Is The 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid An Off-Road Stud Or Dud? I Find Out On Tombstone Hill!

[@woffordsoverlandjourneys8618]

I loved the video guys keep up the good work!!!

[@aldoraine9949]

For the offroad most people do this is far impressive. Rather struggle with this for the occasional off roading and get 40 mpg all year long, instead of getting 15mpg on a 4runner just to be the king of the hill once or twice a year

[@dj3114]

Couldn't have said it better. Had the same issue with a trailer. Had a vehicle to pull it but only did it once or twice a year. Now with the Rav4 Hybrid, it's a chore to pull it a short distance, but the rest of time, avg 40 mpg. I'll take it.

[@TheClownkillingGamer]

Yea everyone sitting here saying its not 4x4 it has no ground clearance body protection. Bro we are mostly dailying these things aswell we dont go up foot high boulders. I wont lie tho 2019 XLE hauls ass through mud, creeks, up dirt hills, through sandlots. These things are a lot more capable than you would think.

[@chingon3461]

It depends on your budget. I have my daily driver a corolla and for long trips and off roading my 4runner both paid off.

[@noepitteloud6404]

I fully agree ! Less consumption = less natural ressources lost ! This RAV4 is pretty efficient.

[@jio-lito]

I have to agree, I get that MPG all year long and take it to the desert for some target practice to places my friends take their jeeps and trucks to.

[@jg8263]

Let's take a moment to acknowledge that this rav4 just went more off road than 70-80% of 4x4 pickups ever actually do in their lifetime. The fact is that only a small percentage of truck owners actually do serious off roading that would require the packages the dealer is selling, and those guys are not stupid enough to do so in a brand new $60k truck. They are more like Fred and Dave on dirt every day, buy a cheap beater and install what you need to do serious off road duty. It's cheaper and you don't worry about scraping a tree or rock. Vast majority of trucks are showing off to the neighbors and bumping off the curb, and the 2 weekend camping trips the owners take annually could easily be done with a rav4 or outback.

[@Ryno-fp7pm]

So so so true brother.

[@ajamesc55]

yea, I don't offroad my nice truck, but I do like it to tow my toys to the offroad location

[@jg8263]

@@ajamesc55 exactly and well said. In many cases, sadly, people overbuy for that too. People don't need the 3/4 ton diesel to pull a utv to the trail, but by gosh some sure do it.

[@ajamesc55]

@@jg8263 yea the 150 works fine for me with 2 atv's

[@TheClownkillingGamer]

Sitting in here feeling ashamed for doing this in my daily rav4 lol

[@Ryan-cf6lc]

Considering it's a hybrid vehicle built for onroad fuel economy, it held its own and destroyed the Sorento. Let's see the CRV hybrid next.

[@theupshiftcarblog9555]

Drivingsportstv did a review with the regular CRV and it looks like it really struggled

[@reserva120]

hey stop using Common sense an Logic..its not as good a s Wrangler or a four runner , an that's All that Matters:):)

[@Ryan-cf6lc]

I think credit should be given to the e-cvt for not over heating and the DM-V2's. They are an awesome snow tire and probably the reason why it made it up.

[@reserva120]

@@Ryan-cf6lc hear hear.. well said..

[@stevenkim9637]

You can’t really expect much from AWD crossovers. Rav4, CR-V all have a rather crappy AWD system. It “might” help you, but if you live in suburbs of northern states probably something else would be a better choice.

[@DapperDilla]

Can't say much on it's off-road capabilities personally, but having owned the '21 XSE Hybrid for a couple weeks and putting it through the ringer of the recent snowstorm that hit Texas, I can say with confidence this RAV4 is certainly a stud.

[@mranum8]

Bruh it’s Texas…

[@DapperDilla]

@@mranum8 Your point being, "bruh"? If you're seriously trying to imply that parts of Texas haven't experienced its share of inclement weather, specifically freezing temps in the past 2 winter seasons then I truly feel sorry for you.

