Toyota has dropped front-wheel drive versions of the RAV4 crossover in Japan - now AWD only
Toyota is preparing changes in the RAV4 crossover range for the Japanese market. Starting in 2025, the RAV4 in this country will be offered exclusively with all-wheel drive, and front-wheel drive versions will finally fade into history. These are probably the last significant changes for the fifth-generation RAV4 (XA50), which arrived in 2018.
What will change.
For the 2025 model year, petrol versions of the Toyota RAV4 in Japan will be four-wheel drive by default, including hybrid variants with the E-Four AWD system. This system is already available in the Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid. At the same time, there are no significant changes in design or technical characteristics, but there are minor innovations: the hybrid version will lose the blue Toyota logo, and instead will receive a new emblem HEV (blue dot) on the rear door.
All Toyota RAV4 packages for the Japanese market will receive an expanded set of standard features. They now include:
- Blind Spot Monitoring System
- Parking Support Brake
- Connected Navigation
- Illuminated areas near the doors in the side mirrors
- Plug-in hybrid will now come with a steel disc spare wheel instead of an aluminium one
The updated Toyota RAV4 2025 will make its official debut in Japan on 28 November, when prices will also be announced. Production of the petrol and hybrid models will start in December 2024, while the PHEV will start in January 2025.
Toyota RAV4 (2024). Photo: Toyota
What's in other countries?
In the US, the Toyota RAV4 2025 model year appeared back in September. The US version of the globally popular model retained both front and all-wheel drive, and hybrids also received the new HEV logo. At the same time, the Plug-in Hybrid is no longer called Prime in the US.
As for the next-generation RAV4, it is expected to premiere in 2025. Toyota representatives hinted that the design of the novelty will be evolutionary, without radical changes.
Source: Creative Trend
