Australia’s best-selling SUV is getting some tweaks for 2022.
The 2022 Toyota RAV4 enters production in December 2021, and will arrive here early next year.
Pricing will be revealed closer to launch, as will images of the updated car.
All models get upgraded LED fog lights, while hybrid models get “a new design headlight… to enhance nighttime vision”. Most variants will also receive new alloy wheel designs.
Pictured: Current RAV4 Cruiser
The popular Cruiser, the highest-spec model available with the hybrid powertrain, adds some luxury and convenience features previously limited to the top-spec Edge.
All Cruiser models will add an eight-way power front passenger seat, three-stage ventilation for the front seats, and a digital rear-view mirror.
That’s in addition to the 10-way power driver’s seat and heated front seats of the 2021 Cruiser, though it appears the option of a panoramic sunroof is still exclusive to the Edge.
The flagship Edge’s rear cross-traffic alert adds what Toyota calls a parking support brake, which means the system will apply the brakes if it detects you’re going to back into the path of an oncoming vehicle.
Pictured: Current RAV4 GXL hybrid
Cruiser, GXL and Edge models all pick up illuminated door switches.
While power and torque are unchanged for each powertrain, automatic stop/start will now be standard in all petrol variants.
The range continues to be comprised of GX, GXL, Cruiser and Edge grades, with all bar the Edge offering the option of a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 127kW of power and 203Nm of torque or a 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain.
The latter produces 160kW in front-wheel drive variants and 163kW in all-wheel drive variants and is mated to an e-CVT.
Pictured: Current RAV4 Edge
The Edge, which features a unique front bumper design among other cosmetic tweaks, is powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol with 152kW and 243Nm.
It also uses an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission, unlike the 2.0-litre petrol which uses a CVT, and also features off-road drive modes and hill descent control.
It’s the hybrid that accounts for the lion’s share of RAV4 sales in Australia.
Last year, hybrid models accounted for 68.5 per cent of total RAV4 sales, which totalled 38,537 units in 2020 – equal to nearly 26,400 hybrid models sold.