[@Sergei_Ivanovich_Mosin]

@@mranum8 I've used the non-hybrid version in Alberta snow and it preformed great, and believe me, a good snowstorm in Alberta is no joke.

[@hedgehogthesonic3181]

Do you still have your Rav4 hybrid? how is it doing? @@DapperDilla

[@GateMesh]

'07 V6 owner here - I was honestly skeptical when my folks got the '21 hybrid because their '15 RAV felt like the biggest disappointment of the brand, but I was blown away when I got to drive it around our farmland. Has decent off-road capabilities, a smooth ride, just about as much power as my V6 (can't get up to speed as quickly but still does the job), and that 569 miles per tank compared to my 250 had me foaming at the mouth lol. Not to mention it looks pretty sharp! Think I'm gonna cop one when I get the chance to upgrade.

[@TheMeanmarine13]

Props to Tommy for allowing the vehicle to figure out traction issues by itself and not just using sheer momentum. It's an honest and real world presentation of the vehicles strengths and weaknesses. Great review guys, keep it up.

[@10K2HVN]

You guys should do a video on that E-CVT system, it's actually pretty ingenious design. It doesn't use a weak belt with gearless cones, like those poopy Jatco transmissions. It uses a simple planetary gear set (plenty of strong gears). Which would normally be input/output (sun gear/planetary gears) with a clutch-belt on the ring gear, allowing the planetary gear set to have 2 variations of on/off, changing the gear ratio. In an standard automatic transmission, there would be multiple planetary gear sets, working different configurations of on/off to get multiple gearing points. But instead of a clutch-belt on the ring gear (only allowing on/off), they put another gear on it, then attached an electronic motor to it, and then used different speeds and directions of the electric motor to allow different gear ratios, and/or input additional torque into the drivetrain (or recharge the battery system) from a single planetary gear set. No more broken CVT belts.

[@rafars2246]

Is not an ecvt transmission

[@joedanero5360]

@@rafars2246 It is in fact an ECVT transmission. And a very good one.

[@rafars2246]

@@joedanero5360 wrong.

[@joedanero5360]

@@rafars2246 lmao. k. good points

[@XQzMEH]

@@rafars2246 no he's right

[@thomasrossi31]

Matt’s Off-Road Recovery loves these videos... job security for his company!

[@volvo09]

"I have an off roader, it's a rav4, a 4wd suv". back in 93 a friend of my mom's said she"bought a sports car".... it was a 93 dodge neon "sport". Hahaha

[@Mixwell1983]

@@volvo09 that would be a r/technicallythetruth

[@tmurray12]

TFL, MORR and Fabrats crossover event?

[@Bavaria525]

Edd will continue giving us the weather report then... hehe

[@rcrc5260]

A fan of Matt's off road recovery Channel

[@mysteryboyee]

honestly all the issues the vehicle seemed to have getting up didn't actually appear to be the fault of the vehicle itself, but just the snow tires not getting any grip, if possible it'd be cool to see you guys do this again but with some all terrains instead of snow tires

[@jurassicjon]

I was thinking about this. Proper tyres that are more suited to the terrain would of gotten way better results.

[@4RT0119]

I took an XLE AWD on the shafer trail in Utah. It was raining, the mud was like clay. A lot of people had land cruisers, jeeps, trucks etc. I was in a stock 21 Rav4, no problems.

[@josephmiranda-steele9487]

I’ll add this to the list of things that never happened

[@nekrobillyhenry666]

I got stuck in my kia soul in there.... 😆

[@BungieStudios]

I believe it.

[@mannycali334]

Hybrid or gas?

[@4RT0119]

@@mannycali334 gas

[@aldoraine9949]

Took my rav4 hybrid to oceano dunes in CA. No issues. I was actually impressed by it, and I was even pulling a camper. When you factor in the 40mpg it makes its off road shortcomings well worth it

[@yves78]

What kind of camper were you pulling and what weight? We just bought one and was just thinking of getting something small like a teardrop trailer.

