Trade the 4runner for a RAV4 prime

My dealer just told me good luck finding a Prime, none allocated and they haven't seen one in months. You may have to look at just the Hybrid model non-Prime

 

Oh, here is a recent picture of our driveway.



We now have both, but no Taco anymore

 

We currently have a Gen4 RAV4 and a Gen5 4Runner. Both are gas. We live in the Cascades. We previously have had 2 Toyota 4WD p/u's, 2 FJ40 TLCs, and a previous RAV4. Allowing for a year or two to work out the kinks, I would have no problem relying on the reliability (pun intended!) of the RAV. Granted, less space but the RAV has a surprisingly comfortable interior, handles moderate snow (3-12") well, and most, if not all, USFS roads. We bought both of our current rigs used with under 25K miles.

However, with 25+" of snow, the RAV can be a little hard to find! ;-)



That's my 4Runner in January==the RAV is in there somewhere!


Update: That's a '94 4Runner across the street!

 

Thought provoking...... Let me add some of mine.
1: With charging rates ~4 times longer than time to fill up a gasoline vehicle, we should expect a 50/50 ICE to EV vehicle population to include 4x's the number of chargers than gasoline pumps. When charging ports = gas pumps the EV population will be about 12.5%.
2: How will the newly required electric power plants be fast-tracked into production?
3: With "demand" for gasoline reduced by government intervention to switch to EV, will gasoline prices drop, or will the government simply charge more in taxes to punish the gasoline drivers?
4: Some current ICE vehicles will be converted to EV by entrepreneurs, and I hope they keep the old parts to sell to the ICE holdouts. This will be a whole new market opportunity.

Unrelated, but I'm old enough to remember when Leaded gas went away. I was able to keep my 1972 Fiat 850 Sportster Spider running through the late 1990's with Lead additive.

 

Or for someone like me that lives in an apartment EV's are not practical. I have no problem with EV. The problem I have is not having a choice in the future. I think Hybrids are the best of both worlds. A Hybrid 4 Runner is what I would be interested in. With that said, if I had to pay $8/gallon I might change my mind, but Hybrid would still be as far as I'm willing to go.

 

@DallasTRDPro
Yea, i hear about that a lot, but eventually that will change too. Don't need to rebuild from scratch, just run the cables to each parking spot. They can do it for 50 amps in the parks, they can do it for 30 amps in the buildings. That would be more than sufficient for a rav4p or any other EV daily driving. I think in Tesla's case, a 50 amps breaker at 32 amp continuous, it is about 23 miles per hour charging.
At least in Canada, not sure about US, the building code has been (for a few years now) to have all garages with conduits straight to the panel. In my case, all I have to do is add a breaker and install a NEMA 14-50 plug.

Didn't even know, this rav4p is super cool. You can basically go to work for like $2 an charge it again overnight and ready to do.

RAV4 Prime’s battery can be fully charged in about 12 hours by plugging the included charging cable into a standard household outlet. (120V 12A) * When using a public charging station (240V), RAV4 Prime can be fully charged in as little as 4 hours and 30 minutes (16A), or 2 hours and 30 minutes with the available 6.6 kW onboard charger (32A).

 

I'm sure they will go all EV one day. I hope I'm dead by then. Now if someone gave me a free one I would drive it. I've even tinkered with a RAV4 Hybrid, but I don't have to yet so I will continue to enjoy my 4R.

 

I not doing bad myself, but looking at $1000 a month for one car....and then we need a second one....the kids have their own and pay for their own gas, otherwise we are looking easy north of $1500month in gas alone. I cant wait to get an EV. $10.000+ a year for gas is a nasty thing.

 

That part I totally get. I only have one vehicle. I live 5 miles from work and will live under a mile in soon. The only real driving is to see my elderly parents that could be gone in a few days, months or years. I live in TX so my gas is half the price. I would be willing to part with my 4R if I lived in Canada or CA and paid their criminal prices.

 

That's going to be very expensive for the apartment complexes. Not to mention, they might have to upgrade their electrical services to meet the power demand. At some point, our electrical grid will need to be built up to keep up as well.

It's all job security for me, so I'm not going to complain about it. But, it will be a lot of work, and cost. And, the cost will be passed on to the renters, some of whom won't use the charging stations.

That said, I honestly wouldn't mind a plug in hybrid for a commuter. I also think a plug in hybrid 4Runner would probably sell pretty well.

 

And rents are outrageous and not sustainable. Hell, I can live in my 4R if I have to. I can't imagine living in a RAV4.

 

Yeah, rent is getting ridiculous!

 

I’d buy a F150 Lightning tomorrow if it came in SUV form, and I could get the 320-mile battery in the $40k base model (only fleet customers are allowed that combo — and I’m not gonna spend $70k on anything, EV or not).

I’d hardly use it for long trips because of the lack of chargers — especially high speed chargers. I’d use the 4R for long trips. But I’d use it almost exclusively for everything else, which would be 95% of the time. And I’d never need a charging station because I’d charge at home. And I wouldn’t even need to do that but once every week or two.

