FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2021 Toyota RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid

How big is the boot of the 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid?

From empty, I could fit 15 shopping bags in the boot of the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid which is comparable to the Subaru Forester and two more than in the Kia Sportage. The boot floor can be flipped over for a choice between easy-clean plastic or traditional carpet. This is a great solution for when you need to carry wet or muddy things, plants, muddy dogs or strollers!

The Duet twin stroller fits in the boot with five shopping bags.

The Flexx tandem stroller fits with six shopping bags underneath the retractable roller blind height.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with eight shopping bags beside it.

The Nano compact stroller fitted with 11 shopping bags beside it.

Or you could fit a medium-sized dog in there!

The boot floor is flat so it's good for an emergency nappy change and there are no dips or crevices for dogs to get their paws stuck in either! The retractable roller blind is light and easy to use.

How good is storage inside the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid?

Storage throughout the RAV4 Hybrid is practical and functional. There are two cup holders in the central console, both are practically sized to hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fitted too.

The central console box in the 2021 Rav4 Hybrid is large with a handy shelf in the top of it and it is lined so things won't rattle around in there. There are two USB sockets in there for charging.

In front of the gear lever is a cordless phone charging well with USB and 12V socket.

The glasses case in the ceiling is lined to protect your lenses and there are lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.

There is a shelf that runs the length of the dash on the passenger's side, which was really handy for storing all the little things passed through from the back while driving along and the kids made a great leaf collection on there too!

There is also a small shelf next to the driver's right knee which I found really useful for putting the key fob in while driving.

The glove box is big, it would hold my wallet with the manual but not my iPad.

The door bins in the front are a good size and will hold a large refillable water bottle and there's little space behind that too.

Storage in the back is more minimal. The door bins are smaller but will still hold a large refillable water bottle.

There are two cup holders in a fold-down armrest in the central seat back that will hold a large refillable water bottle and a reusable and disposable coffee cup fit in them too.

There is a single map pocket on the back of the front passenger seats that will hold but not fully conceal an iPad.

How noisy is the 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid?

The 2021 Rav4 Hybrid is a beautifully quiet car to start with its hybrid engine. The drive is smooth and quiet too and the hybrid engine means I could drive my daughters to sleep using mainly the battery and then sit with the aircon running while they nap without chewing through fuel or spewing exhaust.

At the other end of the sound spectrum; “This car is very bossy” were my daughter's exact words! I found the 2021 Rav4 Hybrid to be very verbose! It was constantly donging and telling me to obey the road traffic rules on a long stretch of road because it thought the speed limit was 80km/h when in fact it was 100km/h. There were also constant school zone announcements going into and coming out of school zones. I did find you can turn all these announcements off within the media screen thankfully!

Probably the best update in the 2021 Rav4 Hybrid is the addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to the media system.

So you can now easily listen to your podcasts or the apps like ABC Kids Listen that kids enjoy in the car.

Without this addition, the media system in the Rav4 Hybrid is still quite a basic system but it is easy to navigate. The split-screen layout makes it easy to quickly select the screen you want.

The hybrid screen is great for being able to see when I'm using the battery or engine.

When reversing, the camera image is a little bit grainy but you do get the bird's eye view too, which I helpful when parking and maneuvering.

There is also an extra 360-degree camera in the 2021 Rav4 Hybrid Cruiser I tested, that allows you to look at the surroundings of the entire car…

… and you can turn that on and off with a button by the driver's right knee.

I found I could mute the parking sensors relatively easily by pressing the OK button on the steering wheel. Having this option in such easy reach makes me wish other car brands would do it!

The Rav4 does have lane departure and the button to turn that on and off is on the right on the steering wheel with the cruise controls. I found the cruise control easy to use but not very accurate, so when the system did go over the set speed it made the ‘please obey road traffic regulations' announcement which was frustrating because it was the car's fault!

The indicators are nice and quiet in the Rav4 and wouldn’t disturb my sleeping baby.

The Sat-Nav was nice and easy to use, which I find with most Toyotas, however, I could not find a way to easily mute the sat-nav voice guidance.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The doors and windows can both be locked from the driver's door control panel. I found you can come to a stop with the engine still running and get out of the car without sounding any alarms.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!

