Does anybody have a R4P and an EV? I currently own a Soul EV (and have owned several EVs) and am waiting for my R4P to arrive at the dealer. How is the experience different? Same? Which do you prefer EVs or PHEVs. I've never owned a hybrid of any kind and have become quite used to EVs.
Rav4 Prime and an EV
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Yup. I love them both equally 🙂 The biggest difference with a PHEV is that you better be prepared to charge often if you want to stay in EV mode.
Was it tough to give up the Tesla? Never been in one, but friends describe it as life changing (from a driving POV).
The quiet of my Soul EV always makes me smile. Since it's a 2017, the annoying pedestrian sound is much less than more recent models. It also often makes me forget to turn it off!
Well, we got the R4P for my wife, so that’ll be her daily driver and the car we take on longish road trips. But we’ve only had it a couple of weeks, so I’ll keep driving it until the newness wears off.
We haven’t had the R4P in winter yet, but I’m sure the reduced range will be frustrating. It will also be impossible to drive entirely on electricity if it gets very cold where you live and you want to have heat. But I drove an Outlander PHEV before getting the Mach-E, and that only had 22 miles of EV range, which was enough with daily charging. So the R4P should be just fine.
Joined
·
2,363 Posts
Nice! I am considering to trade in my Escape for 2022 Mach E. How is real world range and overall driving experience between the two?
I don’t miss needing a mechanic 5 times per year and endless stream of BS from the conman CEO. The cars are fun for sure.
The RAV4 noise maker can be bypassed with a resistor.
I have a R4P and a 2017 Nissan Leaf. I get about 100-120 miles in the Leaf in the summer probably 80% of that in the winter although I rarely use the entire range and keep the battery SOC more in the middle.
They are both great and while I prefer EV driving there are things the R4P can do that the Leaf (or any EV at the moment) can't. Ie, long road trips with 5 minute refueling 'anywhere' and 4WD roads. The R4P isn't made for rock crawling but it can still do more demanding stuff than a Model X IMHO, as well as generate plenty of heat on long cold trips (using the ICE).
I vastly prefer EV locomotion but for now I think a PHEV is a great compromise. When battery capacities and costs fall by a factor of 2 or more, that may change but that could take some time.
They are both great and while I prefer EV driving there are things the R4P can do that the Leaf (or any EV at the moment) can't. Ie, long road trips with 5 minute refueling 'anywhere' and 4WD roads. The R4P isn't made for rock crawling but it can still do more demanding stuff than a Model X IMHO, as well as generate plenty of heat on long cold trips (using the ICE).
I vastly prefer EV locomotion but for now I think a PHEV is a great compromise. When battery capacities and costs fall by a factor of 2 or more, that may change but that could take some time.
That's exactly how I ended up putting the deposit on the R4P! Compromise isn't my favorite word, but long trips, sudden trips, off road trails made me go PHEV. But .... if there was a Rav4 EV (that wasn't almost ten years old), it would be in my garage. The Alpha Wolf looks really cool too! Maybe Jeep Magneto. All years off, tho.
Both the Mach-E and R4P have been getting well over their official EPA ranges, but I haven't had either one in the dead of winter yet. The overall driving experience is actually quite similar between the two. The instant electric torque feels quite similar and will make it difficult to ever go back to a normal ICE car. The suspension is firmer in the Mach-E, so you can feel the bumps a little more than the R4P, and the seating position is higher in the RAV.
Joined
·
69 Posts
Would you compare the internal space? Especially leg room for both front and back seats? I am curious if RAV4 is more compact. Thanks.
Interior space is very comparable. Leg room in the front and back feels about the same, though it's much nicer to have the completely flat floor in the Mach-E's back seat. The cargo space footprint is also about the same, but you could stack cargo higher in the RAV because the tailgate area has a boxier shape.
Joined
·
2,363 Posts
Does yours already have BlueCruise update? That's one of the big selling points with Mach E.
Not yet. I signed up for Early Access, so I'm hoping to get the update very soon.
Joined
·
36 Posts
I owned a TESLA Model 3 and Y (sold both and got the RAV4 Prime), to go with our Kia Niro PHEV. Loved my Tesla Model 3, but wanted more room. The Y would have been the answer, but got it early during COVID and it was a SH%^ show with various nit noid issues from the get go. But, even after TESLA fixed them all, the ride was so much firmer than my 3...for long road trips, that was a big minus. Add to that, no rear vents for passengers, and it was not a fun car to road trip with. So, the RAV 4 is filling that void and I love it. I have a 20 mile commute to work, so I'm driving in EV mode 95% of the time locally, and the ICE does come in handy on long road trips where I don't want to take time to charge for 30-40 minutes.
Joined
·
2,363 Posts
Cool please do share how you like in comparison to TSS.
I can already compare the Mach-E's lane centering with Toyota's lane tracing since that functions today. They're actually quite similar, right down to the regular nagging if you don't nudge the steering wheel regularly. That's the part that Blue Cruise will eliminate since it will track the driver's eyes instead of requiring inputs to the steering wheel.
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Join the discussion
