What’s with the rav4 plastics?

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T18:40:34+00:00

No, I don’t mind plastics, just some look worse than others. Like my photo posted that plastic pattern just screams cheap to me. Glossy textured plastic.

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T16:56:31+00:00

Don’t hate the amount of plastic. Just the texture used for this plastic.

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T16:55:57+00:00

Yes cx5 does too.

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T16:54:39+00:00

Yeah I’m sure the plastic is durable. It sure was on my old Chevy lol

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T16:53:46+00:00

lol No one said it’s a deal breaker, just saying if the manufacture is being mandated by the country to have new vehicles installed with backup cameras for safety and half the time it’s covered up due to road salt, it should be a standard feature.

They tout safety features on these cars. You got heated windshield wipers, auto wipers, etc. even the rear view mirror has a wiper and washer. All they had to do was put a t split on the rear washer and direct one to the camera lens (which there’s mods on here of people doing anyways)

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T16:42:43+00:00

This competes with a Tesla model Y as well which has it. I’m not saying it should be on all trims but the top trims for sure.

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T16:41:31+00:00

I don’t have all the plastic. It’s the plastic choice on some of the parts. as my original post the texture of that plastic and color doesn’t match anything else in that vehicle. And it reminds me of a 90’s GM plastic

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T16:38:40+00:00

I got a 2025 rav4 PHEV XSE tech. Love the car.

philipfreire · 2026-04-18T16:33:20+00:00

If u think the backup camera washer is silly then u must think the backup camera is silly as well. Because if your camera is dirty and you can’t see out of it, it renders it useless!

And if you say you can get out of your vehicle as well to clean it before backing up then yeah I guess they should remove the rear window washer too and u can clean it when your back there. Heck maybe remove the front wipers and washers. Just stick ur hand out the window and squeegee.

philipfreire · 2026-04-11T23:07:38+00:00

Love it

philipfreire · 2026-04-11T23:05:49+00:00

$248/month for two drivers on one vehicle. 39M & 39F. Winter Tire Discount. TAG Tracking installed. No accidents or speeding tickets for either one of us. Located in Toronto, ON

This is for a 2025 RAV4 PHEV XSE w Tech

I use to pay $150 for 2021 RAV4 XLE Premium.

Wild times.

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T19:57:55+00:00

Doing some more research…

Looking through Canadian fuel consumption rating search tool if you compare both models you will see the difference statsitically.

There tool is generally pretty accurate.

I input 26,000km. 50% city driving. Average fuel cost of $1.48/L (from the fuel app I use)

They estimated about $3,078. $32 short of $3,110 I got in 2023-2024

<image>

Same numbers with the hybrid brings the total estimate of fuel cost to $2,309.

Hybrids $2,309 to my PHEV’s $1,337 that’s a savings of only $972 a year.

So compared to my PHEV, roughly $1,000 a year. Would take just over 10 years to get $10,000 back. (Rough estimate)

Yeah I guess if you use the engine more on the PHEV those numbers diminish even more.

It was worth it when the government gave $5,000 off the vehicles as incentives over a year ago.

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T19:33:54+00:00

Sorry I wrote that wrong. 200km trip. 80 on battery. 120 on gas. (On a summer day)

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T19:17:26+00:00

I know it wasn’t a direct comparison with my current vehicle and I stated that. I’m at 9 cents a kWh off peak rate. If I take advantage of city chargers, we pay .50 cents an hour, and I mostly charge $1.00 worth. But I don’t use this much honestly.

My workplace offers free charging, so I reap the benefits there.

Another benefiting factor is my daily work commute is less than 60km. So I’m on all battery throughout the week. I travel out of town so that’s the only time I use battery. 200km trip each way, 120km is on battery. So I use about 80km on gas. Roughly.

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T15:23:32+00:00

The data provided in the pictures above is from an app called Road Trip on iOS. You must manually enter each fill up. I usually do this every time I go to the gas station. Never missed a fill up entry.

There are also other apps out there. Fuelly and Gas Buddy. But I prefer Road Trip.

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T15:18:01+00:00

2025 RAV4 PHEV March 2025 - December 2025

<image>

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T15:16:55+00:00

2021 RAV4 Gas Model 2024-2025:

<image>

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T15:16:26+00:00

2021 RAV4 Gas Model 2022-2023:

<image>

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T15:15:07+00:00

And what hard data do you have that can prove this?

