Toyota RAV4 Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Help Deciding! R4P vs R4H (Woodland)

Tags
hybrid prime woodland
Jump to Latest
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
B

Blimmmer

· Registered
Joined
·
8 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi all,

I was hoping people that have them could help decide if a prime is a good choice for me, or if I should go for a R4H (woodland) instead. With the 6500 lease rebate offer, the SE and the Woodland end end up costing around the same.

I drive a bunch for work and I am often traveling away from home. I drive about 40-50K miles per year with 90% of that driving being over 100 mile commutes daily. I also drive off-road almost daily, ranging anywhere from pretty nicely graded fire roads to some rough and rocky stuff (I would be more careful coming from a 4x4 truck to a Rav4).

It seems that having the PHEV wouldn't be that useful for me, as I can't charge overnight all the time.

With that said I do value the extra horsepower and I think that prime has better AWD system? (mixed results on this).

TLDR: Long commutes, can't charge daily, is R4P not for me?

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
If you’re finding that you regularly need 4WD, IMO the R4H or the Prime probably isn’t the vehicle. It just doesn’t have the ground clearance and there are lots of plastics down low that are going to get torn up. The AWD is pretty good in snow but this is by no means an off road vehicle if you are dealing with much chunk at all.
 
#8 ·
Blimmmer said:
Hi all,

I was hoping people that have them could help decide if a prime is a good choice for me, or if I should go for a R4H (woodland) instead. With the 6500 lease rebate offer, the SE and the Woodland end end up costing around the same.

I drive a bunch for work and I am often traveling away from home. I drive about 40-50K miles per year with 90% of that driving being over 100 mile commutes daily. I also drive off-road almost daily, ranging anywhere from pretty nicely graded fire roads to some rough and rocky stuff (I would be more careful coming from a 4x4 truck to a Rav4).

It seems that having the PHEV wouldn't be that useful for me, as I can't charge overnight all the time.

With that said I do value the extra horsepower and I think that prime has better AWD system? (mixed results on this).

TLDR: Long commutes, can't charge daily, is R4P not for me?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
the extra power is nice but for your use case, between the two, I think the regular hybrid makes sense. the prime is really handy for mostly shorter trips or if you really enjoy the extra power. I am assuming that woodland is fairly decked out relative to the prime SE of similar price. is that correct?

how off road is the off road? I agree that for real deal off road the rav4 probably won't quite cut it. I'm not 100% clear on what those suspension changes on the woodland edition amount to in the real world. if there was extra clearance that sounds like a win for you. I'd probably check into that.
 
#9 ·
Keep in mind that the traction battery in the RAV4 Hybrid is mounted inside the vehicle under the rear seat. The traction battery in the Rav4 Prime is mounted on the underside of the vehicle.

Given you drive off road "almost daily" and some of the roads are "rough and rocky" your vehicle is exposed MUCH more often to off-road hazards compared to the occasional weekend off road warrior. Compare the ground clearance of your truck to that of a RAV4 Hybrid and Prime. I am guessing that you truck may have anywhere from 2-6 inches more clearance than either RAV4 and your truck may have skid plates as well where the RAV4 does not.

Also keep in mind that damage to the traction battery on the Prime when off-roading may not be covered by a Toyota warranty nor would damage to the electric motors. Either or both of these items will not be cheap to replace if you are stuck paying the bill.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#10 ·
Blimmmer said:
Hi all,

I was hoping people that have them could help decide if a prime is a good choice for me, or if I should go for a R4H (woodland) instead. With the 6500 lease rebate offer, the SE and the Woodland end end up costing around the same.

I drive a bunch for work and I am often traveling away from home. I drive about 40-50K miles per year with 90% of that driving being over 100 mile commutes daily. I also drive off-road almost daily, ranging anywhere from pretty nicely graded fire roads to some rough and rocky stuff (I would be more careful coming from a 4x4 truck to a Rav4).

It seems that having the PHEV wouldn't be that useful for me, as I can't charge overnight all the time.

With that said I do value the extra horsepower and I think that prime has better AWD system? (mixed results on this).

