2012 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid

2012 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid - Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has been selling the Highlander Hybrid mid-size SUV for several years. But where’s the crossover hybrid? Since 2004, the company has allowed Ford to have top-mpg bragging rights for SUVs with its 32-mpg Escape Hybrid. Toyota has committed to an all-electric version of the RAV4—developed in partnership with Tesla—by around 2012. A conventional hybrid version, with mileage in the mid- to high-30s, makes good sense. Perhaps it will be branded with a Prius badge.

UK’s Autocar website reported yesterday that Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motors Sales, confirmed development of a hybrid gas-electric version of the company’s RAV4 crossover SUV. Lentz added that Toyota’s 1.8-liter hybrid system will become the company’s “core powertrain.”

The RAV4 Hybrid is due in spring 2012, but only the five-door model will get the hybrid option.

HybridCars.com reported last April that the RAV4 Hybrid was in the works. The Toyota Highlander has an EPA rating of 27 in the city and 25 on the highway. As a smaller vehicle, the RAV4 Hybrid could exceed 30 miles per gallon—possibly becoming the most fuel-efficient SUV on the market. Currently, the Ford Escape Hybrid, 34 highway / 31 city, has that distinction. Hybrid fans have been hoping for a gas-electric RAV4 for several years.