Thank you, Art, and thank you
Thank you, Art, and thank you for your question. The 45.7 MPG was recorded after the vehicle's traction battery was run down to "zero" charge. In other words, the 45.7 MPG did not include any EV-Mode miles other than what one gets in hybrid mode. I actually checked with Toyota to be sure I knew what the display meant. The product managers verified that the MPG shown does not factor in the EV miles from EV Mode, which would artificially boost the MPG reading. Although I had no way to prove the numbers true, my fill-ups at the pump were so small in terms of gallons added and my estimates of how many miles I covered in hybrid mode that I believe the MPG readout to be accurate or close to accurate. The RAV4 Prime is impressively efficient in every mode. Although I did not do a similar loop in a conventional (non-hybrid) RAV4, I have done this loop in both a Mazda CX-5 and Subaru Forester, and the mileage is typically around 30 MPG to 32 MPG. Therefore, the RAV4 Prime is roughly 50% more fuel-efficient than the mainstream crossovers its size in my estimation when operated in hybrid mode. In addition, I recently tested a Hona CR-V Hybrid (great vehicle, but no spare). I did not do the exact loop, but similar ones and I recorded 39 MPG in the CR-V Hybrid. Also impressive in my opinion. The real difference is in performance. The RAV4 Prime feels abundantly more powerful and refined than any of the vehicles I mentioned.