[@James-il3tq]

@@yves78 I pull a 2016 prolite mini (1050lbs camper) with my 2019 Rav4 hybrid XSE through mountains a lot. Light but not aerodynamic friendly camper (tall). Just enough power to comfortably tow it loaded with gear up steep hills (I have a fairly heavy foot, drive 75 mph on flat highways). Alex on Autos pulled 2000lb camper with Rav4 hybrid fairly easily (might wanna watch his video). One other piece of advice - invest in rear air bags. Will reduce squatting on rear substantially along with better towing. I bought some and only cost $130. Install tool myself under 1 hour. Money and time well spent!

[@yves78]

@@James-il3tq cool thank you, I will look into the airbags for sure.

[@mrpz9320]

@@James-il3tq thanks for the info!

[@richard343s]

It's definitely a soft-roader. But it's impressive that you made it up anyway.

[@James-il3tq]

Offroading in winter tires not a great test nor will they provide decent traction

[@Conrad711]

Wait, this isn't the mall parking lot....All seriousness, would like to see a comparison with the Crosstrek.

[@hewlett260]

The Crosstrek is pretty impressive off road for non technical stuff

[@brandophoto-f3t]

No comparison… Subaru will crap the bed before 75k miles. Subarus are garbage. I say this as someone who’s owned 3.

[@MsAce0424]

I mean, you put extremely soft tires on meant for snow. I worked in the tire industry for a very long time. The massive difference in snow tires vs ATs for something like this is far more than you think. You choked the rav4 bad by assuming the aggressive tred would help. The rubber compound is 100% wrong for this application. Now thousands of people whonalsk don't know, tires will have the wrong idea. Also, there are 2 inch level kits and lift kits for these. Level kits are 300 bucks. There are aluminum after market skid plates for these as well.

[@bsperoz]

I agree the snow tires are a detriment. I've seen videos of others doing this with normal tires and have still an issue, but less of one.

[@CraigSmith568]

Considering most people won't be using this in any situation near this it shows that it will do great for what you do run into. There is always a few stupid people that think they can go anywhere in something like this.

[@BungieStudios]

Plausible for an emergency, great for the road where it will be most of its life.

[@BillyBadger043]

Why on earth would the question even be posed if something with low ground clearance, no underbody protection, no mechanical transfer case/locking diffs etc.. is an off-road stud? Insanely obviously it’s not. These type of AWDs are definitely just for hitting mildly inconvenient conditions on a mostly flat road. For that the Rav 4 does as well as the other vehicles in its class.

[@Squigglydodah]

I'd be really curious to see what it does with the correct tires. It seems like all the issues we saw were a lack of tire traction. Not suspension issues. It did pretty damn good for a grocery getter!

[@Greenwitch_Garden]

Right. Even a Rubicon with shot tires will perform poorly. Also, if you’re truly off roading you know to let air out of the tires. You’d probably get at least 6 turtles with proper measures.

[@iankovac1878]

Can confirm. When I was poor trying to off road in a camry. Can confirm snow tires work very well off roading. Soft compound is nice.

[@James-il3tq]

Offroading tires don't need to be soft they need grooves to evacuate rocks and dirt

[@iankovac1878]

@@James-il3tq Indeed, the softness makes them more prone to ejecting stones, and the siping makes a lot of bite edges.

[@dustinvance4771]

Snow is similar to mud as far as need of siping. But this guy needed some stiffness in the game! Not so much movement of the tread that is good for slush/mud. It's rock, AT tires would make a big difference. They should do the tire comparison video..

[@andrewzhuk8713]

I was climbing mountains in a Sport mode. I find it more aggressive

[@happytrails5342]

How do you like the car as a whole

[@andrewzhuk8713]

@@happytrails5342 overall I like this car. It is good for city driving and rural areas. Not that good for mountain driving, mainly because of clearance and lack of hill descent control. Good gas consumption in the city in warm weather. Not so good in cold, but still fine.

