[Rav4-lim]

It's not a Ferrari.

Some want to drive like it is, but cannot afford the actual, so the Rav shall suffice.
When I had my 4x4 Tacoma, I drove it mad wheelin. My Rav is a daily A-B vehicle, rarely sees about above 3000rpm.
Some do prefer to drive their cars really hard, then replace them every 2-5yrs.

Drive it easy, do the maintenance, drive it 300,000mi+

 

[My_RAV4_Prime]

There is a cool hidden cubby on the driver-side in the new 2026 RAV4 Woodland as shown in this video:

From the videos that I have seen, I believe this driver-side cubby is only available for the Woodland trim.

 

[aver3]

The Rav is an low to mid level Econo box. While Toyota has tried to improve driving characteristics with independent rear suspension and stiffer body construction in the Gen 5, efficiency is still the Ravs strong suit.

The RAV4 has always had an independent rear suspension.

 

[Kimchisup]

I just hope the traction control on both the Woodland and GR Sport are tuned better
Although clearly not designed with it in mind, my '21 Prime struggles off road when even just slightly lifting a tire...

 

[maxmin]

Already been done. Ferdinand Porsche is considered the inventor of the hybrid automobile, the "Lohner Porsche" in 1900: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohner–Porsche. It has an electric motor on each wheel (first picture).

One thing occurs to me with the concept of driving each wheel with its own electric motor at the wheel. That would seem to add a lot of weight to the un-spung wheel. The un-sprung mass is the weight before the springs of your car. General automotive engineering would try to keep the un-sprung mass as low as practical. This gives the car a smoother ride. Adding a bunch of weight to the wheel springing up and down would be a challenge to have a smooth ride.

 

[Whereitis]

That could be true IF the motors were actually in the wheel hubs. But what if they mounted the electric motors on the axles so that they powered the wheels but by turning the axles rather than driving the wheels directly? Then they could take advantage of the benefits of powering each wheel independently while not adding to unsprung weight.

 

[PortAh]

anyone has more detailed trim info yet, like options and packages?

 

[DougNuts]

That could be true IF the motors were actually in the wheel hubs. But what if they mounted the electric motors on the axles so that they powered the wheels but by turning the axles rather than driving the wheels directly? Then they could take advantage of the benefits of powering each wheel independently while not adding to unsprung weight.

That's how Rivian does it.