Officially shown at its annual State of the Motoring Industry (SOMI) conference on Thursday (12 February), Toyota South Africa Motors also released tentative details of the incoming all-new RAV4.
Confirmed
Three trim levels
Revealed globally last year, the internally named XA60 or sixth generation RAV4 will have three trim levels when it goes on-sale locally; GX, VX and the first-time GR Sport.
Market unique powerplant option
Unveiled in the latter guise at the conference, the local line-up will have a choice of three powertrains, a conventional petrol, self-charging hybrid and a plug-in hybrid.
Based on speculation, the mentioned outputs could well be similar to the North American version instead of the European example, where emissions regulations resulted in decreases for both the latter pair.
As such, expect the hybrid to produce 166 kW in front-wheel drive form, and 174 kW in the all-wheel drive E-Four.
A unique to South Africa option, though, is the confirmation of the normally aspirated powertrain seeing as the RAV4 no longer has non-hybrid assistance in either Europe or the States.
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Speculatively, this could come in the shape of the normally aspirated 2.0-litre used in its Chinese market sibling, the rebadged Wildlander.
If so, expect an output of 125kW/206Nm delivered to the front or all four wheels through a CVT.
For the plug-in hybrid, which will become a mainstream option in South Africa after an almost three-year trail period using the previous generation, a single option will be provided.
Based around the same 2.5-litre engine used in the hybrid, the unit now comes paired to a 22.7-kWh battery pack powering two electric motors.
The result is a combined 235 kW, making it more powerful than both the GR Yaris and GR Corolla, and also the third generation’s 3.5-litre V6 that produced 200 kW.
As in other markets, the plug-in hybrid is anticipated to be the sole option for the South African-spec GR Sport.
Fundamentals
In replacing the fifth generation, which took the accolade of the world’s best-selling vehicle in 2024, the AX60 also gains on all the respective dimensional fronts.
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