2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Boasts Of Impressive Gas Mileage; Manufacturer's Approach Praised
As gasoline prices continue plummet, some market analysts might say that electric cars might be an overreach. But the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is trying to sell itself as an excellent car choice despite the high price it commands.
The 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is Toyota's eighth hybrid model in the brand's wide lineup of vehicles.
Toyota's approach on the RAV4 Hybrid drew a lot of praise from market analysts.
The concept wasn't really a novel one: the manufacturer took one of the hottest selling cars in its lineup, upgrade it into a hybrid for more power and fuel efficiency, and add some premium aesthetics in order to make it stand out from the conventional model.
However, despite the excellent work on the Toyota Hybrid, the Japanese automaker claims that it only accounts about 10 to 15 percent of accumulated RAV4 sales. The company pointed to the still declining price of gas as one of the reasons for the slow demand.
Nevertheless, car experts and critics still praised Toyota for the excellent work it has done with the RAV4 Hybrid.
Compared to its conventional counterpart, the RAV4 Hybrid has 194 horsepower which is 18 horsepower more. The compact crossover can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 8.1 seconds, a figure Toyota claims to be 0.9 seconds quicker that the conventional model.
But gas mileage is where the 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid shines.
According to Auto Week, the vehicle has an impressive mileage rating of 34 miles per gallon in city, 31 miles per gallon in highway, and 33 miles per gallon overall.
"It's not just an MPG monster. You get better performance," Toyota specialist Brian Williams told USA Today.
Despite all these upgrades, the 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid only costs $700 more than the conventional model. Based on the latest price list, the entry-level RAV4 Hybrid costs $28,370 while the Limited edition costs $33,610.
