It was the missing piece of the Toyota RAV4 puzzle – the adventure focussed Edge with a hybrid drivetrain. But now that it is here… was it worth the wait?
- Unique styling and trim gives the Edge the edge
- Full-house equipment list
- Chunky looks with a hybrid powertrain are exactly what we asked for!
- Being able to make cool U2 ‘this is The Edge’ references
- Off-road show with no off-road go – Hybrid misses out on trick hardware
- This costs $4k more than a Cruiser Hybrid, for… checks notes… nicer wheels?
- Can be a bit noisy at speed
Introduction
What do they teach you? Be careful what you wish for…
Last year, we ran a 2021 Toyota RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid as a long-termer, and in my summary, I said that as good as it was, the Saturn Blue wagon, with its gloss-black wheels, needed just a little bit more character to be a truly appealing car.
I suggested that Toyota should offer the funkier, more adventure-centric RAV4 Edge with Toyota’s excellent hybrid drivetrain, as at that point the Edge could only be had with a 152kW/243Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.
Then what do you know, Alakazam, Alakazoo, in drops the 2022 Toyota RAV4 Edge Hybrid. Wish granted!
Priced from $52,700 plus on-road costs (a $3950 step up from the Cruiser), the chunkier, funkier Edge Hybrid delivers the combination of unique grille, wheel arch and bumper styling, larger 19-inch matte-black alloy wheels, an exclusive Jungle Green colour option and an orange accented interior, because at some point orange became the de facto colour for adventure.
Our car’s Mineral Blue is a $675 option and one of six choices.
The Edge also offers a rear torque vectoring differential, hill descent control and Toyota’s multi-terrain select drive mode which…
Oh.
No, it doesn’t.
The clever rear diff, traction programs and even downhill descent mitigation are all limited to the $2500 cheaper petrol-powered Edge. The hybrid misses out.
This means you’ve just forked out a near $4000 premium over a Cruiser Hybrid to get nicer wheels and a new bumper. Oh, and some orange.
Be careful what you wish for indeed.
| Key details | 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Edge |
| Price (MSRP) | $52,700 plus on-road costs |
| Colour of test car | Mineral Blue |
| Options | Premium colour $675 |
| Price as tested | $53,375 plus on-road costs $58,545 drive-away (Melbourne) |
| Rivals | Kia Sportage | MG HS Plus EV | Haval H6 Hybrid |
Inside
Specific positioning and citrus colouring aside, the RAV4 remains one of the most sensible family cars on the market.
The interior is spacious and very well built, and for personal preference, I really like the orange tips.
The stitching, cup holder surround, phone charge pad zone, coin tray and under-dash shelf all score the tangerine treatment and it helps make a typically dark and bland Toyota cabin one with far more vibrance and character.
Maybe that price jump was worth it after all?
As a range-topper, the Edge enjoys all the convenience trimmings including heated and ventilated seats, the driver’s with power adjustment. The Softex faux leather trim with its orange hilites and perforated texture is smart too, and the seats offer good comfort both front and rear.
The rest of the functional interior is pure RAV4 liveability. Starting at the back is a powered tailgate and 542-litre boot, with 40:60 split rear seats and a flat loading floor, which opens up 1690 litres of cargo space. You can remove the cargo blind to store it under the floor, and there are integrated tie-down points to fit an accessory cargo net to.
You get a subwoofer and a netted cubby which is great for storing cleaning items. A space-saver spare wheel and tools are under the floor also.
Rear passengers have air vents, charge points, a central armrest with cup holders and a pair of ISOFIX mounting points. The bench is comfy and there is good head and leg room, plus decent storage in the door bins.
Up front, those rugged, rubberised dials fit in well with the Edge’s adventure vibe. As we found with our long-termer, the layout is very usable with plenty of storage and switchgear that is easy to reach and operate.
It’s not the most ground-breaking or exciting interior but it’s hardwearing and ergonomically well designed, and that matters.
A tilt-slide sunroof is included but the optional panoramic unit you can specify on the petrol Edge isn’t available. There’s no specific reason, you can have a panoramic roof on a hybrid in other markets, so just chalk it up to a decision from product planning. The regular roof is better to keep the car cooler in summer anyway.
| 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Edge | |
| Seats | Five |
| Boot volume | 542L seats up / 1690L seats folded |
| Length | 4615mm |
| Width | 1865mm |
| Height | 1690mm |
| Wheelbase | 2690mm |
Infotainment and Connectivity
The 8.0-inch colour touch screen, in typical Toyota fashion, offers plenty of functionality including integrated satellite navigation, DAB digital radio and support for the MyToyota connectivity app, but perhaps the team who splashed orange all over the interior need to have a go at giving the interface a little bit of pizzaz.
As with all other Toyota reviews of cars that use the same, or highly similar systems, the infotainment is merely good. Or fine. Or some other non-committal word that doesn’t say anything bad, but doesn’t say much good either.
