Toyota Rav4 The new Toyota Rav4 is expected to launch internationally in late 2025. Picture: Supplied
Image: Supplied
The Toyota Rav4 has not only taken a back seat to the locally-manufactured Corolla Cross on local shores, it has in fact become one of the firm’s slowest sellers locally, with monthly sales often falling beneath the 100 mark.
But internationally it remains Toyota’s second best-seller, beaten narrowly by the Corolla in 2024 with over 1.2 million sold across the globe.
With the current version having been on sale since 2019, Toyota is getting ready to replace the Rav4 in late 2025.
A camouflage prototype of the next-generation model was recently spotted undergoing testing in Michigan in the US, showing off what appears to be a larger and more angular bodyshell.
The front end appears to mimic the latest Toyota design language seen on the facelifted Corolla Cross, with an upper bar connecting the C-shaped headlights and a borderless mesh grill sitting beneath it.
The rest of the details remain under wraps for now, but the new Toyota Rav4 is likely to be underpinned by the familiar TNGA modular platform, and according to Carscoops, it could go hybrid-only, at least for some major markets such as the US.
To that end, the mainstay of the range is likely to be a 2.5-litre normally aspirated petrol engine that pairs with an electric motor for a system output of 168kW, as per the latest Camry. There's also talk of an all-wheel drive model with a rear-mounted e-motor and 173kW system output.
Toyota South Africa hasn’t mentioned the new Rav4 as being on the radar for 2025, but don’t be surprised if it makes local landfall during 2026.
Check out the new Toyota products that are coming to South Africa in 2026
IOL