The New RAV4 EV

[gg_got_a_tesla]

A rather-silly-sounding take on the RAV4 EV as being a poor man's Tesla of sorts:

Tesla Cars on Sale for Half the Price - TheStreet

[jcstp]

A rather-silly-sounding take on the RAV4 EV as being a poor man's Tesla of sorts:

Tesla Cars on Sale for Half the Price - TheStreet

like this

To say that this car is fun is an understatement: Comparing the drivetrain of any other SUV to this Tesla-based SUV is like comparing a 12-year-old Motorola Razr flip-phone to an iPhone 4S. Everything else in the market feels distinctly Neanderthal in comparison.

[brianman]

To say that this car is fun is an understatement: Comparing the drivetrain of any other SUV to this Tesla-based SUV is like comparing a 12-year-old Motorola Razr flip-phone to an iPhone 4S. Everything else in the market feels distinctly Neanderthal in comparison.

I hope this sub-text isn't lost on the general public.

[efusco]

Out & about in LA in the Rav4 EV & came across the Design Studio!


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[strider]

A review with good pictures from CNET:

2012 Toyota RAV4 EV - SUV - CNET Reviews

Did anyone else notice this:

Included in the head unit is also the ability to set charging schedules for the RAV4 EV. Toyota set it up so drivers can program a departure time for each day of the week. The car will automatically try to give drivers a full charge based on the times they will head out. It can also be set to preheat or cool the cabin while it is plugged into the wall, depending on the outside temperature.

Will we get this capability in Model S? To be clear, you can set the charge START time in the Roadster but what I read in the above is that you can set the charge END time and the car will calculate when to start. This would be awesome to have in Model S.

[spleen]

Did anyone else notice this:

Will we get this capability in Model S?

I would certainly think/hope so considering that similar capabilities are built into the Leaf / Volt.

[efusco]

Did anyone else notice this:

Will we get this capability in Model S? To be clear, you can set the charge START time in the Roadster but what I read in the above is that you can set the charge END time and the car will calculate when to start. This would be awesome to have in Model S.

That is accurate, you can program 3 different things for all 7 days of the week including preconditioning the battery.


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[doug]

A review with good pictures from CNET:

2012 Toyota RAV4 EV - SUV - CNET Reviews

115-kilowatt electric motor, producing 218 pound-feet of torque from almost a standstill

What do we know about the motor they're using? The specs kinda sound like what we'd expect from the smaller motor the AWD version of the Model X is using in the front.


Model X

[TEG]

What do we know about the motor they're using? The specs kinda sound like what we'd expect from the smaller motor the AWD version of the Model X is using in the front.

I had that exact same thought a while back, and asked someone who ought to know who said it is the full model S motor, just not running at full power output. I suppose they could have been wrong, but I got indications that it is NOT that axillary Model X motor being used in the RAV4EV.

[TEG]

Also, of note, many EVs, like LEAF and even Roadster do well in < 60MPH acceleration, but start to feel like they are less impressive for highway passing. Not so, Model S, so I suspect RAV4EV will be an impressive highway cruiser as well. Probably more competent than LEAF for 70MPH passing.

(Having said that, Roadster does fine on highway passing, but just not as outrageous as it feels on a freeway onramp 20-65MPH.)

I wonder how the power-train engineers managed to squeeze out more high RPM power than in older designs. I suspect some creative 'black magic' was applied to do something novel.