Is all-new Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid really faster than a Golf GTI?
· Citizen
We expected the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the all-new Toyota RAV4 to be fast. But not quite as fast as a Volkswagen Golf 8.5 GTI.
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Toyota claims that the all-new RAV4 PHEV will sprint from 0 to 100km/h in just 5.7 seconds. If the SUV does manage to get within a tenth of a second of that claim, it will top the Golf 8.5 GTI on our time sheets.
The latest version of the Golf GTI, which was unleashed earlier this year, clocked a 0 to 100km/h sprint time of 5.81 seconds during our test at Gerotek in March. The 195kW/370Nm Mk 8.5 pipped the 180kW/370 Mk 8 by 0.07 seconds to set the fastest time for a standard Golf GTI.
Toyota RAV4 PHEV packs punch
A combination of a 2.5-litre petrol engine, 25.4kWh battery pack and two electric motors powers the Toyota RAV4 PHEV. The system produces an impressive system total of 225kW of power.
The Citizen Motoring has already put the self-charging hybrid (HEV) to the test and hope to sample the PHEV soon to compare its sprint time to that of the Golf GTI.
If it does miss out on the claimed time, it will probably be due to its naturally aspirated (NA) engine. NA configurations, compared to turbocharged mills, can lose around 17% of their power at altitude, meaning that the claimed time of 5.7 seconds could be in jeopardy.
HEV fails at altitude
This is exactly what happened to the Toyota RAV4 HEV, which also utilise the NA 2.5-litre mill. While Toyota claims that the HEV will sprint from 0 to 100km/h in 7.3 seconds, we could not get it to dip under 8 seconds during our recent test.
If the PHEV does not manage to beat the Golf GTI 8.5 or even the Mk 8, it can still get some kind of bragging rights over the king of hot hatches. Neither the Mk 7 or 7.5 managed to dip under 6.32 seconds during our road tests.