RAV4 vs Tucson vs 3008 - Plug-in hybrid AWD test (turn on subtitles)

[kucyk]

Just came across this amazing video which I really enjoyed, so if you are into RAV4 Plug-in, you must watch it! It's in Czech so turn on subtitles, but it's well worth it to see how these cars are performing in extreme conditions.

 

[Flatcoat]

Watched only a part however so far so very good for the RAV. Poor attempt to copy Top Gear or Grand Tour trio’s…… It looks like Prague where it was filmed - have family there so regular visitors. 

[philip42h]

I surprised myself by watching the lot! Like nearly all of these comparative tests it was largely pointless to try to pick a winner - there wasn't one - but I was please to see that the RAV would do pretty much everything that I hope it will if we ever have enough snow for me to find out.

Although it was a test of Plugin Hybrids, they flattened the batteries before they got to the interesting part so what they were testing were simply the self-charging hybrid characteristics. So I hope / expect that mine would perform pretty much as the test RAV did ...

🙂

[ernieb]

As Philip has said some of these comparison test are not a lot of value, different drivers and driving styles, position on track for the tests.  From what I’ve seen on other RAV PHEV ‘snow’ tests they seem to perform better if the power is maintained rather than a more typical approach, this seems to be true in dry conditions as well. The system appears to need time to react to wheels slipping in these more extreme situations. I think the PHEV with the weight of the engine in the front and Battery towards the back wheels gives additional benefit. Back in the day I’d put a couple of bags of sand in the boot.

[LynxE]

1 hour ago, Flatcoat said:

It looks like Prague where it was filmed - have family there so regular visitors. 

That's rather Bratislava as those guys are Slovaks 😉 But doesn't matter, I would consider Tucson as an alternative, but Peugeot... I can't imagine who buys this aged garbage for Toyota's PHEV price.

[kucyk]

2 hours ago, philip42h said:

I surprised myself by watching the lot! Like nearly all of these comparative tests it was largely pointless to try to pick a winner - there wasn't one - but I was please to see that the RAV would do pretty much everything that I hope it will if we ever have enough snow for me to find out.

I personally found RAV4 struggling a lot in this video, not too bad, but I was expecting more vs brands with a little to none AWD experience. Amazing performance by 3008. Absolute joke in terms of plug-in capabilities of Tucson.

RAV4 doesn't seem to be utilising the rear drive fully, despite having 54HP which is more than enough to move the rear wheels on the snow. However, I noticed the car wasn't in the sport mode in which it seems to be utilising the rear engine the most, just by looking at other videos.

[Flatcoat]

Having watched some more of the video and having seen video of RAV’s in the snow on US Facebook groups there is a bit of performance mismatch. 

[ernieb]

Luke, I’ve seen the RAV PHEV so much better in YouTube videos but the drivers kept the power on rather than ease off or feather the accelerator. I driven mine in about 100/150mm of snow and it was fine, it was also OK with the next day aftermath when it had frozen and was -3oC. Coped well with the frozen ruts etc., and that is on the OEM tyres, not off road but good enough in my environment.

[Flatcoat]

There are also many buyer variables in buying decisions. None of the Stellantis (Peugeot/Citroen) plug-in hybrid system drive trains are type approved to tow much more than a camping trailer. Until last month the Tucson PHEV was only approved for 1350kg (since uprated to 1650). From the video it is clear the Toyota is out in front for EV mode performance in all situations, but especially in cold weather. I do agree the Pug is (IMO) the best looking of the trio and had it had the towing ability ‘SWMBO’ would have tried to steer my wallet in that direction. However we are very happy with the RAV, especially SWMBO. Happy wife, happy life and all that! 😉

[Nick72]

Had the 3008 300GT hybrid4.

Slightly faster car than the RAV.

Icockpit and TomTom 3D was better than AA Googlemaps and Waze which I stopped using.

Beautiful interior.

Fold completely flat front passenger seat was brilliant for transporting long items.

50 50 EV power split with 122hp motors front and rear was great.

Well spec'd.

But...

Overall, the drive train was garbage. Uncivilized, rough. 

EV range was nowhere near the claims and was extremely optimised for one speed and temperature. Think 37 miles claimed, good day was 30 trying hard in summer. Winter and 9 to 12 miles.

Constant failures with EV mode.

Bizarre intermittent hesitation on acceleration from standstill. Bordering on dangerous.

Leaking pan roof. Which was lovely but constantly poured in. I mean poured in through the GSM module.

App worked once in a blue moon. 

Many other issues. Spent 6 of 9 months in the dealer being NOT fixed. 

Peugeot head office were obnoxious a holes. Dealerships were utter village idiots baby stuff.

 

Gave it back. Company car so no cost to me. Worst car I ever had by a million miles. My 20 yo Corsa banger was a far better car and never ever actually went to a garage over the 7 or more years i had it.

 

Avoid them like the bubonic plague crossed with COVID.

[Stopeter44]

15 hours ago, Flatcoat said:

However we are very happy with the RAV, especially SWMBO. Happy wife, happy life and all that! 😉

That's good to hear. Especially the last sentence.

[Stopeter44]

13 hours ago, Nick72 said:

Avoid them like the bubonic plague crossed with COVID.

That good, eh ?

[Nick72]

3 minutes ago, Stopeter44 said:

That good, eh ?

Understatement hence apologies. Should have added Ebola, Spanish Flu, and flesh eating bacteria. Experience took years off my life expectancy. 

[Nick72]

Just now, Nick72 said:

Understatement hence apologies. Should have added Ebola, Spanish Flu, and flesh eating bacteria. Experience took years off my life expectancy. 

And Novichok.

