The 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition: A Crossover that Can Do It All

Imagine a crossover that can take you anywhere from the urban jungle to the wild outdoors. Imagine a crossover that is truly versatile and very fuel efficient. Well that might be this 2024 Toyota RAV4 Woodland. What's it like? Buckle up and let's go for a drive. I'm your host Brian Maxx, racer, lover of driving fast, fun things, and on this channel you get reviews for drivers from drivers. Now this Woodland is interesting. They've taken the RAV4 recipe, which is very popular among Toyota buyers. I mean this is the kind of crossover that I direct people to who are not into cars at all. You're looking for a crossover? Well check out a RAV4. But this Woodland is a little bit different. It's got some off-road tires, it's got the off-road looks, but before we get into what it's like to drive, let's have a look at this in a little more depth. To get to this Woodland, imagine if Toyota took all of the elements available for the RAV4, threw them into a box, shook up that box, and pulled out some new combination. And what we have here is a hybrid RAV4 that's got a little more off-road intentions. Under the hood is a 2.5 liter inline four-cylinder gasoline motor, and it is of course a hybrid unit. Combined makes 219 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 163 pounds of torque at 3,600 rpm. The transmission of course is a CVT. The all-wheel drive system is the electronic on-demand system that Toyota installs in the RAV4. Steering is electrically assisted. Suspension is based around McPherson struts at the front, multi-link at the rear. Brakes are two piston calipers at the front with 12-inch rotors, 11.1-inch rotors with single piston calipers at the rear. On this Woodland, wheels and tires are exclusively 18s. They are these amazing gold-finished wheels. Tires that come on this are the Falcon Wild Peaks all-terrain tire, which we've driven on some other OEM vehicles and actually didn't mind that tire. However, we are in winter mode and Toyota's put us on some winter tires. This will tow up to 1,750 pounds. There is a little activity hitch, you can attach all sorts of things to your RAV4 Woodland and curb weight of this RAV4 Woodland is a little over 3,700 pounds. Did you know that about 80% of you are not subscribed? Yes, it's true. I checked the data and 80% of you are not subscribed. So if you enjoy the content on this channel, do me a solid, hit that subscribe button while you're at it. Be sure to like this video and share it. And if you don't mind, drop by our merch store. There's lots of great stuff for driving enthusiasts like us, including our very popular line of Save the Manuals merch. Now, back to your regularly scheduled episode. One of the reasons people buy crossovers is to get into something that's got all taller hip points. So you can get in and out of these things a little easier than you could a low slung sedan. Another reason people buy crossovers is so that you've got better visibility. You're seated high off the road and this RAV4 accomplishes both of those things. Great visibility, tall hip point, so people can get in and out of these things pretty easily. Ergonomically, it is pretty straightforward in here as you'd expect from Toyota. Great supportive seat and you're seated, of course, high off the floor. Lots of adjustment in the seat and the steering column. Decent amount of headroom in here. Lots of people are going to be able to fit very comfortably. Love the shape and the size of the steering wheel. The finish is definitely not leather, but it does feel very durable. Shape of the steering wheel is proper. It makes you want to have your hands at nine and three like you should. And after that, secondary ergonomics are very much Toyota. And this one, of course, we've got automatic climate control. We've got a smaller screen compared to some other Toyota and Lexus models. With Toyota's latest infotainment system atop the dash here works just fine. The instrument cluster is laid out pretty clearly. And of course, the shifter, it's got to be electronic, but it feels very mechanical here. And of course, the different drive modes and there's a trail button here, let alone the EV mode button. So you can kind of cruise a little bit on the battery in certain conditions in this woodland. What I find interesting about the second and third level ergonomics in this RAV4 is that it's a bit of modern tech and a bit of legacy stuff. For example, where you'd expect to find the heated seat switches, they're right here underneath the climate control. And it would be logical to have the switch for the heated steering wheel there, but no, it's over here. I'm not sure why they did this. I've seen this in other Toyota and Lexus models. I think it is a legacy thing. Speaking of new tech, what I dig about this infotainment system is its ability to connect to my phone easily and reliably. Really dig that. It also gives you the option whether