It is hard to argue against
It is hard to argue against the success of the RAV4, the best selling compact crossover. My theory though is that the enthusiasts, while a minority of buyers, are an important group as they influence many other buyers. Short term Toyota will be fine, but long term this important group will gravitate to other manufacturers willing to offer the performance that they want. Fuel economy is important to some, but not everybody. As long as my SUV can get in the high 20's for MPG, a higher fuel economy would not be a decision point in buying. While the raw 0-60 of the RAV4 is certainly impressive, the performance in EV mode is lackluster, and the driving dynamics overall (watch the Savage Geese YouTube video to see how it really drives, for example), shows me why I would rather have this vehicle with a V-6, and an 8 spd auto. Overall, Toyota sales dropped 22% last month, so they need to look at this, as others did not do as poorly even in these challenging times.