[Stopeter44]

7 minutes ago, Nick72 said:

And Novichok.

Now that really will take years of your life expectancy!

[Roger_N]

13 hours ago, Nick72 said:

Had the 3008 300GT hybrid4.

Slightly faster car than the RAV.

Icockpit and TomTom 3D was better than AA Googlemaps and Waze which I stopped using.

Beautiful interior.

Fold completely flat front passenger seat was brilliant for transporting long items.

50 50 EV power split with 122hp motors front and rear was great.

Well spec'd.

But...

Overall, the drive train was garbage. Uncivilized, rough. 

EV range was nowhere near the claims and was extremely optimised for one speed and temperature. Think 37 miles claimed, good day was 30 trying hard in summer. Winter and 9 to 12 miles.

Constant failures with EV mode.

Bizarre intermittent hesitation on acceleration from standstill. Bordering on dangerous.

Leaking pan roof. Which was lovely but constantly poured in. I mean poured in through the GSM module.

App worked once in a blue moon. 

Many other issues. Spent 6 of 9 months in the dealer being NOT fixed. 

Peugeot head office were obnoxious a holes. Dealerships were utter village idiots baby stuff.

 

Gave it back. Company car so no cost to me. Worst car I ever had by a million miles. My 20 yo Corsa banger was a far better car and never ever actually went to a garage over the 7 or more years i had it.

 

Avoid them like the bubonic plague crossed with COVID.

 

8 minutes ago, Nick72 said:

Understatement hence apologies. Should have added Ebola, Spanish Flu, and flesh eating bacteria. Experience took years off my life expectancy. 

 

7 minutes ago, Nick72 said:

And Novichok.

So is it fair to say you weren’t impressed???

[Roger_N]

20 hours ago, kucyk said:

RAV4 doesn't seem to be utilising the rear drive fully, despite having 54HP which is more than enough to move the rear wheels on the snow. However, I noticed the car wasn't in the sport mode in which it seems to be utilising the rear engine the most, just by looking at other videos.

I agree with this, so have you tried it in snow with sport mode on, as it not the obvious setting to select?

[philip42h]

10 minutes ago, Roger_N said:

I agree with this, so have you tried it in snow with sport mode on, as it not the obvious setting to select?

? ... It's obviously NOT the correct setting to select ...

In snow and ice and other slippery conditions you want to apply the minimum amount of torque to the wheels necessary to get the car to move but not so much as to make the tyres slip and the wheels spin. Hence the sensible addition of winter tyres. You want to apply power as gently as possible - i.e. in Normal mode with a light foot or even in Eco to get the car to help by reducing throttle response (and I think they did try that in the video). The last thing you'd want to do is stick it in Sport to get a sharper throttle response and a better chance of wheel spin ...

Driving RAVs in poor conditions I've tended to find that all I need to do is drive gently and patiently, and let the car sort itself out.

[Roger_N]

I understand your comment but the Rav did seem to drive the rear wheels less than the other 2 cars, so what I was trying to find out is there more drive to the rear wheels in sport mode?

[philip42h]

22 minutes ago, Roger_N said:

I understand your comment but the Rav did seem to drive the rear wheels less than the other 2 cars, so what I was trying to find out is there more drive to the rear wheels in sport mode?

In Sport mode the "throttle response" is more aggressive which would mean that the rear motor is driven harder on take-off and particularly when cornering at speed - so, yes.

Equally, if you floor the accelerator in Normal, the car will give you everything that it's got anyway and Sport would have no more to give. The modes really determine how hard you need to stamp on the accelerator to get any given response.

Edit: also, in slippery conditions, the traction control system will do everything that it can to stop the wheel from spinning - including cutting the power and applying the brakes. So what you see on the video could be somewhat misleading ...

[Roger_N]

13 minutes ago, philip42h said:

In Sport mode the "throttle response" is more aggressive which would mean that the rear motor is driven harder on take-off and particularly when cornering at speed - so, yes.

Equally, if you floor the accelerator in Normal, the car will give you everything that it's got anyway and Sport would have no more to give. The modes really determine how hard you need to stamp on the accelerator to get any given response.

OK maybe I'm not asking the Question correctly, will it drive the rear wheels for a longer period of time, when in sport mode. I don't have my Rav yet so I am not able to try it myself.

 

[Flatcoat]

Can the TCS be turned off on the RAV? And, I thought ‘S’ was for select, in other words pre determined gear ratios in the CVT? Also need to bear in mind anyone driving in those conditions should use snow chains which in some parts of Europe are mandatory. All in all there is nothing in that video that makes me think I made the wrong call. 

[philip42h]

44 minutes ago, Roger_N said:

OK maybe I'm not asking the Question correctly, will it drive the rear wheels for a longer period of time, when in sport mode. I don't have my Rav yet so I am not able to try it myself.

And I'm probably not answering it correctly! 🙂

I don't think that engaging Sport mode will cause the rear wheels to be driven for a longer period of time. The rear wheels will be driven from take-off and at any time there is a lack of grip - irrespective of mode. Driving in Sport mode may cause drive to be sent to the rear wheels sooner in spirited cornering that would be the case in Normal mode - TBH I'm not entirely sure and haven't done enough high speed experiments!

[philip42h]

35 minutes ago, Flatcoat said:

And, I thought ‘S’ was for select, in other words pre determined gear ratios in the CVT?

That is entirely correct, and not to be confused with Sport mode. The Car has a 'select' CVT setting as well as Eco, Normal and Sport modes ... and Trail if it's AWD, and EV and a couple more if it's a PHEV that I don't have! 🙂

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, Flatcoat said:

Can the TCS be turned off on the RAV?  

Yes: