This thing cooks EcoBoost Mustangs off the line, is faster than some Supra trims, and is one of the quickest cars in the Japanese automaker’s fleet
If you associated Toyotas with grandpas and soccer moms, that may have been true in the past. But come on, it’s 2022, we live in an era where cars with AA batteries are dueling Ferraris. So, what if I told you that Toyota’s quickest car is in fact not the Supra… or even the new GR Corolla. The 86? No way. It’s the RAV4 Prime. The epitome of the mom car takes the cake over the likes of the purpose-built sports cars.
How You Ask?
Well it’s simple. 0-60 in 5.4 seconds is fast… coming from a grocery getting pedestrian SUV somehow makes the RAV4 feel even quicker. The Prime is Toyota’s rendition of the hybrid SUV, utilizing a 177 horsepower 2.5 liter inline 4 coupled with a hybrid motor that adds another 179 ponies, that equals a lot. Like 356 horsepower creeping up on the Ford Explorer ST’s 400 horsepower a lot. In fact, that’s 76 more than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, which has a comparably measly 280.
Friendly Fire for the RAV4’s Track Status
While its power is hunky-dory, it’s the use of its hybrid powertrain that makes all the difference. 364 lb-ft of torque comes from its conjoined twin hybrid setup. Meaning your mom could take a poor Subaru WRX to Gapplebee’s at a stoplight and still get you to your middle school drop off with plenty of time to spare. God forbid that baby seat isn’t strapped in right, cause little Tommy is going to be flung into a different ZIP code by end of it all.
Slayer of 86’s, Mustangs, and Porsches
Out comes the challengers to the Dragon Slayer. With all this talk about what it can do… what does it actually do? Simple… it wins. Imagine you in a 2007 Porsche Cayman, see your neighbor in the RAV 4 Prime at a red light. Y’all race and BOOM… smoked. Now you have to move out of your house. The RAV4? 0-60 in 5.4 seconds… your silly Porsche? 5.7 seconds. EcoBoost Mustang? 5.1 seconds, but it’ll certainly torch it off the line. It’ll run its own Toyota brethren off the drag strip too. The TRD Camry runs the 60 in 5.7 seconds, and the hybrid RAV4 will also win against the 2.0 L I-4 Supra in the 5-60 test.
For $39,220 you’re spending less than most sports cars and you get to take the kids to the park or whatever kids do. You also get nice leather seats and a manageable ride quality, you couldn’t say that about the Mustang could you? Factor in the reliability quotient of the Toyota marque on the hood and rear of the car and all of a sudden you have a bulletproof quick car.
If all of a sudden you see more and more RAV4 crossovers at your local track day, don’t blame us. Look at Toyota for putting out such a statistically peculiar vehicle. In our eyes, the RAV4 walked so the Ferrari Purosangue could run.
