2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid vs 2022 Toyota 4Runner

A 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid pays for itself in a little more than three years. We’ll show you the math later in this review, but based on national averages, it goes from being more expensive to buy to saving you money after about 40 months of ownership.

Toyota sells the 2021 RAV4 Hybrid in LE, XLE, XLE Premium, XSE, and Limited trim levels. Pricing runs from $28,650 to $37,180, plus a $1,175 destination charge that can vary depending on your region.

The XLE Premium trim is new for the 2021 model year and adds a super chrome wheel finish, a power sunroof, SofTex leatherette upholstery, dual-zone automatic climate control, and more.

Family-hauling, kid-toting three-row SUVs have become the de facto vehicle in most suburban towns. Just look in any mall parking lot, and you’re bound to see countless Honda Pilots and Toyota Highlanders. So ubiquitous are these vehicles, you might forget that the definition of “Sport Utility Vehicle” is actually quite vast, and there are still new examples that have some connection to the segment’s rugged origins.

The 2022 Toyota 4Runner is one such example. It may not be optimized for soccer practice or pizza-party duties, but it can certainly handle them. Just as crucially, it can also venture out where these mall-dwelling SUVs dare not go. If two years of a pandemic have taught us anything about ourselves, it's that the ability to get out on an adventure is more relevant than ever, and the 4Runner is one vehicle so-equipped to do it.