2013 RAV4

The all new 2013 RAV4 will be available for you with considerable changes that freshens the profile view. RAV4 is a compact SUV in the company’s lineup and was introduced for the first time in the year 1996. It has been competing with the new CR-V for several years. In addition to the hot selling Ford Escape and new Honda CR-V, the new RAV4 is experiencing competition in the form of new Chevy Equinox. The company is developing all-new versions of this popular SUV.

In the year 2009, RAV received updates in terms of style, power, and other aspects. The new 2013 model is expected to receive changes after 3 years. The 2013 model will surface in 2012.

First Look: 2013 RAV4 EV

Toyota is trying to expand the electric car club with the new compact SUV called RAV4 for the year 2013. The new electric version will go on sale in 2012 winter with starting price of $49,800.

Toyota is partnering with Tesla for producing 2013 RAV4 EV. The company has paid Tesla approximately $100 million for supplying power-train to the new RAV4 EV, which includes motor, battery, power electronics, and gear box.

New 2013 RAV4 EV will be available for customers in FWD only and the power-train used in the vehicle can deliver maximum output power of 154 horsepower. There are two driving modes offered – normal mode and sport mode.

In Sport mode, the electric version can achieve 0-60 mph in just seven seconds. The maximum speed of the EV is limited to 100 miles per hour. In the normal mode, the numbers will drop to 8.6 seconds and top speed is limited to 85 mph.

Display color of the dashboard changes to red in the sport mode and in normal mode dashboard will be blue in color.

The company also expects the vehicle to have a driving range of 100 miles and total charging time will be around 6 hours.

The electric version looks very much similar to that of gas-powered RAV4. Small exterior changes include upper and lower grille, restyled front bumper, unique rear spoiler, new side mirrors, and under-body tweaks that are designed for maximizing the air flow.

The new EV is available in 3 specific colors: Shoreline Blue Pearl, Blizzard White Pearl, and Classic Silver Metallic.

Inside RAV4 EV

Inside, you can see shiny blue-accented woven fabric and other standard equipments like heated front seats, eight-inch touch-screen with a navigation system, Bluetooth connectivity, Entune multimedia system, and USB port.

Toyota also says that new RAV4 battery doesn’t steal much of the cabin space and the cargo capacity is very much same as regular model with 73 cubic feet.

Availability of the vehicle will be very much limited initially at dealers in San Francisco Bay area, California, San Diego, and Los Angeles/Orange County. The company is planning to sell almost 2,600 units during next 3 years.

More Facts

The next generation RAV4 will not be large and you can expect few styling cues to be borrowed from FJ Cruiser SUV and Tundra pickup. SUVs and trucks are very much uniform in appearance. The small RAV4 SUV offers truckish appearance with exterior spare tire.

With the regular gas model, the new gasoline power-train remains relatively unchanged. A new 3.5L V6 engine could be used in the 2013 model.