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It won't be long now. The current fifth-gen RAV4 was revealed in early 2018, and the upcoming new 2025 Toyota RAV4 is likely to be just as popular as its massively successful predecessor.
But how will it look? With the introduction of the new retro-styled 2024 Prado, Toyota effectively has two, maybe even three new-era design themes running in parallel.
More than that, what can we expect from its powertrains and overall equipment offering? Here's everything we know so far.
JUMP AHEAD
- April: Kluger influence?
- March: Hybrid-only RAV4?
- March: What about a RAV4 PHEV?
- January: RAV4 imagined with bold styling
- January: RAV4 tops sales chart
- November 2023: RAV4 GR Sport?!
- September: New 2025 RAV4 imagined
- What else can we expect?
April: What if the 2025 RAV4 looks more like Kluger and Yaris Cross?
We quite like the idea of Toyota's next RAV4 as a boxy junior Prado, but what if the big T sticks with a more modern, urban look?
YouTuber Q-Cars has imagined the 2025 RAV4 with styling cues borrowed from the bigger Kluger and the compact Yaris Cross. Both SUVs look 'right' in their own skins, but is it a look that translates well to the midsized RAV4? You tell us.
Along those same lines, we had a go last year at imagining the current Kluger with a mid-life facelift.
Check it out at the linked story below.
March: Could the 2025 Toyota RAV4 be Hybrid only?
Recent weeks have seen Toyota move a pair of its best-known models to a hybrid-only menu.
Earlier this month, Toyota confirmed its existing Corolla and Yaris models will be available exclusively in hybrid form, reflecting a general preference among buyers – and a need to get ahead of coming emissions regulations.
Likewise, the new-generation C-HR is a hybrid-only affair, hinting that we could be seeing a pattern emerge for all future Toyota line-ups. And, given the RAV4 is most popular in its petrol-electric hybrid guise, we shouldn't be surprised to see Toyota make the same decision for the next-gen model.
Would you miss the petrol RAV4 if Toyota were to axe it?
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March: What do you want from a 2025 RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid EV?
Mitsubishi has made its mark as Australia's brand of choice when it comes to PHEVs – that plug-in hybrid step between regular hybrids and full-electric EVs – but Toyota already has a RAV4 Prime PHEV in overseas markets. Why isn't it sold here?
Driving range. Mitsubishi would tell you the Outlander PHEV's 84km of EV range is bang-on for value and what most drivers need, but Toyota thinks otherwise.
According to local sales boss Sean Hanley, Toyota buyers won't be well served by a PHEV that doesn't offer at least 200 kilometres of pure-electric driving.
“As battery technology evolves, I think that could be possible. It's not going to be tomorrow, but I think it could be possible," Hanley said. "And that, therefore in my own thinking, is a perfect solution for the Australian market to get the best of both worlds."
Could we get that with the next-generation RAV4? It's possible, but price will be the big question.
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January: 2025 Toyota RAV imagined with a bold new look
We couldn't resist. After he cooked up some outstanding speculative renderings of the new 2025 Toyota RAV4 in regular and GR Sport guise, we just had to take another swing at pushing Theo's talents.
This time around, we've gone for a look that is again retro-inspired like the new Prado while also pushing the model further into the future with a few ideas borrowed from Toyota's own sketchbook.
Of course, when we say 'retro-inspired', our version of the new RAV4 takes its cues from LandCruiser heritage, just as the new Prado does. After all, a new RAV4 that throws back to its own legacy wouldn't be quite as appealing. Well, that's what I reckon – what do you think? Jump into the comments!
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2025 Toyota RAV4 LC, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
👆 As for the concept-borrowed elements, what you're seeing here is our take on a RAV4 with details taken from the Compact Cruiser show car revealed in 2022.
We've largely matched the rear – and we reckon it fits perfectly – but for headlights and bonnet we've leaned on earlier sketches rather than the final settled look of the Compact Cruiser concept's face. That means there's a taller look to the bonnet, diving down at the front to meet a new letterboxed look to the headlights.
The lower bar is largely identical, however, and again we reckon it's a good fit for a more edgy take on the next-gen RAV4.
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We're not done there, though!