The regular system can be confusing to navigate and not always considered in its usability as a system that needs to be operated while on the move. Something simple like the list of digital radio stations, which are not in alphabetical order, seems to spring back to a random point as you scroll through them.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto device projections are both supported, and you are better off using these.
On the plus side, the Edge has a JBL sound system, a surround-view camera as well as a handy graphical feedback screen to show you how the hybrid system is working.
I tended to switch between that and CarPlay for a nice balance.
In the instrument cluster is another 7.0-inch colour LCD display which gives you basic information for the driver assistance systems as well as economy and basic trip data.
Like the primary infotainment screen, it is well featured and all works, but could use a bit of a user interface ‘spruce’.
Safety & Technology
Like all Toyotas, the RAV4 Edge includes the Toyota Safety Sense suite of driver assistance systems, including autonomous emergency braking, automatic high beam and lane keep assist. All RAV4 models also include blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.
There are seven airbags in the RAV4 Edge.
The RAV4 scored a five-star ANCAP rating when tested in 2019, but doesn’t include rear autonomous braking or a junction-assist function for the forward collision system.
| 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Edge | |
| ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2019) |
| Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
Value for Money
There’s some good and bad here.
On the plus side, you can’t beat the $230 capped price annual services for the first five years, and when driven normally the claimed 4.8L/100km fuel consumption is regularly achievable.
We settled to a 5.2L/100km use during our week, which included a few photo shoots and use as a support car that keeps the motor running (for the heater) and skews consumption a bit.
| At a glance | 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Edge |
| Warranty | Five years / unlimited km |
| Service intervals | 12 months / 15,000km |
| Servicing costs | $690 (3 years), $1150 (5 years) |
But on the downside, the RAV4 Edge Hybrid is the most expensive model in the range, and as I noted earlier, misses out on the torque-vectoring rear differential, hill descent function and multi-terrain select system.
You can save $2500 and opt for the petrol variant, and even at current prices, buys 1000-litres of fuel with the change. That buys a whole lot of adventure kilometres with downhill assist.
Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp
| Fuel Usage | Fuel Stats |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 4.8L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 7.6L/100km |
| Fuel type | 91-octane regular unleaded |
| Fuel tank size | 55L |
Driving
Assuming you have chosen the hybrid with good reason, then you won’t be disappointed.
Fire it up for a silent ignition and low-speed electric drive using the 88kW electric motor, until your pace or throttle input increases to require the 131kW 2.5-litre petrol engine to kick in seamlessly and effortlessly each time.
Combined power under load is 163kW with torque available in a peak band of 221Nm between 3600 and 5200rpm.
It’s zippy enough for traffic, gutsy enough for country overtaking, and responsive enough for climbing hills or dealing with unsealed surfaces.
Drive goes through all four wheels using a CVT, which is well configured for both urban and touring work. It’s an easy car to drive, and like the core of the hybrid system, it all just works away beneath the surface without you needing to worry about it.
Ride quality is good, even on the 19-inch wheels, with the car feeling solid and well mannered, and almost even a little heavy through the wheel; which is good.
It can be noisy at speed, particularly on coarse-chip surfaces, but it’s a small issue.
You can engage a Trail mode to maintain the all-wheel-drive ‘permanency’ on unsealed or even snowy roads, but this is the limit of the off-roadery in the hybrid Edge, and it’s the same system you’ll find in the all-wheel-drive Cruiser.
Generally though, in rain, hail, dust or shine the RAV4 Edge is a pleasant and capable car to drive, and it’s no wonder it remains a favourite on Australian roads.
| Key details | 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Edge |
| Engine | 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol |
| Power | 131kW @ 5700rpm petrol 88kW electric, front 40kW electric, rear 163kW combined |
| Torque | 221Nm @ 3600-5200rpm petrol 202kW electric, front 121Nm electric, rear |
| Drive type | All-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Continuously variable transmission (CVT) automatic |
| Power to weight ratio | 93kW/t |
| Weight (kerb) | 1760kg |
| Tow rating | 1500kg braked, 750kg unbraked |
| Turning circle | 11m |
Conclusion
There’s so much to like about the RAV4 that it is easy to gloss over the areas where it really should be a bit better.
Imagine the car with a little more sound deadening, a modern infotainment system and a few other refinements, and it will be even more worthy of its top-selling status.
But as much as I like the look of the Edge, particularly with the blue duco, it’s hard to recommend this as the RAV4 to buy.
The non-hybrid offers some additional off-road hardware for less money, so it’s still the pick for the adventurers among us, but it’s the new XSE Hybrid, that at $46,250 is a solid $6450 more affordable than our hybrid Edge, which now makes the most sense.
We may have wanted the rugged appeal of the Edge with the effortless efficiency of the hybrid, but now that it’s here, it’s hard to argue a value case for.
So now, we’re forced to wish for a lower-spec Edge with cloth seats, smaller wheels but all the off-road goodies for a sharper price.
Last time our wish came true, let’s see how this one goes…
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