to have wired or wireless Apple CarPlay. I suppose it does that with Android Auto, but I wouldn't know. Another highlight of this interior is this cloth upholstery. This is just fantastic. This is the stuff I wish more car makers would do. It seems very durable. It's attractive and it's not leather. It's not pleather. It's exactly what it should be. I suppose it does suit the attitude of this woodland, but it's just perfection here. As the RAV4 has grown over the years, there's a lot of room inside. Lots of room in this front row, the second row as well. A couple of full-size adults have no problem sitting in that second row and there is a ton of room under the hatch. I've had several boxes under the hatch in addition to my camera gear. There's tons of room and I can't complain about the cargo space in this RAV4. One thing we have to keep in mind with the acceleration of this RAV4 woodland is that it's not a prime. That's for sure. That prime will accelerate very, very quickly. Zero to 60 in five-ish seconds, if I remember correctly. But this woodland, because it is the regular hybrid all-wheel drive drivetrain, it'll do zero to 60 in a little over eight seconds. Not super quick, but there's more to that story. Off the line, it's not very quick, but that doesn't mean it's not quick everywhere else. When you are accelerating on an on-ramp, getting up to highway speeds, there's no trouble at all. The only thing unusual about the driving experience is the fact that this is a CVT and it seems like it's a wonderful CVT, but we know how they operate and when you accelerate, the revs kick up and then they hold there. It's a little bit unnatural for those of us who are accustomed to geared transmissions. This is all-wheel drive, of course, and we have to talk about that. There doesn't seem to be a lot of torque distribution to that rear axle and that's not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to traction because you don't really need to split up that torque. If you're just into normal driving, let's say you encounter some winter weather conditions, you don't have to worry about that too much. However, when it comes to fuller throttle applications, that's when you notice the difference. There's really not a lot of torque that goes to the rear and then this kind of acts like a front-wheel drive crossover than an all-wheel drive crossover. There's a little bit of steering movement. I don't want to call it torque steer because that isn't accurate. This doesn't really torque steer, but when you are using some more aggressive throttle settings, the front tires do want to follow the road a little bit. As well with the all-wheel drive system, I have to say that the torque distribution to that rear axle is not that instantaneous. The timing of that torque distribution is actually discernible to me. It's probably like a tiny fraction of a second, but I can notice it when I'm behind the wheel. There is a sport drive mode and then there's a sport transmission mode and that's going to get you the most aggressive drivetrain settings on a day-to-day basis. As well, there is that trail mode button so that it optimizes the all-wheel drive system for a little bit more off-road adventure and we have to talk about this. Off-road driving is really determined by a couple of things and the most important thing is the tire. These Falcon Wild Peaks that come on this RAV4 as an OEM tire do a wonderful drop in all kinds of off-roady conditions. Now, if you want to do the Rubicon Trail, well, this isn't the vehicle for it. If you're looking at something that you can take a little further off-road, maybe go camping, maybe throw your mountain bikes on it, kayaks, whatever it is, if you know you're going to be off-road, this woodland will go a little bit further than a regular RAV4 will. I do have to mention that this 2.5 liter four-cylinder is actually fairly smooth for a relatively large four-cylinder engine and Toyota really knows how to build gasoline engines, that's for sure. When it comes to handling, it's like they've tuned the suspension to appeal to as many RAV4 buyers as possible. It's a completely inoffensive suspension setup. It does have great body and wheel control and day-to-day it's extremely comfortable. Part of that has to do with the fact that we're dealing with a taller profile tire. Yeah, we're not on the Wild Peaks, we're on a winter tire, but on an 18-inch wheel, which is a smart thing to do. Certainly where I live, where the roads are just completely terrible and you can use a little bit more compliance out of the tire to benefit ride as well, you've got a little bit more rim protection with all the nasty potholes that develop in this part of the world as well. I did push this for the matter of science and near its limits, it's really not happy. There's a fair bit of body roll and the chassis balance, the overall dynamic balance definitely favors understeer and that's kind of what I'd expect, but that's not the intent of this RAV4. The