Tag Archives: Toyota

NEW CARS

Toyota RAV4 Mk6: The Original Lifestyle SUV Grows Smarter, Stronger, and More Diverse

When Toyota launched the original RAV4 back in 1994, it quietly rewrote the SUV rulebook. Here was a vehicle that didn’t ask its owner to choose between city life and the outdoors—it embraced both. Nearly three decades later, the all-new sixth-generation RAV4 builds on that same philosophy, now distilled into a clear and modern mantra: Life is an Adventure.

This latest RAV4 is not just an update—it’s a strategic evolution shaped around three defining pillars: Diversification, Electrification, and Intelligence. Together, they signal Toyota’s intent to keep its best-selling SUV relevant in an era of changing lifestyles, stricter emissions rules, and software-driven vehicles.

Three Personalities, One RAV4 DNA

Diversification is front and center. For the first time, the RAV4 lineup clearly splits into three distinct characters.

The Z grade is the urban sophisticate, leaning into refinement with a bold hammerhead front design, body-colored bumpers, and a three-dimensional mesh grille. At the rear, a seamless integration of glass and lighting emphasizes width and polish, making it the most road-focused RAV4 to date.

At the other end of the spectrum sits the Adventure grade, designed to look as capable as it is. A higher front nose, prominent wheel-arch moldings, and a tougher stance give it genuine visual muscle. Inside, Toyota reinforces the outdoorsy vibe with a unique “Mineral” color scheme—low-saturation greens accented with orange—along with camouflage-inspired trim details that underline its rugged intent.

Then there’s the GR SPORT, arriving within fiscal year 2025. While details remain limited, its mission is clear: sharper driving performance and a more engaging on-road character, aimed at drivers who want their SUV with a dose of Gazoo Racing attitude.

Familiar Size, Smarter Packaging

Despite the fresh design and new technology, Toyota has wisely resisted the urge to grow the RAV4. Dimensions remain unchanged at 4,600 mm long and 1,855 mm wide, preserving everyday usability. The real gains are found inside.

Boot capacity now stretches to an impressive 749 liters, and a flatter load floor when the rear seats are folded makes transporting long or bulky items far easier. It’s a practical upgrade that reinforces the RAV4’s reputation as a true do-it-all vehicle.

Electrification Without Compromise

Electrification is no longer an option—it’s core to the RAV4 identity. The new model continues with a hybrid-electric (HEV) setup and introduces a newly developed plug-in hybrid (PHEV), scheduled to follow within the same fiscal cycle.

The headline figure belongs to the hybrid system: a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired with high-output electric motors, delivering a combined 240 hp (177 kW). Performance is smooth, immediate, and unmistakably electrified.

Toyota’s E-Four electric all-wheel-drive system precisely varies torque distribution between the front and rear—from 100:0 to 20:80—enhancing acceleration, grip, and cornering stability. Add dedicated TRAIL and SNOW modes, and the RAV4 becomes genuinely confident on loose, slippery, or uneven surfaces.

Ride comfort has also taken a step forward, thanks to platform refinements and newly adopted shock absorbers, giving the RAV4 a more premium, composed feel on the road.

A Cockpit Designed Around the Driver

Inside, the sixth-generation RAV4 introduces a new island architecture, grouping key controls into clearly defined zones. The horizontal dashboard reinforces SUV-like balance, while thoughtful placement of displays, vents, and switches reduces eye movement and driver distraction.

Two Toyota firsts stand out.

The angled color head-up display replaces the traditional upright layout with a perspective-enhanced design that improves information recognition. Drivers can choose between Full, Standard, or Minimal display modes, tailoring information density to their preference.

Equally innovative is the Electro-Shiftmatic system, a one-direction shift operation that simplifies gear selection and cleans up the center console. By integrating the gear selector, electric parking brake, and brake hold into a single functional cluster, Toyota has reduced both visual clutter and operational complexity.

Software Takes the Wheel

Perhaps the most important evolution lies beneath the surface. The new RAV4 is the first Toyota to fully leverage the Arene software development platform, marking a key step toward the brand’s Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) future.

This approach has already paid dividends. Toyota Safety Sense benefits from improved camera and radar performance, expanded detection ranges, and smarter automatic braking logic. Pre-collision systems now respond more effectively at intersections, while low-speed acceleration suppression works even during turning maneuvers.

