The New RAV4 EV

[efusco]

I'll have something more thorough later ( on a plane with iPad) but my impressions were extremely positive about The vehicle and it seemed very similar in spec and performance of what I think the 40kWh Model S will do. The weight is nearly identical, the Rav is slightly slower (but Damn is it quick!) was extremely impressed with its acceleration even when already at 60-70 MPH. Straight line handling under hard accel was a bit squirrelly, but the low CG was noticeable in cornering even though the battery is NOT structural in the Rav.

Negatives:
-Toyota's attitude is, being generous, tepid. It's a compliance vehicle, period.

-You must install the Levitron 30 amp charger, the included charging cable is 120v and there is no plan to offer a 240v travel charger...they expect you to stay close to home or use public chargers. They do not recommend using the Tesla cord b/c it's not UL tested/listed.

-While you can come from out of state (CA) & buy one, only the 4 market cities' dealers will service it, so you'll be totally on your own.

-No capability or plan for quick charging of any kind


Via Tapatalk HD

 

[efusco]

Was that Tesla's? As in, they're using some of the Rav 4's as security vehicles? Pretty cool if so. I always feel the best way to improve your product is to use it.

That was my test vehicle.

Max motor RPM is 22,500 in the Rav4, my impression was that this is the Model S motor, just governed a bit.


Via Tapatalk HD

 

[TEG]

efusco, how did you 'score' a test drive?
Are you a reporter for some publication?

 

[efusco]

My educated guess is that it will have substantially more real world range than a LEAF.

Real world range will easily be over 100 miles and 160 very much possible considering it is, in many ways, identical to the 40kWh Model S. EPA will put it around 100 miles, but we thrashed ours today and it did very well making me think you'd have to do some serious high speed driving with max AC and loaded down to get under 100 miles.


Via Tapatalk HD

 

[JRP3]

Max motor RPM is 22,500 in the Rav4, my impression was that this is the Model S motor, just governed a bit.

22,500, was that a typo?

 

[efusco]

efusco, how did you 'score' a test drive?
Are you a reporter for some publication?

I have a close affiliation with Prius marketing as a "Prius Expert"


Via Tapatalk HD

 

[efusco]

22,500, was that a typo?

No


Via Tapatalk HD

 

[JRP3]

Wow, I was unaware of the RPM increase.

 

[strider]

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.

Do we know what the final drive ratio of Model S vs Roadster. Perhaps the Model S motor is more powerful which allowed them to use different gearing and thereby move power further up the rev range.

 

[JRP3]

Single speed fixed gear with 9.73:1 reduction ratio

Model S Specs and Standard Features | Tesla Motors

 

[TEG]

Compare to Roadster:
Roadster Features and Specifications | Tesla Motors

Overall Final Drive 8.28:1
Final Drive Ratio 3.12:1
Max rpm 14,000

 

[efusco]

22,500, was that a typo?

Let me back off of that...it may well be 12,500. I will confirm. Sorry to mislead


Via Tapatalk HD

 

[JRP3]

What I don't see on the Model S specs page is the motor RPM.

 

[TEG]

Let me back off of that...it may well be 12,500. I will confirm. Sorry to mislead

Yeah, my head was starting to spin thinking of a red-line like that?!

 

[JRP3]

Let me back off of that...it may well be 12,500. I will confirm. Sorry to mislead

I started to think the physics of EV drive motors had changed significantly :scared:

 

[efusco]

I started to think the physics of EV drive motors had changed significantly :scared:

Crap, sorry guys.


Via Tapatalk HD

 

[JRP3]

It's cool, my universe is still in order.

 

[efusco]

Wanted to mention regen while I'm thinking about it.
The Rav has mild regen, very comparable to the Toyota hybrids with accelerator lift off. It also has B mode which causes some engine braking in hybrids, but noticably increases regen in the Rav... Maybe to a 25-30% braking amount roughly. You can drive in B without penalty and I would think this would be a bit more Tesla like, but not nearly as aggressive.

Then there is also regen with braking like on the hybrids. I assume that regen cuts at 7mph like on the hybrids, but couldn't feel it and didn't have a chance to ask the tech folks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[doug]

Thanks for being our reporter on the scene. :smile:

 

[efusco]

Thanks for being our reporter on the scene. :smile:

Trust me, it was MY pleasure!! What a blast that thing was and I just can't imagine what my Model S (non-perf even) is going to be like since it's faster, lower and better set up handling wise. I tell you, I think Toyota is really losing out on a huge opportunity here, this Rav is way better than any other EV available from any of the Big 3 or even the major manufactures. Were they to start shipping these things out to dealers for people to test drive they'd fall in love, I think.

I'm expecting some slides from the press presentation by email by early next week and am uploading my photos (not a lot) to flickr right now, so there's more to come.

The programming and preconditioning is a really nice set up, IMO. It even takes into account ambient air temp in determining when to start charging so that it finishes exactly when you want it to and, thereby, leaving it in fully charged condition as little as possible.

My other quibble...no idea why they have a normal mode or why the car defaults to it when you start up...Sport is too much fun to turn off!