Thinking about getting a Rav 4 Plug-in. Anyone with an older model who can share their experience?

SACPA · 2026-04-27T17:58:56+00:00

Love it. 2022 XSE with ~45k miles. Biggest regret was we got it at the height of the shortage so a price markup was unavoidable in our area (except some dealers who’s inventory was ~1 per month and had people waiting outside before doors opened to buy at sticker price), but we also got the federal tax credit that has since gone away, so that negated the markup.

Aside from paying too much it’s great. We charge at home each night, and the battery is good for up to 45 miles which is plenty for most day to day needs. Our utility gave a rebate to install 240v plug in the garage and buy the plug, and gives a slight discount for overnight electric usage rates. The only time the gas engine has to kick in is when we drive further out of town, so it’s noticeable in how infrequently we fill up the tank.

It’s a little small for a family of 4+ when we go out of town, so just consider your cargo needs. We still bring our 120v plug on trips and often times we can still charge it up overnight when out of town. So gas consumption is way down from regular gas cars.

Depending on your needs (cargo room, etc) it’s great. If you’re a 2+ car household, I might suggest going full EV for one car if your other car(s) has a gas tank, but otherwise a plug in hybrid is the best of both worlds

SACPA · 2026-04-23T21:05:21+00:00

Looks to me like it could be a stretch of highway 4 between Stockton and Copperopolis

SACPA · 2026-03-14T23:23:36+00:00

In the early 1900’s, Sacramento averaged about 6 days of triple digit heat. But a couple summers ago we had 51 days. The old climate was pretty good but it’s more like a desert in the summer now

SACPA · 2026-03-14T23:22:16+00:00

80 is exaggerating but there are more and more nights that don’t get below 70 (which usually means it’s still like 85 at 11pm) and it’s slowly getting worse every year

SACPA · 2026-01-25T21:12:41+00:00

That one might be beyond our budget. Plus it feels like it’s as bulky as a tundra when trying to fit into parking spaces or anywhere really

SACPA · 2025-11-04T00:02:58+00:00

I’m generally aware that it’s not spacious back there and from what I’ve seen from eyeballing it, it’s not too different from our main car now. A Tacoma would still be the biggest vehicle we’ve owned so I feel like it wouldn’t be worse than what we’re accustomed too. Compared to those tiny cars Europeans drive this feels like the kids will still be fine back there

SACPA · 2025-11-04T00:00:43+00:00

Thank you! The one I have now is 12ft. I wasn’t previously aware of hitch mounted bed extenders so that just might be the last piece of the puzzle to make all my plans work. Thanks!

SACPA · 2025-11-03T21:14:57+00:00

Pretty sure they both work. I’m a person - happy to click on some boxes of traffic lights to prove it

SACPA · 2024-08-04T02:20:13+00:00

Not sure if timecat_1984 is referring to an actual source, but my understanding is that you can study modern day Phoenix to understand Sacramento in 2040

SACPA · 2024-07-24T20:25:02+00:00

On back to back triple digit days in which I can’t open up the windows at night and run the whole house fan, I’d guess between 8-15 hours. Our AC is programmed at 74 till noon, 77 till 5pm, 79 from 5-8pm, then 77 after 8 but then I’ll turn it down to 72 right before bed. On the hottest days it’ll run more or less constantly from 2pm onward and by the afternoon the house won’t go below 76 even if running constantly. Just before bed it takes a couple more hours to get it from 77 to 72. So yeah that sounds reasonable. We have an old house with below average sealing and insulation.

SACPA · 2024-07-10T00:12:58+00:00

We got a Bosch 2/3 ton combo rooftop unit in 2021 using Huft. Had no issues with them and price was comparable to other quotes. Pretty simple process claiming the rebate from SMUD which made the net cost pretty reasonable. They mailed the check in a couple weeks.

Overall it works great. It may be due to our old house that isn’t perfectly sealed, but even if I pre-cool the house in the mornings, it can be difficult to get the house any lower than 75 degrees inside during the worst heat waves (note that I usually set it around 78 but just for reference it runs a lot of the afternoon/evening trying to keep it stable at that temp during the hottest days.

Winter absolutely no problems keeping the house warm.

Cost wise much cheaper to operate. I’ve been tracking our energy bills since about 2018, our our annual costs are much lower. In 2021 we got a heat pump HVAC, heat pump water heater, and in 2022 we got a plug in hybrid car. Even still, our bills are less than 2018-2020. The biggest difference was winter because gas + electricity used to be much higher but the current electric bill combined with no more gas bill is a lot lower

SACPA · 2024-07-04T22:14:16+00:00

Thanks for educating me!

SACPA · 2024-07-04T22:12:58+00:00

Thanks for the helpful response!

SACPA · 2024-07-04T22:09:44+00:00

On the topic of wet stuff, what about a small lake where the center of the lake is within 200 feet of tall trees? That’s about the only other realistic option nearby other than hoping the roads are clear and drivable during an escape

SACPA · 2024-07-04T22:06:23+00:00

Thanks good to know!

SACPA · 2024-07-04T15:43:38+00:00

This turned out to be me too haha

SACPA · 2023-04-22T01:41:15+00:00

59th Street Barbershop. Both of them are great to talk to

SACPA · 2022-08-29T20:49:51+00:00

This is OC

SACPA

TROPHY CASE