miles on the EPA's tests, which are a bit conservative compared to reality provided one's not a beast with the HVAC system. (If one is a true driving ascetic then 170 miles is supposedly theoretically possible from the RAV4 EV.)

The center of gravity is low, illustrated here:

One interesting anecdote is that Toyota, in attempting to perform the government's mandatory roll-over crash test, was unable to get this SUV to roll using the government's prescribed method. Its center of gravity is so low, it just wouldn't tip.

More photos and info from TTAC:

- New-gen 8" Entune infotainment system with voice control of iDevices and the like.
- Same motor as the Model S! The lower output of 154HP and 273 lb-ft (!) is via differences in battery pack power, DC-DC converter power, and controller programming.
- The 41.8 kWh pack uses the same cells but is not physically identical to the 40 kWh pack in the base Model S.

















The only problem with these positive reviews is that it makes it that much more unlikely that there'll be any left when I'm ready to put down some cash for one next spring/summer…

[Toshi]

So September 25 was supposed to be the official on-sale date for the RAV4 EV. Indeed, a week or two before that date Toyota published a list of the dealers (quoted below). I haven't seen any stories about deliveries, though--and you know Toyota would trumpet said deliveries to the moon and back--so I guess the waiting game continues, and/or deadlines have been missed.

Official dealer list:

Central California

Salinas Toyota
Toyota Of Santa Maria
Toyota San Luis Obispo

Los Angeles

Bob Smith Toyota
Cabe Toyota
Carson Toyota
Claremont Toyota
Dch Toyota Of Oxnard
Dch Toyota Of Simi Valley
Dch Toyota Of Torrance
Hamer Toyota
John Elway's Crown Toyota
John Elway's Manhattan Beach Toyota
Keyes Toyota
Longo Toyota
Marina Del Rey Toyota
Miller Toyota
Penske Toyota
Power Toyota Buena Park
Power Toyota Cerritos
Toyota Central
Toyota Of Glendale
Toyota Of Glendora
Toyota Of Hollywood
Toyota Of The Desert
Toyota Santa Monica
West Covina Toyota
Wondries Toyota

Orange County

Capistrano Toyota
Power Toyota Irvine
South Coast Toyota
Tustin Toyota

Sacramento Area

Folsom Lake Toyota
Hanlees Toyota
Magnussen's Auburn Toyota
Roseville Toyota

San Diego

Frank Toyota
Mossy Toyota
Toyota Carlsbad
Toyota Of El Cajon

San Francisco Bay Area

Autowest Toyota Of Hayward
City Toyota
Freeman Toyota
Fremont Toyota
Hanlees Hilltop Toyot
One Toyota Of Oakland
Piercey Toyota
San Francisco Toyota
Stevens Creek Toyota
Toyota 101
Toyota Marin
Toyota Of Berkeley
Toyota Of Palo Alto
Toyota Of Walnut Creek
Toyota Sunnyvale

50 dealers, so about 2 per dealer per month on average. Hmph.

[Toshi]

It must be a new month, since I'm once again revising my vehicular plans… and the RAV4 EV is out of the running in all likelihood.

Both I and especially my wife had been very amped (cue rimshot) about the Toyota RAV4 EV: Good size and weight for carting a young family about town what with Thing #1 due at the end of February with associated giant rear-facing car seats and all, good range, good performance, good company with local presence everywhere… right?

Since California is the exclusive roll-out area I'd planned on shipping one north to Seattle, having been assured by a Toyota rep back in June that all those ubiquitous, national Toyota dealers would be able to service the thing.

Well, that turns out to be decidedly not the case, and I think that might just kill it in terms of its appeal to us.

How did I confirm this? A conscientious dealer gave me a copy of the mandatory pre-sales completion RAV4 EV Customer Disclosure Form. What does this disclosure form say, and why are my RAV4 EV plans now all phrased in the past tense? Here are the damning things, in my opinion, emphasis added by me:

Your RAV4 EV includes three (3) years of roadside assistance, valid only in the Continental United States and Alaska. This coverage includes towing for failure of a warranted part.

• A service provider will tow the vehicle to the closest Authorized Toyota RAV4 EV Dealer within 100 miles of the vehicle’s location. If the vehicle is located in excess of 100 miles from an Authorized Toyota RAV4 EV Dealer, then the vehicle will be towed to the nearest Toyota dealer and the customer will be responsible for additional towing charges to return the vehicle to an Authorized Toyota RAV4 EV Dealer, if necessary.

DUE TO HIGH VOLTAGE AND THE RISK OF INJURY THIS VEHICLE’S POWERTRAIN AND HIGH VOLTAGE SYSTEMS SHOULD BE SERVICED AT AN AUTHORIZED TOYOTA RAV4 EV DEALERSHIP.

… powertrain and high voltage component maintenance or repairs should be performed by an Authorized Toyota RAV4 EV Dealer.

• Because warranty service for your electric powertrain can only be performed by an Authorized Toyota RAV4 EV Dealer in California, Toyota does not recommend home-basing the vehicle outside the State of California.

[Hillhater]

Well, if you were really committed...you could move to California !

[Toshi]

Well, if you were really committed...you could move to California !

Heh, fair enough. I already have a contract for 2013-2014 at UW in Seattle (along with free rent at the mother-in-law's house!) so I'm tied down to the area.

[dnmun]

you can buy the car in california and register it in Wa state even before you move out there. then you can drive the car to NY where you are now.

[mikebikerad]

Got to drive one of these today at my local dealership and I was blown away. I have never driven a model S, only ridden in one during their initial debut at the plant so I cannot speak to the acceleration and handling differences. This little SUV was sporty and fun to drive and kicked me into the seat way harder than the leaf. When I was in the car it looked like I could get 160+ miles travelling on flat roads at 55 mph. There was enough data available on the screens to fulfill my ev nerd needs

Made a quick video.

[mvly]

You only break even if you actually use a car. I use my car like once or twice a month, just to go to Costco. So 50K is very impractical for me. I wish they have something where you just pay to use the car when needed. But not with all the expense of going out and renting a damn car.

[Toshi]

You only break even if you actually use a car. I use my car like once or twice a month, just to go to Costco. So 50K is very impractical for me. I wish they have something where you just pay to use the car when needed. But not with all the expense of going out and renting a damn car.

Zipcar
Car2go
Hertz On Demand
etc.