New Rav4 hybrid - concerned about mpg/hybrid system

[wayne_rowley]

Hi there,

We have bought a new Rav4 hybrid - we picked it up last Saturday.  It's the new 2017 model BE+ in Phantom Blue.  Before that I had 2nd gen. Prius so I am familiar with hybrid cars.

Owning the car over the last week I we have completed about 90 miles - mainly in short trips to and from work.  The mpg I am getting is nowhere near the advertised 55mpg - it's more like 30-35mpg!!  

I know there could be a number of reasons for this:

 - My runs to work are 3 miles of mainly traffic lights, queues and roadworks.  Average speed is ofter < 10mph.

 - The car has spent two months on a boat and the Battery may need to get up to form?

 - There is an issue with the hybrid Battery?

I know that the Rav4 is bigger than the Prius with a bigger engine, but in similar runs with the Prius I was easily achieving 45mpg+.  The Rav4 is 10mpg below that!

I also know I need to give it some long runs and hope to do that this weekend.

Also, the hybrid Battery never seems to charge up much.  It's often at 2-3 green bars.  When it gets down to 2 the engine charges it back up to 3.  Then it starts using the battery again and goes down to 2.  I feel if it charged the battery more it would be running better and don't know why it isn't.

Can any owners of Rav4 hybrids give me assurances that this is normal, or should I be taking it back to the dealer?

Thanks,

Wayne

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Not sure how often this has to be said, but if you're comparing what you're getting with the Official EU consumption figures, you're comparing real world figures with figures obtained using a laboratory testing regime - and they won't be directly comparable.

The EU consumption figures, which legally manufacturers have to use in advertising, etc, are obtained from a standard lab based testing regime which is supposed to be used as a comparison basis only, and doesn't represent real world consumption.

 

[Mark O]

Totally agree with Frosty. Believe manufacturers' figures at your peril. In addition, frankly I think hybrids are a con. If using the car for anything other than short journeys, the fuel consumption is not much better - sometimes worse - than that of a decent petrol or diesel.

[Anthony Poli]

I would go for a test drive on the motorway for a few miles, at motorway speed you should see a fully charged Battery by the time you exit the motorway. If the Battery isn't fully charged then I would get the car checked out.

As others have said, you can't compare one model to a different one, but you could be cheeky and go to another dealer, test drive another RAV hybrid, to see how it compares to yours.

 

 

[wayne_rowley]

Thanks for the replies.  I understand that I'm not going to get the advertised mpg, though the Prius came close at times.

 But I'm not getting anywhere near it.  I understand the pros and cons of a hybrid having driven one for many years.  They are better in town traffic, which is one reason I chose the hybrid over the diesel.

The strangest thing is that it won't charge the Battery fully.  It charges it to about 3-4 bars on green, then starts using it until it drops to 2. Then the engine kicks I and charges it back to 3..

Will take it for a long run tomorrow.

[Mark O]

Just out of interest, why did you chose a hybrid?

[wayne_rowley]

11 hours ago, Mark O said:

Just out of interest, why did you chose a hybrid?

I like them. .  As I said I have driven a Prius for many years.  It was approaching 10 years old and we needed a bigger car so we looked at the Rav4 hybrid.  It seemed a better fit than the diesel as I do a lot of short runs, and I also prefer an automatic.

A quick trip out this morning, slightly further afield achieved 41pmg and 54mpg on the return.  Will be taking for a long run this afternoon.

Wayne

[Mark O]

If you do short runs, I'd go for the petrol version. I just cannot see the point of a hybrid - far too much of a compromise, masses of extra weight to lug around, neither on thing or the other. All electric is fine, but range is still an issue at present. Tesla is getting there, but you need deep pockets.

[andyfr]

Hi Wayne

I have had a Rav4 Excel AWD since the end of March and it has averaged 43MPG. The main journeys have been long ones on A roads and motorways with climate control always on. The hybrid Battery indicator does go up to the full mark.

I used to have a Freelander auto and that only averaged 33MPG from new in five and a half years so I'm more than happy with the hybrid.

[wayne_rowley]

45 minutes ago, andyfr said:

Hi Wayne

I have had a Rav4 Excel AWD since the end of March and it has averaged 43MPG. The main journeys have been long ones on A roads and motorways with climate control always on. The hybrid battery indicator does go up to the full mark.

I used to have a Freelander auto and that only averaged 33MPG from new in five and a half years so I'm more than happy with the hybrid.

That's helpful, thanks.  Was it consistent since new or did it need time to 'bed in'?  What about very short journeys?

I don't understand how the hybrid system should be working.  It seems different compared with the Prius.  It needs a long run to charge it above 3 bars of green.  Once at three it will use the Battery as much as it can, but when it goes down to 2 it starts again.

Just taken it for a long run up the motorway.  It got to 6 out of 8, then went down to 5 quickly and stayed there using Battery with engine. Achieved a respectable 41mpg, but as soon as I got back to town it emptied the Battery back to 2 and is working as it did before.  Gets low mpg as it sits there at traffic lights with the engine on, charging it back from 2 to 3.

[Anthony Poli]

Hi Wayne

I have had a Rav4 Excel AWD since the end of March and it has averaged 43MPG. The main journeys have been long ones on A roads and motorways with climate control always on. The hybrid battery indicator does go up to the full mark.

I used to have a Freelander auto and that only averaged 33MPG from new in five and a half years so I'm more than happy with the hybrid.

That's helpful, thanks.  Was it consistent since new or did it need time to 'bed in'?  What about very short journeys?

I don't understand how the hybrid system should be working.  It seems different compared with the Prius.  It needs a long run to charge it above 3 bars of green.  Once at three it will use the Battery as much as it can, but when it goes down to 2 it starts again.

Just taken it for a long run up the motorway.  It got to 6 out of 8, then went down to 5 quickly and stayed there using Battery with engine. Achieved a respectable 41mpg, but as soon as I got back to town it emptied the Battery back to 2 and is working as it did before.  Gets low mpg as it sits there at traffic lights with the engine on, charging it back from 2 to 3.

Do you have the same driving modes like in the Prius for Eco and power?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[andyfr]

4 hours ago, wayne_rowley said:

That's helpful, thanks.  Was it consistent since new or did it need time to 'bed in'?  What about very short journeys?

I don't understand how the hybrid system should be working.  It seems different compared with the Prius.  It needs a long run to charge it above 3 bars of green.  Once at three it will use the battery as much as it can, but when it goes down to 2 it starts again.

Just taken it for a long run up the motorway.  It got to 6 out of 8, then went down to 5 quickly and stayed there using battery with engine. Achieved a respectable 41mpg, but as soon as I got back to town it emptied the battery back to 2 and is working as it did before.  Gets low mpg as it sits there at traffic lights with the engine on, charging it back from 2 to 3.

The first fill was 39MPG but I had never owned a hybrid before so it took a bit of getting used to. After that it was 40, 42, 48, then stayed at around 43 but has been up to 49 on the last couple of fills. It very rarely runs the engine at the traffic lights. I have never changed any of the driving modes so it is just on the normal setting.

Hope this helps.

[andyfr]

14 hours ago, wayne_rowley said:

 What about very short journeys?

 

Sorry, I didn't answer this question. As we live 15 miles from town that is, more often than not, the shortest journey. The road is an A road with a mix of single and dual carriageway. Travel is at the speed limit.

[IanML]

On 10/14/2016 at 0:53 PM, wayne_rowley said:

 

 - My runs to work are 3 miles of mainly traffic lights, queues and roadworks.  Average speed is ofter < 10mph.

 

It is probably doing as well as it could. Toyota state that the RAV4 hybrid attempts to run only on Battery in city traffic, but " electric range is only 0.6 miles range for the RAV4 Hybrid at up to 25 mph ". The idea of a hybrid is to charge the Battery efficiently, which means running the engine at economical rpm.  I would not expect it to do that in heavy traffic - it would be objectionable for a car to be stopped at the lights to be running at (say) 2,500 rpm for a prolonged period.  So i expect it is charging inefficiently, and only when it has to, to prevent the hybrid Battery running too low.

I'm not sure what is so different about the Prius, but the RAV4 Hybrid is rated (in the US) at 34 (US) mpg for city driving, whereas the Prius C is 54. That seems to bear out your experience.

 

[wayne_rowley]

Thanks for the replies.  The run yesterday seemed to do it good.  A couple of fairl short trips today achieved 52mph and 58mpg.

i think it needs a bit of time to bed in.  172 miles and it already seems to be running better.

Wayne

[IanML]

Yes, I doubt that Toyota bench-run the engines before installing them, so they will be tight (high friction) for the first few thousand miles.  As they free up, MPG should improve.

[D Arrowsmith]

I have had mine since May,  my daily journey to work is 10 miles each way on country roads and a bit of dual carriageway,  on this route I get around 40-42 mpg.  Did a 45 mile run averaging around 50-60mph a few weeks back on A roads and got 54mpg.  It varies a lot.  I find my Battery is nearly always fully charged, probably 1 or 2 bars short of being full most of the time.  I find it runs on short bursts on electric only,  but runs a lot in tandem with the engine.  Its taken a bit of time,  but I have adjusted my driving style now,  I used to have diesels,  and you cannot "floor" this car now, once I was over doing that its fine.  I love the car to be honest, I cannot see why it gets panned so much on so many reviews. 

[cuius]

There is a road test of the n 2WD Rav4 Hybrid on the current Auto Express website, and they note:

" Over a mixed driving route we found around 40mpg to be the norm, which is acceptable but no better than the diesel." 

(Why road testers always compare a petrol automatic to a diesel manual is a mystery, as usual)

In passing, they rated it as 2* only, and generally not impressed

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/rav4/97446/toyota-rav4-hybrid-2wd-2016-review

[Heidfirst]

11 hours ago, cuius said:

(Why road testers always compare a petrol automatic to a diesel manual is a mystery, as usual)

& they fail completely to acknowledge the environmental ( fewer particulates) & reliability (no DPF, no turbo etc.) benefits. Admittedly over 50% of the UK's car sales are to business & as such as far as initial owners are concerned they only have to be reliable for 2-3 years.

Having said that my experience is that Toyotas are practical cars but not the best handling/riding & their cabins aren't quite up with the Germans in terms of design & materials so I agree with them on that.

I have said it before & will again - car magazine reviewers have a different point of view than if they had to buy, run & live with something for years with their own money rather than a new company provided/expensed vehicle every week> couple of months.