RAV4 plug in BIK real world MPG

[Peterfer1]

Hi all

i am due a new company car and whilst I have always been a diesel driver lots of hybrids and EV are now on the list and showing massive savings in BIK.

My issue is that currently I cannot charge a vehicle at home (terraced house with no drive and permit parking) I don’t really want to opt out to get a diesel so have been doing some research on the hybrids and the RAV4 appears to come out top, ultimately my question is if I am running it on petrol only will I get a minimum of 30mpg I have read reports of upwards of 40mpg but that seems a lot for such a big vehicle.

[ernieb]

I’m running the PHEV which is even heavier than the HEV model and using the car in the HEV mode, ICE and regeneration it will easily get well over 40mph even at motorway speeds, high 40’s or low 50’s.

[Peterfer1]

Awesome thanks

[Rav Rob]

19 hours ago, Peterfer1 said:

Hi all

i am due a new company car and whilst I have always been a diesel driver lots of hybrids and EV are now on the list and showing massive savings in BIK.

My issue is that currently I cannot charge a vehicle at home (terraced house with no drive and permit parking) I don’t really want to opt out to get a diesel so have been doing some research on the hybrids and the RAV4 appears to come out top, ultimately my question is if I am running it on petrol only will I get a minimum of 30mpg I have read reports of upwards of 40mpg but that seems a lot for such a big vehicle.

Minimum of 30mpg? I am guessing you are getting reimbursed business miles at advisory fuel rates (AFR)?  Sounds like you know you need to do better than about 28mpg to break even (over 2L =20p mile). I would be confident the RAV PHEV will easily see you making a modest profit on reimbursement.

If this is the case its also worth considering if you need to make a trade up/private use contribution  the ordinary hybrid is a lot cheaper. Which means the driver contribution is lower. Yes the low BIK value of the PHEV is very attractive compared to the Hybrid but its worth looking at the whole picture, the hybrid will do 50mpg or more easily and is also over 2L so gets the same (currently) 20p a mile, I make a very tidy profit on my fuel reimbursement.

So... comparing Hybrid (moderate tax, lower lease contribution, good AFR profit) to PHEV (lower tax, higher lease contribution, lower AFR profit) in my case it worked out slightly cheaper to go for another Hybrid as much as I would like the PHEV.

It really comes down to circumstances, what system your company operates, how generous the lease rates your job gets, how much mileage you do etc as to which is better PHEV or Hybrid for any particular company driver.

 

[Catlover]

Hi Peter and welcome to the Toyota Owners Club.  As you can see from my Avatar I am not a Rav owner, but from what I read on here about hybrid Rav mpg, you are not going to be disappointed.

[Peterfer1]

18 hours ago, Rav Rob said:

Minimum of 30mpg? I am guessing you are getting reimbursed business miles at advisory fuel rates (AFR)?  Sounds like you know you need to do better than about 28mpg to break even (over 2L =20p mile). I would be confident the RAV PHEV will easily see you making a modest profit on reimbursement.

If this is the case its also worth considering if you need to make a trade up/private use contribution  the ordinary hybrid is a lot cheaper. Which means the driver contribution is lower. Yes the low BIK value of the PHEV is very attractive compared to the Hybrid but its worth looking at the whole picture, the hybrid will do 50mpg or more easily and is also over 2L so gets the same (currently) 20p a mile, I make a very tidy profit on my fuel reimbursement.

So... comparing Hybrid (moderate tax, lower lease contribution, good AFR profit) to PHEV (lower tax, higher lease contribution, lower AFR profit) in my case it worked out slightly cheaper to go for another Hybrid as much as I would like the PHEV.

It really comes down to circumstances, what system your company operates, how generous the lease rates your job gets, how much mileage you do etc as to which is better PHEV or Hybrid for any particular company driver.

 

Hi Rob

That is exactly correct 🙂

Unfortunately the standard hybrid RAV4 isn’t on my list  lots of sub 2 litre Jags/Range Rovers/Mercs and Volvo hybrids  are but whilst the BIK’s are similar the claimable mpg isn’t and ultimately would mean no cost saving and potentially a loss when the government changes the BIK for hybrid cars etc. 

[Rav Rob]

1 hour ago, Peterfer1 said:

Hi Rob

That is exactly correct 🙂

Unfortunately the standard hybrid RAV4 isn’t on my list  lots of sub 2 litre Jags/Range Rovers/Mercs and Volvo hybrids  are but whilst the BIK’s are similar the claimable mpg isn’t and ultimately would mean no cost saving and potentially a loss when the government changes the BIK for hybrid cars etc. 
 