So this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)

There is a seatbelt removal alarm and light on the screen in front of the steering wheel.

How many child seats fit in the 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid?

There top tether anchorages across all three rear seat backrests of the Rav4. They are not within plastic guides but are clearly marked and I found them easy to connect to and access through the boot.

There are ISOFix points, clearly labeled, in the two outer rear seats. They are not within plastic guides but I found them nice and easy to connect to when installing the child seats.

I managed to fit three child seats into the 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid really nicely! One rear-facing and two forward-facing, or three forward-facing fitted too.

Posting Bub into their child seat from outside the car is really nice and easy in the 2021 Rav4 Hybrid. From inside the ceiling is high enough that posting Bub into their seats from inside works well too.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

There is room to feed Bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed. In the Cruiser model I tested, the seats were black leather which would be easier to wipe clean. In the lower-spec Rav4 models, they are upholstered with woven fabric which would be harder to wipe clean than leather.

How comfortable is the 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid? And How good is the 2021 Toyota Rav4 Hybrid to drive?

In the front of the 2021 Rav4 Hybrid, the seats are comfortable, in this Cruiser model they are easy electric adjustments and are upholstered with black leather.

The Cruiser model I tested comes with heated seats, whereas the top-spec ‘Ecdge' model comes with heated and cooled seats.

The headrests are not adjustable but I found I could have a ponytail in the front seat.

I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!

For a mum traveling in the back with bub, the seats are comfortable at the sides. I found there was plenty of room in the back and it felt spacious for an SUV of this size.

There is a low hump in the central seat base and in the footwell, which means in the central seat you can feel the hard central backrest because of the fold-down armrest with cup holders.

For the first year of my daughters life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with her so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel was fully adjustable in/out and up/down.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two central ones and a round one at either end.

There are two air vents in the back of the central console box for rear passengers too, these can be easily reached by the front passengers while driving along. There are also two USB sockets for rear passengers to keep devices charged.

The controls for the aircon are a digital display panel with two large dials all centrally located on the dashboard, I found them nice and easy to reach and use while driving.

The rear interior lights are located centrally in the ceiling but too far back to reach them from the driver's seat while driving!

I have found my daughter does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

There are handles above both rear doors that are well-positioned to hang a child's toy.

Visibility in the Rav4 is tricky as the rear windows slope up at the back making it harder to see out when you have rear-facing child seats installed.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and my daughter has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Rav4 was relatively easy to park.

Aesthetically the New Rav4 looks and feels like a new and modern SUV and the silent start of the hybrid is fantastic.

How safe is the New Toyota Rav4?

The Toyota Rav4 scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in May 2019.

Scoring a total of 93% or 35.7/38 for adult occupancy. Broken down into 7.54/8 for the full-width frontal crash test, 7.44/8 for the frontal offset test. 7.5/8 for the side impact test, 7.5/8 for the pole test.

For Child Occupant protection the New Rav4 scored 89%. Broken down into 15.85/16 for the dynamic front, 8/8 for dynamic slide. Child restraint installation scored 12/12 and onboard features score 8/13.

In the frontal offset test, dummy readings indicated GOOD protection for all critical body areas of both child dummies, apart from the neck of the 10 year dummy where protection was rated as ADEQUATE. In the side impact test, protection of both dummies was GOOD and the vehicle scored maximum points.

Seven airbags come as standard; there is a driver’s knee airbag as well as dual frontal airbags and front side airbags and side head curtain airbags for the front and the rear side passengers.

As standard, all models of the New Toyota Rav4 come with adaptive cruise control (ACC), anti-lock braking system (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) for the city, Interurban and VRU, automatic headlights, automatic high beam, blind spot monitoring (BSM), daytime running lights (DRL), hill launch assist and reversing collision avoidance, electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic data recorder (EDR), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder and fatigue detection, forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keep assist (LKA), pre-crash systems, rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), reversing collision avoidance camera, secondary / multi-collision brake, speed assistance auto/intelligent/manual speed limiter, speed sign recognition and warning and trailer stability control all come as standard.

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!