[@happytrails5342]

@@andrewzhuk8713 Thank you for letting me know! I am studying geology currently, so am looking for an in-between off road capable vehicle, but want good gas mileage and a reasonable price. Probably compromising on 2/3 lol Cheers

[@andrewzhuk8713]

@@happytrails5342 Then maybe get Suzuki Jimmy?

[@happytrails5342]

@@andrewzhuk8713 hahaha yes!!

[@daltonv5206]

Actually impressed. For 90% of people that is more than enough

[@russellgrover8489]

They apparently don't drive off road much. Momentum is your friend. Use it! It's like they are trying to get stuck. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@jimroberts3449]

I concur. "So here's the tough part, I'll just stop the car completely right in the tough area & then let off the throttle everytime it starts to bite and gain momentum " You can't drive these like some slow moving rock-crawler and try to creep through the difficult terrain on hard snow rides. And NO, snow tires do not equal good off-road / rock tires. It is fair to test them this way but they are not equal.

[@MakeItMakeSense285]

Ok captain obvious. They were testing the car to see how it does in compromising spots.

[@James-il3tq]

Yes momentum your friend offroading with no skid plates on a loaner car

[@mattrollie9135]

Curious if you guys notice much of a difference between the XSE (2019) and Limited (2021) suspensions in these tests, or when driving around town? Thanks for the content!

[@ThatOneDudeNick]

I think it did pretty well for what it's supposed to be

[@bossoli60]

ESP off helps a lot when you are stuck.The right tires too

[@starladear100]

Overinflated tires isn’t helping

[@keithallsop]

The rear electric motor is only 54hp, and I'll guess it has a low duty cycle before it overheats itself or the battery/inverters. A hypothetical car with 200hp and full time AWD 60/40 split front/rear can send 80hp to the rear. It's the norm for part time AWD vehicles to have weak rear power and this looks to be no exception. It meets the need of almost all buyers and will pull you through a snowy road. Climbing up steep grade dirt, not so much, and not intended.

[@L0LrevneD]

I’m debating between getting a 2023 RAV4 Hybrid and a 2023 RAV4 gas-only with AWD. I know the gas version sends a physical driveshaft to the rear axel whereas the hybrid has a separate electric motor. Which one of these should I go with? I plan on driving to the mountains fairly often but I don’t expect myself to do any heavy off roading, and most of my driving while be on the highway.

[@lanceripplinger8352]

I agree with Tommy; the rear electric motor on this didn't seem like it was giving much. Great video! 👍😀

[@jimroberts3449]

It seemed to me as if the rear drive didn't increase its output until the front was really struggling for traction but then, if he kept his foot in it (which for some reason he seemed to back off on several times) the rear drive would ramp up its output, maybe not huge thrust & maybe needed to be more but still... I'd be more inclined to blame this area of performance issue with the all-wheel drive distribution, there seemed to be power there but it was not applying it soon enough.

[@axion8788]

What do we really learn when you test one car with snow/trail tires and a different vehicle with summer/all season tires?

[@James-il3tq]

Nothing!

[@c.j.ravensfan8374]

so i used to Rallyx and all in my subaru, winter performance tires / snow tires are the next best thing to rally tires. lots of people use them off road in rallyx :) way cheaper and easier than real rally tires

[@armax1980]

I'm really interested in how Jeep's new 4XE system will work off-road.

[@bloodyfries3528]

Can yall do an off road tire comparison? Use the same vehicle and compare AT tires. I really enjoyed the winter tire comparison. Always enjoy the content.

[@abdullahbinshahid3199]

The trail mode actually lessens the traction control intervention, maybe try it with and without trail mode next time?

[@domenik8339]

They're notorious for their dumb decisions offroading. For example subie refuses to lend their cars to them because they got an outback stuck while incorrectly using its offroad mode and they blamed it on the car.

[@thomasromano385]

@@domenik8339 They did a test in the 2019 rav4 hybrid that showed regular mode was better and then they go out on the trail and use trail mode instead in both reviews.

[@domenik8339]

@@thomasromano385 I'm beginning to see a pattern here.

