Toyota RAV4 EV priced at $50,600

[MTN Ranger]

From AutoblogGreen:

Announced almost two years ago, Toyota finally gave us some more details about the was the all-electric RAV4 EV will be sold to the general public during the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles today. The important number? The MSRP for what Toyota calls a "fully-equipped" RAV4 EV is $49,800 and will be available before the end of the year.

Toyota says the RAV4 EV's range is 100 miles and that the car will charge from empty in approximately six hours on a 240V/40A charger. The new RAV4 EV has LED and halogen headlights and it has special "environmental blue" color emblems on the outside. The vehicle will be made at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Inc., plant in Woodstock, Ontario. The first generation of the new RAV4 EV was unveiled back at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. Our First Drive report is here.

With a battery and powertrain designed by Tesla, the new RAV4 EV certainly appears to be one of the new breed of compliance EVs. We had heard that the RAV4 EV will be lease only, but the official press release says the car "will go on sale in late summer 2012 through select dealers, initially in four major California metropolitan markets." Those markets are Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles/Orange County and San Diego and the news matches the rumor we heard last year, that sales about be limited to California. In all, Toyota hopes to sell just 2,600 units in the next three years. Nissan Leaf, you've got nothing to worry about.

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/05/07...ced-at-49-800/

The front wheel drive RAV4 EV allows drivers to select from two distinctly different drive modes, Sport and Normal. In Sport mode, the vehicle reaches 0-60 mph in just 7.0 seconds and has a maximum speed of 100 mph. Normal mode achieves 0-60 mph in 8.6 seconds with a maximum speed of 85 mph. Maximum output from the electric powertrain is 154 HP (115kW) @ 2,800 rpm.

RAV4 EV offers an exceptionally smooth, quiet ride and comfortable handling due in part to its low coefficient of drag and low center of gravity. In fact, at 0.30 Cd, RAV4 EV achieves the lowest coefficient of drag of any SUV in the world.

Leviton offers a custom 240V (Level 2), 40A, 9.6 kW output charging station.

No word on the battery size in kWh.

$50,600 with destination charge / $43,100 after federal tax credit.

[MTN Ranger]

While battery size has not been announced, we can guesstimate based on charging time.

6 hours @ 40A * 240V = 57.6 kWh. Taking account charging losses/net battery use will still be in the high 40s kWh range. That's a pretty beefy battery.

Seeing that it goes 0-60mph in 7 seconds, I see the Tesla DNA at work.

[drbruns]

If all this is true, Toyota will have a head start on the smaller SUV race. It will be interesting to see how much EV only range anxiety emerges.

[bonaire]

I think an SUV needs to be an EREV. Still a 100-mile SUV BEV "might" work. I just can't help to think that EREV is the only thing that will convince today's ICE drivers to move over to an EV. These might be good for fleet vehicles but many US-firms might opt for locally-made vehicles. I guess made in Canada is considered "locally-made". After re-reading it - looks to be a C.A.R.B. vehicle to meet compliance. So, a $50K vehicle, from a foreign company, made in Canada is a the solution to CARB compliance. Great.

[tangentlin]

While battery size has not been announced, we can guesstimate based on charging time.

6 hours @ 40A * 240V = 57.6 kWh. Taking account charging losses/net battery use will still be in the high 40s kWh range. That's a pretty beefy battery.

Seeing that it goes 0-60mph in 7 seconds, I see the Tesla DNA at work.

Tesla Model S' 85 kWh battery can go 300 miles, so I venture to guess Rav 4's could be around 32 kWh. At $50k, I start to think Model X could be a better steal.

[DonC]

Tesla Model S' 85 kWh battery can go 300 miles, so I venture to guess Rav 4's could be around 32 kWh. At $50k, I start to think Model X could be a better steal.

Tesla CLAIMS you can go 300 miles. And you could, if you use 225 wh/mile. How likely is that? At 300 wh/mile for the RAV4 you'd need 30 kWh usable or 37.5 kWh total. (Don't forget you can't use 100% of the pack).

[AZ EV Driver]

While battery size has not been announced, we can guesstimate based on charging time.

6 hours @ 40A * 240V = 57.6 kWh. Taking account charging losses/net battery use will still be in the high 40s kWh range. That's a pretty beefy battery.

If they are really pushing 9.6 kW the TMS would most likely require more overhead. So maybe more like the low 40s or high 30s. Back in the day, the EV1 TMS on the NiMh battery comsumed so much energy from the wall that the lead acid battery pack had higher energy efficiency.

VIN # B0985

[islander]

I'm not even going to say it... But I have to say, Hello GM, is anyone home????

I like the look and no spare tire on the back looks much better. But it looks like it may have exchanged a compressor or something with the spare tire. I know many do not have a problem with that but I need more time for it to grow on me. I have had a few flat tires in the past and always needed to do a quick change, continue on with the drive and deal with the flat tire the next day.

Thanks for the info.
Dave

[bonaire]

I do like the look of this one, though.

Chevy Electrinox? Come on - you can do it...

[dgruber]

I use my CUV to go on lousy dirt roads in out-of-the-way places. I can't imagine why I'd buy a CUV with reduced ground clearance, FWD only, and a limited range. Whos' the target audience for this thing?

I keep hoping for a hybrid or EREV CUV but so far nobody is obliging.