Inspired by the retro stripes on the road quarter of the UK market's LandCruiser 250 First Edition, we just went ahead and created a little LandCruiser sub-brand with some very cool yellow, orange and red bars. Why not?
To give the side badges a special home, we also crafted a little strut molded into the front cladding, reaching out over a newly added impression in the front door – again borrowed from the Compact Cruiser's earlier sketches, but perhaps a little Wrangler-inspired too.
What do you think of our latest take? Sound off in the comments!
We're still fairly confident the next RAV4 will skew more towards Toyota's other new look – that worn by the new Prius and Camry, among others – but we'd sure love to see this one hit showrooms.
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January 2023: RAV4 is Australia's most popular medium SUV
The most hotly contested segment in the country has a familiar winner – but with reduced margins as new players enter the fray.
November: 2025 Toyota RAV4 GR Sport could look even meaner
Toyota unveiled a RAV4 Hybrid GR Sport in October 2022, but it remains off limits for Australian buyers. How about the next generation?
We've already had a crack at imagining the new 2025 RAV4 – see the September update for this story, further down – but how might a hero-ish GR Sport version look?
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2025 Toyota RAV4 GR Sport, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
We don't expect a flagship RAV4 GR to be introduced, but a sportier model with GR Sport trim will very likely top the line-up, just as it does in Europe now.
As with our previous images, we've had a go at imagining the new RAV4 in GR Sport guise – with a twist! We've reimagined the tail lights, this time taking inspiration from the big 300 Series Land Cruiser and the new Prado – mixing concepts from the two to create a new look, perfect for this Prado-inspired RAV4.
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2025 Toyota RAV4 GR Sport, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
What do you think? Tell us in the comments below!
In the weeks since we first published this story, Toyota Australia has also confirmed its interested in the RAV4 Prime – a plug-in hybrid EV that has yet to make its way here, and the company has rarely commented on its potential.
Speaking with Wheels in November, Toyota Australia’s vice president for sales and marketing, Sean Hanley, said he thinks the potential for PHEVs is on the rise.
"I’m watching the market, not just for Toyota, I’m looking at it more broadly speaking and I think hybrid and plug-in hybrids in the next five years are going to come back into their own again,” he said. “I really do; I can see it a mile away.
A powered-up RAV4 Prime GR Sport could be just the ticket as a near-top 'flagship' model...
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September: New 2025 RAV4 imagined
It won't be long now. The current fifth-gen RAV4 was revealed in early 2018, and the upcoming new 2025 Toyota RAV4 is likely to be just as popular as its massively successful predecessor.
But how will it look? With the introduction of the new retro-styled 2024 Prado, Toyota effectively has two, maybe even three new-era design themes running in parallel.
Alongside the rugged Prado, there's also the angular new C-HR, while the new Prius (no longer sold in Australia) wears similar headlights but a more curvaceous look through the body.
Which way the next RAV4 will go is anybody's guess, but given the almost aggressive design of the current model, it's plausible Toyota will continue that with the next generation.
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Top: The angular new C-HR, bottom: the sleek new Prius.
Will it be mean in the sharp-lined way of the new C-HR, or simply more rugged – like the new Prado?
For now, we're tipping Toyota will lean into the RAV4's long-running marketing, which has always positioned the once-small, now-midsized SUV as a roadgoing wagon with off-roading aspirations.
We've had a crack at imagining its look, with the help of digital art wizard, Theottle. What do you think of our renders? Tell us in the comments!
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New Prado-inspired Toyota RAV4, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
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New Prado-inspired Toyota RAV4, imagined by Theottle | © Wheels Media
Below: The current fifth-gen RAV4, alongside Nissan's new X-Trail
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What else can we expect from the new RAV4?
The RAV4 is set for a model update in 2024, with an anticipated release in Australia by the first half of 2025.
It won't be a complete overhaul, however: the next-gen RAV4 is expected to continue using its TNGA platform, with possible minor modifications.
Speculation from the US hints at a shift in powertrains; the non-hybrid 2.5-litre petrol engine could be replaced with the series-hybrid technology currently prevalent in most Australian RAV4s.
Learn more at the article below, and watch for more on the new RAV4 to come in the months ahead.
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