steering is very, very light. There's not a lot of feel or feedback and that's okay because the big trade-off is that this has an exceptionally short turning radius and it's not a four-wheel steer kind of vehicle. It's just two wheels that steer this thing and it's incredibly maneuverable. It drives much smaller than its dimensions suggest. It's very easy to park. It's very easy to park in tight places in dense, busy cities like where I live. Brake pedal feel is very natural. There is positive feedback, very clear feedback from the brake pedal, so you've got a lot of confidence when you're on the brakes, even if you have to hit them in an emergency situation. Let's try it just for fun. You know, the brakes are fantastic. They dead-ended that road and had to turn here. No problem getting on the brakes late and being confident in the RAV4's ability to brake and turn at the same time. Overall, the handling, braking, steering is, I would call it crowd-pleasing. The vast majority of people will be very happy with the dynamics of this RAV4 Woodland and yes, it is one of those that can go a little bit further off-road than a traditional RAV4. Plus, it's a hybrid, so it can be efficient at the same time. How do you spec yours? Well, for starters, among the myriad trim levels in the RAV4 line in 2024, the Woodland is pretty unique in that it is a little bit off-road oriented and it's combined with the hybrid. So, in terms of specking yours, if you're looking at something like this, this is kind of what you need to do. To be fair, this, I think, is the proper color for the Woodland as well and it really is striking with the gold wheels. In the US, base price is $34,695 and with some options as tested, it's $37,045. In Canada, base price is $38,850 and with a couple of options, the total as tested is $42,270 and that's before freight and local taxes. In terms of speccing yours, I'm assuming because you're here, you are considering a Woodland and if that's your jam, well, this is the right way to go. If you're looking for something a little bit more city oriented, this isn't the way to go but as far as I'm concerned, this is the right spec for the Woodland. This green, these gold wheels, it's a winner. My verdict? Well, let's start with fuel consumption because this is a hybrid, of course, and it actually doesn't disappoint. I'm getting about 29 miles per gallon or about 8 liters per 100 kilometers for my Canadian friends without even trying and that's a mixed city and highway driving and that is just incredible for me because I don't pay attention to fuel consumption. I just drive to enjoy myself and that kind of mileage is incredible. If I actually paid a little bit of attention to efficiency, I could easily get 35 based on how I've been driving this and overall, it's an interesting combination of features and capabilities. I think some RAV4 buyers are definitely going to appreciate this. I appreciate that Toyota has brought this to market because this is a hybrid RAV4 that really has some off-road capabilities and for those haters out there who say this crossover can't go off-road, well, the reality is it is all about the tire. I would have no trouble taking this for an off-road drive here in this part of the world or in California. I've got some great spots there as well with those falcon wild peaks and the ground clearance of this RAV4. It would have no trouble traversing those roads. I'd have no trouble doing that and then when it was done, it would get great fuel consumption. So for those who are looking for a crossover that can go a little further off-road and yet still get great fuel mileage, you might want to have a look at this RAV4 Woodland. And before we go, I have to say we're getting about 10% better fuel consumption without any further effort. I've been driving this a little bit more and there's been no difficulty improving my overall fuel consumption during this test. I'm very impressed with the efficiency of this hybrid drivetrain. It's very, very well done. Anyway, thanks for hanging out with me today and having a look at this 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland. Hope you like this episode and if you did, you're not new to YouTube, you know what to do. Smash the subscribe button, turn on your notifications, like this video, and as always, sharing is caring. So please share this with your friends, especially on Reddit because on Reddit, they really need to see reviews for drivers from drivers. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments below. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. And if you want to support the channel, please set up our merch store. Links here, links below. Lots of great stuff for driving enthusiasts like us, including our very popular line of Save the Manuals merch. And Toyota is still making and selling fantastic manuals. Thanks again for watching. We'll see you again next time. And remember, cars don't understeer by themselves, not even Toyota RAV4 Woodlands.