Toyota’s compact RAV4 SUV was an instant hit when it hit the market back in 1996, but has been playing second fiddle to Honda’s CR-V for several years now. In addition to the now hot-selling Honda CR-V and Ford Escape, the RAV4 is facing new competition in the form of the Chevrolet Equinox – which has Toyota readying an all-new version of its most popular SUV.
Although the RAV4 received a refresh for the 2009 model year, and minor changes for 2010, the current iteration of the four-door SUV dates back to 2006 – getting a bit old by industry standards. As such, a new version of the compact rig will likely surface in late 2012 or early 2013 to coincide with the introduction of the RAV4 EV.
Using information gathered from various inside sources, we had our in-house artist draw up a rendering of what the next-gen RAV4 will look like. Although we aren’t expecting the next RAV4 to grow much in size, we expect it to adopt some styling cues from the Tundra pickup and FJ Cruiser SUV, giving Toyota’s lineup of trucks and SUVs a more uniform appearance. Despite giving the small SUV a more truck-ish appearance of an exterior spare tire, the RAV4 will retain that feature on some models.
Underhood, we expect the RAV4’s gasoline powertrain offerings to remain relatively unchanged, mostly getting tweaks to the 2.5L four-cylinder and a 3.5L V6 for improved fuel economy and possibly a bit more power. We can also expect a pure-electric version for sure, along with a strong possibility of a gas-electric hybrid variant as Toyota has said that it will add 10 new hybrid models by 2012 – meaning almost certainly that the next RAV4 will be one of those models.
Toyota already boasts the quickest SUV in the class, so they will want to retain the sporty edge they hold over the competition – meaning the V6 is here to stay.