[@markparent7999]

@@thomasromano385 These guys are pros. Probably best off road crew ever put together. The one guy on the other video said all you need is a rear locker and then gets stuck while having the locker on.

[@rightlanehog3151]

Team TFL, I really like the RAV4 for its intended purpose but I cannot countenance a price higher than a 4Runner!

[@BungieStudios]

True that.

[@salchristiano6606]

If you want to show us how steep the road is show a picture of the trees along the trail. The angle of the trunks to the trail will tell the story.

[@jimroberts3449]

WAY steeper than the impression you get from the video

[@xXnocturnumXx]

The flaw is that it’s not true awd…if it had Audi’s Quattro style awd, I feel like it would be different

[@tydondero16]

Really wholesome father son content here

[@luke_mckay]

The Woodland edition has been fantastic for this! Love mine. Tires and suspension make a huge difference. But yeah, needs more ground clearance. Wish it had 2 more inches. Other than that, if you're careful, you can go PLENTY of places!

[@50ccAdventure]

Just me or everyone else lovin the simple black steelies?

[@Kaptenclassic]

Right! There haven’t been many builds online with steelies displayed so it’s nice to finally see them on the rav.

[@3is]

glad you guys reviewed this car. Oddly enough NO ONE has reviewed a non Prime Rav4 Hybrid with the lithium battery off road to date.

[@StayConsistant]

Curious how this would do with some all terrain tires. Love my 4runner, but damn it gets terrible gas mileage. (I know that's not the reason why people buy them)

[@James-il3tq]

After using up stock all season tires got Falken Wildpeak AT Trail tires on my 2019 Rav4 hybrid XSE and extremely impressed how much smoother they are on rough roads/uneven potholes. Almost identical to stock tires for road noise (slightest bit louder, still very quiet). I do a lot of camping, gravel roads and poor weather driving (live in Canada). On snow, slush and ice these are almost as good traction as my Michelin X-Ice winter tires. MPGs about the same as winter tires (5% loss over stock all seasons). Steering feel a bit more vague but actual cornering as good as the all seasons (corner well when pushed, perhaps because XL tires don't flex as much?). Overall extremely impressed with these. Far better offroading and winter traction then expected. Very pleasant highway tire for long trips too especially if roads are uneven/have potholes.

[@BungieStudios]

Reduced PSI AT tires on our 4runner, no awd, grab everything. Climbs just about anything. So I'm optimistic for the RAV4. Too bad they brought snow tires. Always happens. You plan for a job but end up needing different tools when you get there.

[@etoradamaley4713]

That's not the reason why people buy 4Runners. Oh, wait...

[@hereigoagain5050]

Very impressive! Our 2019 RAV4 Hybrid + Blizzak is great in snow, but I would never do Tombstone Hill.

[@James-il3tq]

I wouldn't off-road in Blizzacks unless it had ice/snow. Those soft tires surely got chewed up on that trip!

[@jmichael6931]

For a car that is going to get 40MPG on the drive home this is legit. The snow tires outperformed the stock all seasons, but still not an awesome tire. I added a +1.5" spring lift to my rav4 Hybrid (woodland). With proper AT tires it does pretty dang good for an AWD unibody vehicle.

[@4x4adventure_pl]

We are using Dacia Duster for offroading, so RAV4 for sure can be used too.

[@asaundo1]

Wondering what pressure you were running tyres on?

[@James-il3tq]

When offroading like this stock XSE tires 33psi should be aired down to 25ish (lower not good idea on winter tires).

[@starladear100]

Definitely overinflated and or wrong tires

[@C.Lopez-SWFL-Off-Road-Trucks]

We know is not at off Road car

[@blitzwing9150]

Good display of the cars strengths and weaknesses. Kinda hoped for more from the car but I have to remember that it's not a true dedicated off-roader like the 4Runner. I also have to remember that I'm thinking of getting one for my wife who will probably NEVER take it to a trail like this.