Renters are definitely at a disadvantage in this regard. Hard for them to make an EV work with the lack of chargers. An exception would be if their workplaces have enough of them — which exists but is not nearly common enough.

 

I wonder how not using the engine is health wise for it. If you changed the oil once a year seems like it would still look good. And any break in procedures. I would wanna drive the engine few thousand miles before letting it sit or only used once in a great while.

 

Interesting point. I wonder if there's a way to override the electric motor(s) and make it run on the ICE for a few miles periodically.

 

The hybrid prime you have the choice to use only the battery, engine, or both I believe, I think when you use both is when you achieve the 300+ Hp and hauls ass I believe? As per my co worker. There’s a button or switch or something that lets you select the mode.

 

LOL, you guys cant even imagine the prices here
example: https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-n...MsPqFVxTilmN_QW1PmNCzyoxXG25l48-mcvKukRoD5b1k

see the pics, it's inspiring - for sale for 642k, sold 117k over asking, yay canada !

 

OMG, I guess you have to pay for "Free" Health Care somehow. That heaping pile of a house would go to auction and get $70-$80k tops where I live.

 

Seriously...place is shot. Is that place a special rich scenic area or what. Like in the holly wood hills lol

 

@Bikeric @Tmiesowicz
regular neighbourhood, the market is just insane
https://www.insauga.com/mississauga...over-asking-seller-saves-66100-in-commission/
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/rea...keshore-gets-18-offers-sells-for-145-million/

 

I thought it was nuts here...nope.

 

That actually sounds super cool! That would make a kick-ass second vehicle to have.

Jeez! I thought prices were stupid here!

 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-23/bay-area-home-stripped-to-the-studs-by-fire-sells-for-1-million?_amp=true

I’m not 100% certain, but I think a vehicle fire was the cause of this place burning down.

 

Yours is in a nice area, good schools and redone properly, can sell for 1.7-2 mil.
This one is in a shitty area, small house and more than 1 hour drive from Toronto.
got you, bro !

The house was built in 1980 and is about 1,041 square feet. The listing says the small house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and no garage.

https://www.therecord.com/news/wate...-studs-and-nothing-else-sells-for-761000.html

 

In the winter in ran when the non eco heat was turned on. I was really disappointed changing the oil at 10k miles, as I think only about 3 to 4 k were engine mikes.

Yes, you can select EV or Hybrid mode, when we are going above 55 or so, I try to turn it on, as I read the efficiency of the electric goes out the window up around 45/50.

 

Interesting, thx for the info!

 

Little covered up in this picture but same here. And the winter beater / tow vehicle.

 

I love my 4R and the 4R in general. I have always been a Jeep guy until I got a 4R and now I'm a Toyota fan boy I guess. So if I was getting rid of my 4R, I always thought a Jeep or Bronco would be the only vehicles that I would consider, but now I think the Hybrid RAV4 is now the only vehicle that I would do it for since I truly think Hybrids will be the middle ground for America in the future The 15mpg is getting a little annoying. Not only would gas be cheaper for me, but so would my payment. Another reason the RAV4 appeals to me is I like to take long trips and the 4R is going to make it almost unaffordable to do 3000+ mile trips in the future. Am I talking myself into a RAV4??

 

Sounds like it! Which ain't dumb!

But my theory is it's best to have more than one vehicle, cause no one vehicle is great for all purposes. Most people can't afford that. But people who can afford $50K 4Runners aren't most people. To me, the solution is a rugged reliable vehicle with a lot of utility, plus something economical and fun, and/or economical and comfortable for long drives.

If it's not financially reckless to do so, I'd always rather add than replace. Your 4R is more of an asset than most cars, so maybe keep it and sell later only if you must for financial reasons. In the meantime you can add a hybrid or something else that gets great MPG. There are a lot of nice high-MPG cars out there that aren't hybrids and so are pretty affordable. Take the new Civic as an example -- that thing checks a ton of boxes, nice looks, great interior, starts at $22.5 and rated 31/40 MPG. The EX model is rated at 33/42 and stickers for $25.5.

If I was on a budget that allowed around 50K for a car, I'd rather have two. I'd be looking at a combo of something like a base level pickup (e.g. Tacoma, Frontier) and something like the Civic or BRZ/GT86 twins.

I get that insurance is an added cost. And some people can't even fit two cars into their lives, eg in urban areas / apartments. But speaking from experience, the attempt to get one car that is satisfying for all purposes -- it just doesn't work.

PS have you thought about the hybrid Maverick? Not to replace your 4R but as a second option? It's in the low 20s!

 

Yeah I’m barely in the 4R price range let alone two vehicles. Plus I’m single and don’t need two. The last thing I want to do is go to a Hybrid unless it’s a 6th Gen 4R. I highly doubt I will let go of the 4R.