1 day ago
5
What is thought to be the next-generation Toyota RAV4 family SUV has been snapped testing in North America ahead of an expected launch next year.
The 2026 Toyota RAV4 mid-size SUV appears to have been spied testing for the first time – with evolutionary rather than revolutionary styling – ahead of an international launch expected in 2025.
The spy photo – reportedly posted elsewhere online before being reshared on Spanish forum Cochespias – has not been confirmed as a new RAV4.
However it wears design cues similar to the current model – including the wheel openings, door handles and lower door shapes – but with a more upright appearance, and a new front end with Toyota's latest 'hammerhead' styling.
As expected, it seems the new RAV4 is a heavy update of the current model – with fresh bodywork on familiar underpinnings – rather than an all-new vehicle.
It follows the treatment given to the latest Camry sedan – which wears a mix of new and carry-over body panels from its predecessor – and comes amid record RAV4 sales despite the current model nearing the end of its life.
Drive exclusively reported in October the new RAV4 will introduce Toyota's latest hybrid technology, combining a familiar 2.5-litre petrol engine with new-generation electric motors and batteries.
It is likely to see an increase in power – and a decrease in fuel use and emissions – a step beyond the benchmark already set by the current model.
The spy photo suggests key design cues from the current RAV4 will carry over, including the door handles, angular wheel arches, and surfacing of the bodywork on the lower doors.
But other elements have been tweaked subtly – the window line no longer dips below the level of the bonnet, the shape of the windows appears more upright, the rear wheel arches are more pronounced, and the nose looks to be longer.
The RAV4 appears to gain Toyota's new 'hammerhead' front-end design, with C- or L-shaped headlights connected by a bar across the car's nose, and a new-design mesh grille below.
It is unclear what will change inside the RAV4, but it is likely to gain a pair of 12.3-inch screens from the latest Toyota models, as well as general design changes throughout the cabin.
The TNGA-K platform beneath Toyota's top seller is expected to remain largely unchanged, given the current generation is already a top seller.
Hybrid power is expected to remain the standard choice in Australia, while a plug-in hybrid will be offered overseas, and reports suggest a battery-electric version is also on the cards.
Toyota North America product planning chief Cooper Ericksen told Automotive News earlier this year customers have "spoken clearly with what they want with the RAV4."
"The size, the packaging, the level of performance, technology. We could sell 500,000 of those things a year [in the US] if we could build them, so we do not want to mess up that formula," he said.
"If we were to change, it wouldn’t be a dramatic change."
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.