[@prestondeters5093]

If you're going to do offroading with a Rav4, you should get the regular gas version. The standard all wheel drive system performs better in these situations than the electric motor in the hybrid. I also didagree that it's underpowered. It's not a rocketship, but it has plenty of power to get you anywhere you want to go.

[@giolats8179]

Excellent review! Great you have added the POV camera, it gives nice view of cockpit and interior.

[@Theravadinbuto]

I’ll take my 2019 Escape. Ground clearance is still terrible, but the traction control is great. I’ve had 2 wheels off the ground, 30 % off camber, fairly steep and loose/muddy surface and it walked right up it. I was truly surprised - I’ve embarrassed F150 4wds with good off-road tires, as long as I didn’t high center.

[@Ryno-fp7pm]

Fully accessorized 4WD (Jeeps, Tacomas, Raptors, etc) owners: haha, that's not an off road vehicle. Same truck owners: I've never taken my vehicle off pavement.

[@jc_usa_21502]

trail mode is shit IMHO , i tried one a few days ago and sportmode works so much better!!

[@WW-wf8tu]

Well, you unconvinced me the Hybrid is ideal for moderate off road trail use. You had done a video couple years back where it was better than the TRD Rav4. I will stick with my 4Runner. lol

[@James-il3tq]

Offroading in winter tires not a great test nor will they provide decent traction

[@BungieStudios]

I blame the tires. It did alright nonetheless.

[@lecruset]

You guys should have tried it with BFG ATko2 tires instead of Blizzaks.

[@ChrisSierra]

Thank you for the subtitles!! Those walkies can be hard to understand.

[@rondail5675]

Front-wheel drive basically. The rear wheels don't work insync with the front.

[@rezyn0]

Once the HV battery is depleted, it looks like you have to really rev the motor before anymore power goes to the rear. Shame I haven't seen them try the hybrid Escape which has a center driveshaft but otherwise similar hybrid system.

[@Silent4kill9]

Took my 2019 rav4 le off-roading before anything was done to it all I can say is a little bit of speed will be your best friend edit forgot to say we over heated the awd 3 times but we tossed some snow on it an it was good looking back probably not the best idea

[@truth959]

I think the torque vectoring system is broken on this car. I don't know, but every time I see the new gen RAV4s go off-road, I'm never feeling impressed. Either the chin gets stuck on a hill, or one wheel gets lifted and computer is confused. Toyota has some work to do.

[@mightygood1]

We have a rav4 hybrid "Cruiser" top of the line and paid 45k Australian. This car is 42k Usd "54k Australian". A base Tesla model 3 is 70k Australian here.

[@Whiskeybende]

Good video. Perhaps a steel skid plate and dynamic torque vectoring all-wheel drive?

[@matthewchetcuti3278]

Pleaseeee take the new bronco sport (badlands if you can get your hand on one) up this trail......seems to be a pretty legit offroader if you check out the prototype testing offroad vids

[@TheBeatenPaths]

I'm dying to see any of the Sports offroad, with A/T tires

[@humbertorubi2735]

@@TheBeatenPaths Don’t know, on my opinion we all will be pretty disappointed 😞

[@mattg8116]

I cringe seeing the "trail" get so dug up with all these tests, but if it convinces someone not to buy these types of vehicles if they want to go to these places or to simply not attempt going to these places the net effect on trail conditions should be positive.

[@HR-tl5mq]

I know Subaru doesnt really like TFL, but I would like to see a Forester go up that same hill. I used to own a 2016, I feel like it would have done much better.

[@onemoreokie]

Your chipmunk scale looks like an idea swiped from the Sarah -n- Tuned channel.

[@TFLoffroad]

Nope, but she used to work for us and she ‘borrowed” a lot of TFL video review production style and techniques.

[@onemoreokie]

@@TFLoffroad Too funny! Just seems a bit out of character for you guys. All the best!

[@jordangraf673]

@@TFLoffroad hope you guys are still on good terms with Steven. I watch both of your channels.