 

Ah.. so your company is operating a ULEV only policy. Glad your wise enough to avoid the sub 2 litre ones and their paltry AFR rate of which there are many, I ran an Outlander PHEV (when they were sub 2L) and it was pretty miserable trying to break even (relaxing driving like a funeral director but time consuming). We have people in our company running BMW PHEV's and they are losing money every mile the company sends them on.

your choice is easy then, RAV4 PHEV or Ford Kuga PHEV as both only two over 2L. RAV is the better car but the Kuga isn't half bad actually. If you want to risk sub 2L I hear the new Hyundai Tucson PHEV (1.6L) is very good and doesn't do badly on MPG and can beat the 30mpg without trying much, its a very modern system

[Flatcoat]

You need to get on Google and read independant road tests and long term reviews of all the options (try Autocar and Diesel Car - both had the Across version of the RAV PHEV on long term review). From all those I have read the RAV4/Across PHEV seems to be genuinely economical (45mpg) even without much use of plug-in charging. Just hope you are not in a hurry…….

[philip42h]

An individual's economy figure will depend very much on how the car is used, and, from experience, my individual trip economies can vary widely. The WLTP figure for the AWD HEV is around 48 mpg - and that seems realistically achievable to me.

So it seems very plausible that a careful driver could achieve 45 mpg from a PHEV is self-charging mode (as per the cited review tests).

The WLTP figure for the PHEV is 282 mpg - which to achieve in practice would require very extension use of a charger. It would be good if manufacturers of PHEVs were also required to publish WLTP figures for their cars in ICE only mode ...

[Saxacat]

The readout on my RAV normally indicates that I'm getting between 47 to 51 MPG, this is on local driving when I tend to leave it in Eco mode. On a trip from Northumberland to Surrey recently I decided to check the accuracy of the car readout. I filled up at the start of the journey and again at the end, to calculate the mpg the old fashioned way. I drove down the A1, so it was a mix of motorway and A road driving. I drove to the speed limit and had the car mostly in Normal mode (I switched to Eco when in traffic, and also occasionally used the Sport mode); at the end of the journey, the car stats were 51mpg; on filling up my calculations came to 47mpg. So I reckon the car readout is fairly accurate.

Based on my mixed usage over the last 5 months I reckon the WLTP figure of 48mpg to be pretty accurate.

[nlee]

Got my PHEV yesterday. Drove from North Wales to Cardiff this morning. I turned the EV off and put it in HV mode so I could use EV only today when driving from site to site in Cardiff. In HV mode, the dash readout said I got an incredible 66mpg (and I definitely had a full Battery range left on arrival). Used EV mode today for about 30 miles and had 13 miles left when I got to the hotel. Now charging on their free charger! Winner!

[ernieb]

1 minute ago, nlee said:

Got my PHEV yesterday. Drove from North Wales to Cardiff this morning. I turned the EV off and put it in HV mode so I could use EV only today when driving from site to site in Cardiff. In HV mode, the dash readout said I got an incredible 66mpg (and I definitely had a full battery range left on arrival). Used EV mode today for about 30 miles and had 13 miles left when I got to the hotel. Now charging on their free charger! Winner!

Brilliant and glad your enjoying the PHEV, they are so good to drive and difficult to explain unless you can drive one for an extended period.

[Marcusthehat]

We have put just over 4000 miles on a Rav4 HEV, not doing motorway or long distance runs, pootling about on shorter local runs, generally not exceeding 50mph, being mosty quieter "A" and "B" road driving and getting a consistent 55mpg(per the readout) though now I am doing more 6 mile and stop to cold before returning some hours later journeys, dropping back to nearer 54(may also be the slightly colder weather?)

I am well impressed with the fuel economy.

mth

[ernieb]

Over the years I’ve been frustrated by the difference between published and fuel consumption and the reality, the Toyota RAV is one of the only ones that actually comes close, I’m impressed.

[Catlover]

59 minutes ago, ernieb said:

Over the years I’ve been frustrated by the difference between published and fuel consumption and the reality, the Toyota RAV is one of the only ones that actually comes close, I’m impressed.

The “new” WLTP figures are determined by more realistic means attainable in the real world, the previous figures were more “laboratory” methods. The WLTP measurement has been used for more then a few years. For example, the published figures for my 5 year old Prius are attainable…. I often do it.

[Heidfirst]

The WLTP figures are still laboratory derived just that the test parameters are closer to normal driving than the old NEDC. I could match & even beat the NEDC results too under road conditions that closely matched the test parameters (e.g. a warm start rather than from cold).

[Cyker]

Yeah it's the RDE that is the non-lab test, but hardly any cars seem to have an RDE rating. I've only ever seen the lab-tested WLTP figures!