THE latest technology has been mastered in the recently-released 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, ruling the roads with a powerful electric and fuel blended motor.
The RAV4 has been a popular go-to vehicle on the market but the Hybrid has swayed consumers with a lower than average listed fuel-consumption rating.
Noel Barr Toyota fleet salesman Adam Naaraat said the combined petrol and electric motor had significant impact on decreased fuel consumption.
“When you get to a certain point you can be driving along and the car is not consuming any fuel,” he said.
“The vehicle does it all for you and chooses when each part of the motor should be firing up for use.
“You do not treat the Hybrid any differently to how to would treat a normal petrol-powered vehicle.”
Mr Naaraat said he had fielded numerous enquiries about the model.
“People have been doing their research, discovering the appealing low 4.8L combined fuel consumption,” he said.
“It works well for country buyers who drive long distances because you do not have to worry about sitting and charging your car for hours, you put fuel in it and when it is empty, you fill it back up.”
Mr Naaraat said the Hybrid model had out-sold Toyota’s initial expectations.
“Depending on who you talk to, Toyota thought this model was going to cover around 40pc of RAV4 sales, but has actually sat around 60pc so far,” he said.
“It sits very smoothly on the road and features a state-of-the-art architectural design.
“It basically features a stiffer chassis which concentrates on lowering the centre of gravity to creates a more stable vehicle on the road.”
Mr Naaraat said the RAV4 was suitable for all walks of life but commonly attracted families.
“The car easily seats five with spacious rear-seating room for comfort,” he said.
“It has a large boot space and incorporates a long list of safety even in the base model RAV4.”
The Toyota Safety Sense includes lane departure alert, lane trace assist, pre-collision safety system with pedestrian and daylight cyclist detection, active cruise control, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, reversing camera with fixed guidelines, front and rear parking sensors and hill-start assist.
Mr Naaraat said the RAV4 has all the technological features you would expect from a 2019 model.
Vehicle features include an eight-inch colour touchscreen display with Siri Eyes Free and Toyota Link, wireless phone charging pad, digital radio with Bluetooth connectivity, steering wheel controls with audio, voice recognition and telephone controls and Satellite navigation with SUNA Live Traffic.
The way the RAV4 drives is hugely improved when comparing to previous models according to Mr Naaraat.
“The RAV4 is available in AWD or 2WD options and with engine options including 2L petrol, 2.5L Hybrid, 2.5L petrol,” he said.
“The Hybrid is proven technology and has been around since the 90’s with Toyota inventing and improving it.
“It is the best of the best on the market today.”