[@tallll70]

no way you wrote that before me, lol,

[@YooooouKnowwwww]

I have standard factory tires on my rav4 h and it performed much better than those when in the dirt. Even in bedrock with a wheel off the ground I'm climbing pretty good and have never been stuck. The only downside to that car is clearance

[@ElMachucaPapas]

Next video in the same hill but this time with all terrain wheels(off-road wheels) to see the difference👍🏻

[@starladear100]

And not over inflated as shown here

[@alexsystems2001]

I dunno if I see the RAV4 as an off-road vehicle. I see it as something a little more capable than a normal sedan but not something that’s any competition to the 4Runner. It has the space in the back with fold down seats if you need it. It’s offered with AWD for maybe snow or some unpaved roads and it’s fairly fuel efficient if you have a bit of a commute. I just don’t see the RAV4 as serious off-road competition.

[@dakotamorgan6594]

I bet those snow tires helped it a bit. Should have brought the all seasons with you to keep testing consistent

[@Mujahideen_khinzir]

Not bad. Never expected this on a hybrid tbh

[@King_Kenny66]

So, would the hybrid be better, same, or worse driving normal streets in the snow compared to the Adventure/Trail up here in Canada?

[@anthonybarton2103]

That's Clearly all driver Tommy!

[@thallysdacostalima951]

This Hybrid Crossover That Can Help to Handle Off Road Even Better

[@Carlostheaggie]

Would be awesome to see an official TFL slip test with the 2024 Woodland Edition. I really need a car to get me through construction sites all over town. So great MPG matters much more than towing.

[@edking4226]

We did a 2" TRD lift on our XSE and also added Methods and KO2s... no problems.

[@James-il3tq]

KO2s pretty heavy tires for a Rav4! Put Falken Wildpeak AT Trail on mine and shocked how well they do not just offroading but on road and in winter conditions as well.

[@neilstuarr2278]

Id like to see a terrano in comparison on the same stretch. I think it would beat anything but diff lockers front and rear on similar tyres

[@jesseashmore8426]

The non-hybrid Rav4 have a center diff lock. Do you have any video's showcasing that?

[@R.Nelson]

Good job Tommy!!.. looks like tough trail...you did well!!😃

[@theupshiftcarblog9555]

All the hybrids with no rear driveshaft seem to struggle off-road since the electric motors don’t have enough power

[@valdius85]

I'd love to see the RAV4 Prime there. It has bigger battery, which can provide more juice to the rear e-motor. I'm just curious if that would make any difference.

[@ciello___8307]

0ffroad tires would make more of a difference

[@James-il3tq]

Rav4 Prime has same size rear electric motor and hp as hybrid model. Much more power up front only.

[@valdius85]

@@James-il3tq True, but still this is not what I wrote. Many tests showed that the battery in an ordinary RAV4 doesn't seem to provide enough power to utilize the rear motor's full capacity.

[@tomahawk8754]

I'm wondering if some deflated all terrain tires would make any difference.

[@BungieStudios]

I think so. Let it grab the ground instead of scooping it up.

[@autonewstv86]

Wonderful video and review of the Rav4. Nice that is has an 8 speed instead of the CVT.

[@christopherjecert]

The hybrid uses the synergy drive transmission that is a type of cvt. It uses motor generator pairs and a planetary gearset to manipulate the greeting ratio.

[@stephenj4937]

@@christopherjecert Exactly. It is not the type of CVT that is prone to overheating like at traditional CVT; in fact it is far more robust than any other type of transmission I can think of.

[@thezeroto60outlet65]

@@stephenj4937 I think thats probably why literally no Toyota Hybrid trans ever fail

[@dimdim3490]

Toyota hybrid CVT is NOT a CVT at all although in literature it is called eCVT. It is simple planetary gear. In fact it uses regular ATF fluid and not special CVT fluid. This is why it never fails. It is way superior to Subaru CVT.

[@Redhawk24]

Great video! Wonder how beat up those Blizzaks got.

[@James-il3tq]

They evaporated on the drive back down hill

[@WyLEE08]

Nice job guys off-road testing the hybrid RAV4. It confirmed to me the hybrid is better than my standard AWD 19’ RAV4, but as you I would NOT recommend or rely on either of these for off-road inclines or even heavily snow covered on road inclines.

