As soon as I read the specs
As soon as I read the specs on the RAV4 Prime, I realized it was a breakthrough PHEV with the potential to start a PHEV war. All Toyota did was put a larger, high-output Li-ion battery under the floor to lower center of gravity, beef up its motors, and make the base model an SE, which means better handling and a few more features than a base Toyota model usually has. Even the SE has on-demand AWD and should be priced around $36,000 in the U.S. It will be eligible for the full $7500 federal tax credit, bringing final cost to around $29,000. In contrast, the cheapest AWD Tesla Model Y will be priced at $52,000 with no federal tax credit. Guess which one I want?
If this is the new standard for future PHEV's, the EV revolution will take a lot longer than expected. The beauty of PHEV's is their ability to completely ignore charging stations. They can be EV's around town and conventional vehicles on the highway. They get great gas mileage, which also extends their range. And now, they can be quicker and torquier than a V6.