TLDR: Long commutes, can't charge daily, is R4P not for me?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
My personal assessment is that no one vehicle will do it all for you. So, select what is most critical. The Prime is a definite no in my mind. The Prime makes sense for me: 25 miles or so a day, all in electric, gas hybrid for trips, dirt road now and then, maybe. Not for you. The hybrid would be a good choice for the extensive road trips you do, but NOT for your off road needs, either. The AWD system on the R4 hybrids isn’t adequate, and I personally think the all ICE R4s are noisy, have a rough transmission, and are overall a sub par vehicle for the class. If you are sticking with Toyota, I’d go with the new Tacoma. It looks like a real winner, but the mileage will not be stellar. If you are willing to go other brands, I’d look at the Subaru Outback or Forester. I’ve owned three and they were all excellent for the uses you list, but I wanted electric/hybrid so the R4P is just great for me.
Best,
EJ
 
#12 ·
charlier22 said:
Keep in mind that the traction battery in the RAV4 Hybrid is mounted inside the vehicle under the rear seat. The traction battery in the Rav4 Prime is mounted on the underside of the vehicle.

Given you drive off road "almost daily" and some of the roads are "rough and rocky" your vehicle is exposed MUCH more often to off-road hazards compared to the occasional weekend off road warrior. Compare the ground clearance of your truck to that of a RAV4 Hybrid and Prime. I am guessing that you truck may have anywhere from 2-6 inches more clearance than either RAV4 and your truck may have skid plates as well where the RAV4 does not.

Also keep in mind that damage to the traction battery on the Prime when off-roading may not be covered by a Toyota warranty nor would damage to the electric motors. Either or both of these items will not be cheap to replace if you are stuck paying the bill.
Click to expand...
On the rav4P, is the bigger battery both under the rear seat and under the floor?
 
#15 ·
#17 ·
RichVT said:
It's easy enough to pop the seat cushion out to see for yourself. There is no storage space.
Click to expand...
I imagine that you are right, as l looked at those links above. But the next puzzle: the DC to DC converter and other bits that the rav4P has under the seat, where are those kept on the rav4H since the under seat space is taken up by the traction battery? Anyone know?
 
#18 ·
Templeton said:
I imagine that you are right, as l looked at those links above. But the next puzzle: the DC to DC converter and other bits that the rav4P has under the seat, where are those kept on the rav4H since the under seat space is taken up by the traction battery? Anyone know?
Click to expand...
Someone please correct me but I think it's built into the inverter under the hood?
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·
EddieJoe said:
My personal assessment is that no one vehicle will do it all for you. So, select what is most critical. The Prime is a definite no in my mind. The Prime makes sense for me: 25 miles or so a day, all in electric, gas hybrid for trips, dirt road now and then, maybe. Not for you. The hybrid would be a good choice for the extensive road trips you do, but NOT for your off road needs, either. The AWD system on the R4 hybrids isn’t adequate, and I personally think the all ICE R4s are noisy, have a rough transmission, and are overall a sub par vehicle for the class. If you are sticking with Toyota, I’d go with the new Tacoma. It looks like a real winner, but the mileage will not be stellar. If you are willing to go other brands, I’d look at the Subaru Outback or Forester. I’ve owned three and they were all excellent for the uses you list, but I wanted electric/hybrid so the R4P is just great for me.
Best,
EJ
Click to expand...
Hey really appreciate the input, I think I should have elaborated more on the "off-road" aspect. I currently have a chevy colorado which is 8.2 inches of clearance so very similar to the Rav4 on the front end. MPG/Comfort is what I am really looking for, anything that isn't a fire road I can always get out and hike it. I do like the Subaru's for their AWD capabilities but they seem to be heavily lacking in MPG.
 
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
About this Discussion
20 Replies
10 Participants
Last post:
Blimmmer
Toyota RAV4 Forums
posts
1.1M
members
174K
Since
2004
Rav 4 World is the internet's largest Toyota Rav4 SUV and EV online forum community. Discuss towing, modifications, and more.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
4.3 General 4.3 Mechanical 4.5 RAV4 Hybrid (except Prime) 4.5 RAV4 Prime 4.3 Exterior