Radar Cruise Control has become more intuitive, recognizing surrounding vehicles earlier and responding more smoothly in congested traffic. A new shoulder-stop function can even bring the vehicle safely to a halt if a driver emergency is detected.

On the infotainment side, a 12.9-inch central touchscreen comes standard across the range, featuring richer graphics, customizable layouts, and voice recognition that responds in roughly one second—around three times faster than before.

Crucially, Arene lays the groundwork for future over-the-air updates, potentially allowing multiple vehicle functions to be updated simultaneously and customized for different regions and user preferences.

Still the Benchmark

The sixth-generation RAV4 doesn’t chase trends—it refines the formula it helped invent. By offering clear stylistic choices, embracing electrification without sacrificing usability, and stepping confidently into the software-defined era, Toyota ensures its global bestseller remains deeply relevant.

Nearly 30 years on, the RAV4 is still doing what it does best: adapting to real lives, real adventures, and real-world needs—just with more intelligence, more power, and more personality than ever before.

Source: Toyota

NEW CARS

Toyota C-HR+: Pricing Revealed for the Brand’s New Electric C-Segment SUV

Toyota’s product rollout over the past year has been impressively broad. While attention has often been grabbed by the wild GR GT supercar concept, the Japanese brand has quietly strengthened its mainstream line-up with a series of family-focused models. Alongside the new Urban Cruiser, an updated bZ4X and the arrival of the all-electric C-HR+, Toyota is making it clear that electrification is no longer a side project.

Now, pricing for the C-HR+ has been confirmed, with UK sales commencing on 6 January.

Despite sharing its name with the familiar hybrid and plug-in hybrid C-HR, the new C-HR+ is effectively an entirely different vehicle. Under the skin it has little in common with its combustion-based siblings, instead giving Toyota a direct entry into the electric C-segment SUV class. That puts it up against key rivals such as the Skoda Elroq, Kia EV3 and Renault Scenic E-Tech.

Prices start at £34,495 for the entry-level Icon trim. This version is fitted with a 57.7kWh battery, delivering a claimed maximum range of 284 miles. Stepping up to the Design grade costs £36,995 and brings with it a larger 77kWh battery, extending the range to up to 376 miles. At the top of the range sits the Excel, priced from £40,995, which uses the same battery and offers the same range as the Design but adds a more generous standard equipment list.

Even in Icon form, the C-HR+ is well specified. Standard kit includes 18-inch alloy wheels, an 11kW onboard charger, and a familiar digital layout combining a seven-inch driver’s display with a 14-inch central touchscreen, also seen in the updated bZ4X. Inside, buyers get fabric and synthetic leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel and not one but two wireless smartphone charging pads.

The Design trim, which we’ve already driven, builds on this with the larger battery, an electric tailgate, tinted rear windows and the option of eye-catching 20-inch alloy wheels. Choosing the range-topping Excel brings further upgrades such as a 22kW onboard charger, powered driver’s seat adjustment, synthetic suede and leather upholstery, and an exterior parking camera. Additional safety systems are also included, notably front cross-traffic alert and lane change assist. Buyers can further enhance the Excel with an optional Premium Pack, which adds a JBL sound system and a panoramic sunroof.

Within Toyota’s growing EV line-up, the C-HR+ sits neatly between the Urban Cruiser and the larger bZ4X. It uses the same e-TNGA platform as the latter, despite its more compact footprint.

Measuring 4,520mm in length, the C-HR+ is 40mm longer than a Skoda Elroq, although the comparison doesn’t entirely favour the Toyota. The Elroq’s more upright shape allows for a significantly larger boot, offering 470 litres compared to the C-HR+’s 412 litres, a compromise brought about by Toyota’s coupe-inspired roofline. Despite being around 150mm longer than the hybrid C-HR, the electric model doesn’t feel especially spacious inside, particularly when judged against class leaders like the Skoda.

Powertrain options are broad. The entry-level C-HR+ uses a 165bhp front-mounted electric motor paired with the smaller battery. Models equipped with the 77kWh pack can be specified either with a 221bhp front-wheel-drive setup or a 338bhp dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, shared with the most powerful version of the bZ4X.

