A new Toyota Rav4 which is being built to be released in 2013 in the US is an all electric version which will have a Tesla sourced battery. The outside of the vehicle will look similar to its petrol powered cousin. The difference will be what’s inside that sets it apart.
The battery will be a Tesla designed 115kW electric drive system. The electric motor will produce 154 horsepower. There are two modes, normal mode which will be optimized for maximum driving range and then there is sport mode. In sport mode you will be able to go from 0-96kph in just seven seconds. The dashboard color will indicate which driving mode you are in. In normal mode it will be blue and red for sport mode.
Tesla will also be supplying the motor, gearbox and power electronics. There will also be two options when it comes to recharging the battery. The standard mode will charge the battery to 35kWh and give a range of 148km and an extended mode will charge the battery to 41.8kWh which will give a range of 181km. To recharge the battery should take about six hours using a 240v charging station but this will cost to install. Included as standard will be an 120v emergency charger but using this will take 44 hours to full charge. There is also a range estimator which shows how much the range of the battery can be extended by turning off the air conditioner or by using one of the more economical settings.
The battery will be placed under the floor so as to maximize available space. Placed there, it will give the electric version the same cargo space as the regular model.
Inside, the fabric used is blue-accented which Toyota call Neutron. The Rav4 also has adjustable heated front seats with active headrests as well as an optitron multifunction instrument cluster. There is an 8-inch buttonless touch screen that has Toyota’s Entune telematics package.
Some exterior tweaks that will be added to the vehicle will include a restyled front bumper, with new side mirrors and a few updated features which include upper and lower front grille. There will also be a unique rear spoiler and underneath the vehicle, a special design that is to maximize the airflow. This will give the vehicle a drag coefficient of 0.3. The front and rear lights will also be changed to LED.
The vehicle will also be available in three new EV colors. There will be Blizzard White Pearl, Classic Silver Metallic and Shoreline Blue Pearl.
If car rental companies in Sydney, and other major cities, start to move their fleets to vehicles which are all electric or like the Rav4 then this would reduce their carbon footprint as well as helping to reduce their maintenance costs for their fleets and the need to refuel their vehicles. This would also reduce the cost for car rental in Sydney.