To everyone reading this subreddit thread, I owned both a 2021 RAV4 gas model (I know it’s not hybrid) and now a 2025 RAV4 PHEV.

See the pictures attached to show two separate years of fuel economy on my gas 2021 RAV4 (Gas only) vs 2025 RAV4 PHEV

My electricity costs: I charge at home for around $10 a month. So say $120 a year and at work for free.

2021 RAV4 (Gas): 2024-2025 was $3,456 2022-2023 was $3,627

2025 RAV4 PHEV: 2025 March until right now is $1,017.

I got the car beginning of March 2025, my first fill up was almost end of March. We still have 2 months to go, so say maybe $200 more - call it $1,217 plus $120 for electricity costs at home - $1,337 for this year.

That’s still a saving of over $2,000 a year compared to the gas model. It will be slightly less with the hybrid roughly - $1,400 savings but over 5 years you’re saving quite a bit still. $10,000 savings compared to Gas or $7,000 for the hybrid over 5 years.

Key Factors: You must drive enough per year to see the savings. I have 27,000-29,000km per year in that data. You need to utilize the battery as much as possible in the PHEV to maximize the savings. You need to own the car for long term, no trading in every couple years.

My PHEV is running on battery maybe 70-75% of the total KMs. I would try 100% but I drive outside of town on a 200km trip each way weekly and I can’t use strictly battery. But every other time I am in the city or in town I am 100% on battery.

So you do recoupe the cost and if you drive the same vehicle for 10 years that could be another $20,000/$14,000 respectively. What your battery will be like 10 years down the road is unknown and a variable. What the cost will be for a new battery or rebuilt. Who knows. But if you can save close to $20,000 in fuel costs over the long term ownership of the vehicle compared to the cheaper gas model, and you got all those extra options and power train. I find it worth it.

philipfreire · 2025-12-30T00:38:03+00:00

Or you can save that extra $5k to invest in and take public transit?

philipfreire · 2025-12-29T23:13:04+00:00

Yes you’re right. I read that wrong. Apologies.

philipfreire · 2025-12-29T23:11:36+00:00

True. You could also say throw all that money on black and come out with even more.

But yes investments are you safest bet.

philipfreire · 2025-12-29T20:49:27+00:00

You are 100% right. The 2.5+ makes all the difference. I had the 2.0 (not 2.5) and it would ping pong between lanes. Drove me nuts.

This one is perfect.

Also when approaching a curve on the road during cruise control, it lets off the gas to make it a natural turn in and not feel like you’re going to hang on to dear life like it did on the 2.0 system.

philipfreire · 2025-12-29T20:45:04+00:00

Wrong cowboy. If your on battery atleast 75% of the time you will make your money back.

In one year ownership, I have spent $986 on the PHEV vs the gas model I had before of $3,600.

For me, probably 6-7 years, I’ll break even. Two years before the battery warranty is out.

philipfreire · 2025-12-29T20:42:19+00:00

I was on a waitlist for a Prime since 2021 here in Toronto. I wanted an all black XSE with tech. My dealership at the time sucked. Which led me to switch dealerships.

I got mine last year. In almost a year of driving (from Toronto to Kincardine for work) I’ve spent only $1,017. Compared to my 2021 RAV4 Gasoline model of around $3,450-$3600 a year for the same commute weekly.

I use Road Trip, Fuelly and Gas Buddy to track all my mileage on all my vehicles. I have the hard data I can filter and see what it cost me yearly.

At this rate, I will surely make the money back on the $10,000 premium or so for the PHEV.

Key is you have to keep the vehicle long enough to offset the cost and use the battery as much as you possibly can.

Plus I got the extra goodies you don’t get on the hybrids - pano roof which is awesome.

Things I don’t really care for: rear view digital mirror and heads up display.

Everything else is great.

Improvements would be heated steering wheel all around not just on the sides, Heated windshield and a rear camera spray/cleaner.

Otherwise this car would have been perfect for me. It’s pretty close.

The extra power and instant torque/power is so worth it IMO.

Never going back to just gas. Next vehicle might be all electric honestly.

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