Performance figures reflect this range of outputs. The least powerful version completes the 0–62mph sprint in 8.4 seconds, while the more potent front-wheel-drive model cuts that to 7.3 seconds. Toyota hasn’t yet published official figures for the dual-motor C-HR+, but given that the bZ4X achieves 0–62mph in 5.1 seconds with the same hardware, a sub-five-second time seems likely for the smaller and lighter C-HR+.

Interestingly, despite offering all-wheel drive, the C-HR+ doesn’t inherit the X-Mode system found on the bZ4X and Subaru Solterra, which provides tailored settings for low-grip and off-road conditions.

Charging technology mirrors that of Toyota’s larger electric SUV. Battery pre-conditioning is now standard, either activated manually or automatically when a charging stop is set in the navigation system. Peak DC charging power is rated at 150kW, allowing a 10–80 per cent recharge in around 28 minutes. While not class-leading, it’s competitive enough for the segment.

With sharp styling, competitive range figures and a clear position in Toyota’s expanding EV portfolio, the C-HR+ looks set to become a key player in the brand’s electric future—provided buyers can overlook its tighter interior packaging when compared to some of its rivals.

Source: Auto Express

NEW CARS

Toyota GR GT – The LFA’s Spirit Reborn, With Twin Turbos and a Jolt of Electric Fury

For more than a decade, enthusiasts have been waiting—hoping—for a true heir to the Lexus LFA. Its screaming V10, carbon-intensive construction, and unrepeatable charisma cemented it as one of the most iconic halo cars of the 21st century. Now, Toyota’s performance wing, Gazoo Racing, claims the wait is officially over. Meet the GR GT, a ground-up supercar engineered with one mission: to channel the LFA’s legacy into something even more ferocious.

A New Formula for a New Era

Rather than chase nostalgia, Gazoo Racing has built the GR GT around three uncompromising targets:
the lowest possible center of gravity, the lowest possible mass, and the highest possible chassis stiffness.
Those principles form the backbone of a brand-new aluminum architecture designed to extract every ounce of performance from an equally new powertrain.

At the front sits a freshly developed 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, while the rear hides an electric motor mounted just above the axle. Together, they summon a combined 650 horsepower and 850 Nm of torque—numbers Toyota openly hints may creep higher by the time production begins. Power flows exclusively to the rear wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission.

This hybrid layout isn’t about eco points; it’s about instant torque, chassis balance, and lap-time consistency. And it’s born directly from Gazoo Racing’s experience developing the GR GT3 race car, which is launching in parallel for FIA competition.

Carbon Everywhere, Mass Nowhere

Toyota set an ambitious weight target, and it shows. Every exterior panel is crafted from carbon fiber, while additional carbon elements are worked into the braking system. The supercar rolls on ultra-light 20-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber, ensuring grip levels that suit its GT3-inspired hardware.

Toyota says the final car will tip the scales at under 1,700 kg, an impressive feat considering its hybrid system and sizable V8.

Low, Wide, and Ready to Strike

At 4.78 meters long and just 1.09 meters high, the GR GT sits lower than almost anything on today’s roads. Unsurprisingly, slipping inside feels like dropping into a race seat—because the seats are race seats. Recaro carbon buckets, bolstered aggressively and trimmed in premium materials, dominate the cockpit. Traditional Toyota branding steps aside in favor of bold Gazoo Racing badging, signaling that this machine belongs firmly in the performance sub-brand’s domain.

320 km/h, and That’s Just the Beginning

In road-legal form, the GR GT is targeting a top speed of 320 km/h. But the real story is its dual-purpose development path. Alongside the production car, Toyota has unveiled the GR GT3 racing version, a homologation-ready weapon set to compete worldwide. This isn’t a marketing gimmick—it’s proof that the road car was shaped with motorsports as its foundation.

A Proper Successor at Last

Toyota hasn’t tried to recreate the LFA’s magic; instead, it has evolved it. A hybrid V8 instead of a shrieking V10. Carbon construction refined by modern motorsports. A chassis sculpted by engineering priorities, not nostalgia.

If the numbers hold—and if Gazoo Racing’s GT3 work really bleeds through to the street version—the GR GT might not just be a successor to the LFA. It might become the supercar that defines Toyota’s performance future.

Source: Toyota