[@jimroberts3449]

True enough, I don't think anyone should be buying these vehicles if they are anticipating having to go off-road regularly, as for being able to get you through an unexpected moment it seems they can be alright. No way you could coax a normal sedan or crossover up that.

[@James-il3tq]

My 2019 Rav4 hybrid has seen a lot of use towing teardrop camper, winter driving through Rocky mountains (I live in Canada) and lots of softroading (gravel roads, mild offroading). Good tires make all the difference. Does much better since putting on Falken Wildpeak AT Trail tires. Even perform surprisingly well in snow and ice (finishing up north American road trip back to Canada driving on icy/snowy/slushy roads). AWD system does the job, stability control helps a lot in unexpected situations but again get the right tires for the right job (not winter tires offroading like this video)

[@SS-du7tr]

CVT, no torque vectoring, & very limited power in the rear greatly limit off road ability. It would have been awesome if they just hybridized the 8spd / tv-awd system you get with the non-hybrid. They saved weight, cost, & gained mpg by ditching those things. Can’t have everything.

[@joedanero5360]

You don't know what you are talking about

[@SS-du7tr]

@@joedanero5360 The hybrid sacrifices off road ability for the reasons outlined. You are a troll.

[@ShafinRehman]

Doing the test with winter tires kinda makes this test a little unfair no? Such a tire is naturally going to have more grip and capability in offroad conditions when compared to a standard 3-season tire which is what the RAV4 comes with, and honestly are pretty terrible.

[@michaelhenry-hurst2787]

Snow Tires? come on guys lol i think you should always test standard tires (stock) vs all terrain or similar

[@chrisbullock6477]

Sometimes success is just plain old knowing how to drive, and make correct use of the utility of the vehicle and not think the vehicle is just going to do everything automatically for you.

[@starladear100]

Put some real tires on it and it’s a game changer. I get the ecvt isn’t exactly the dynamic smart traction you’d love, snow tires vs good all terrains would of helped it hook up immensely. I guess it made it but handicapped at best

[@sunnygogna5097]

I feel with lift kit end Goodrich tires this vehicle would do better off road as well.

[@regsparkes6507]

Ohh those poor tires! I like Nathan's idea,...give 'er the beans because ,...... MOMENTUM!

[@juanguzman1098]

It would be a good series to replace the Raptor with the Chevy Colorado Bison and compare it to the TRX. Full size vs mid size, everyday driving, off-road etc., many people buy full size trucks thinking they need it but in reality they’ll be just fine with a mid size truck.

[@ianjames7524]

Take some air out of the tires. It would save alot of abuse on the drivetrain

[@BeStrong-nf5nc]

Hey tommy i have been thinking about this , i would love to see a video were you compare a stock toyota tacoma off road with a diff lock to a tacoma sr5 but with lift and off road tires, i have always wondered what is better invest the 6 or 7k more in the tre off road or just get the base model sr5 and put a lift kit and bigger off road tires on it, which one woumd get you further on the trail?? Please do i video with this

[@pablomoreno1999]

I'd like to see you trying without trail mode engaged to know if it makes a difference as big as toyota claims.... Still, it's not a land cruiser (duh) but it did pretty well actually, considering that's waaaaay beyond what It's desing to do

[@JayThomas-o6n]

They are good on hills you gotta go you can't hesitate

[@isaacrichardson7698]

Good car but still not capable with real off road If you are stock in the river ... In same circumstances. The land crosier may have a chance ( okay ... they are different level ) but the awe system will overheat. However... still . It’s a wonderful car .

[@Muffeen]

He definitely should have tried rock/dirt mode, It does magic with traction control

[@Henry-vq6tl]

I would say it's a ok suv but wouldn't think it would be the best for a lot of offroad application

[@cbinett]

I've a set of KO2 225/75/16 10 plys for my Rav4 Hybrid. Doing ok.