The 2026 Toyota RAV4 GR Sport PHEV Isn't the First Ultra-Sporty RAV4

Motor Trend

a day ago

The 2026 Toyota RAV4 lineup is wider than ever, with so-called "core" models forming the backbone of the bestselling compact SUV's family, and a new Woodland off-road trim joining an equally new GR Sport trim level on the fringes. While there are other "sport" themed RAV4s available, namely an XSE model, the zestiest of the bunch is that GR Sport.
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It combines the new RAV4's most powerful powertrain—a 320-hp plug-in hybrid setup—with a lowered suspension, sticky summer tires, and heavily bolstered seats. Sounds wild, right? Well, it's not the first time Toyota's gotten weird with the RAV4, which has otherwise been an exemplar of the mainstream since its 1996 introduction.
New Sport, Same as the Old Sport?
The Sport trim level has been offered with RAV4s on and off for decades, but the GR Sport isn't the first one with huge power underhood. The last-generation RAV4's Prime (later Plug-In Hybrid) version offered up a stout 302 ponies and came only in Toyota's sportier XSE trim level. Before that, the only other RAV4 that qualified as "powerful" is the only RAV4 ever to offer V-6 power, the third-generation model sold between 2006 and 2012. It was larger than the dinkier first- and second-gen versions, so much so it even offered a (tiny) third-row seat option. But the headliner was that optional 3.5-liter V-6 that Toyota stuffed between its front wheels.
While most third-gen RAV4s were sold with a 2.4-liter inline-four sending 166 hp through a four-speed automatic transmission, the optional V-6—available across the lineup, from the entry-level version with unadorned steel wheels to the Sport to the top-tier Limited variant—was where the real action was at. The 3.5-liter V-6 borrowed from the larger Avalon sedan pushed out a mighty 269 hp and 246 lb-ft of torque and enjoyed an extra forward ratio in its five-speed auto. For a time, V-6-powered RAV4s were the quickest new Toyotas you could buy; MotorTrend tested one that reached 60 mph in only 6.3 seconds.
Nothing else in the compact SUV segment at the time even came close to the Toyota's muscle, which was deployed most effectively in the firmed-up, big-wheel RAV4 Sport model. Well, there was one SUV with the power to challenge the V-6 RAV4: The electric one. Yep, from 2012 to 2014, at the tail end of the RAV4's third generation and well into the fourth-gen RAV4's tenure, Toyota sold an EV version based on the 2006–2012 RAV4.
Believe it or not, but the third-generation RAV4 was actually not the first RAV4 to offer an all-electric variant (there was a second-generation spin-off first), and the 2012 version came loaded with an early Tesla powertrain (!) and a 42-kWh battery good for a mere 100 miles of driving range. Power output from the single motor (derived from one in the Model S but significantly detuned) stood at 154 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, routed to the front wheels via a single-speed transmission. This was good for a seven-second 0–60-mph time, according to Toyota, when the RAV4 EV was placed in its Sport drive mode. (The regular setting lengthened acceleration time to 8.6 seconds.)
These were only offered in certain states, and can be picked out by their lack of an external spare tire, body-color grille delete panel (with goofy large "EV" lettering beneath the Toyota lettering), blue-tinged badges, and unique headlight internals.
Actually, Sort Of!
In a way, the 320-hp plug-in hybrid RAV4 GR Sport is an amalgamation of the third-generation RAV4's most powerful powertrain options. Today, four-cylinder engines have largely supplanted six-cylinder options in the compact and midsize vehicle segments, so the GR Sport PHEV's system being anchored by a heavily electrified four-cylinder engine not only follows that trend, but its e-motor support recalls the oddball Tesla-powered RAV4, as well.
Like other plug-in-hybrid 2026 RAV4s, the GR Sport's system is 18-hp more powerful than the last-generation RAV4 PHEV. It combines a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with two electric motors and a planetary-type continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) to power the front axle, along with a third electric motor that lives on the rear axle and spins the rear tires for on-demand all-wheel drive.
The onboard battery can be charged at up to 11 kW on an AC home charger, but strangely, the GR Sport does not offer the same CCS-style DC fast-charging port as the lesser RAV4 XSE and Woodland PHEV trim levels. So, while the GR Sport is likely to be among the quicker RAV4s on sale later this year, that'll only apply to its straight-line speed—not its on-the-go charging speeds.
Where the 2006–2012 RAV4 Sport featured cool 18-inch wheels and meaty, relatively low-profiled (for the time) all-season tires along with a firmed-up suspension and blacked-out trim, the 2026 RAV4 GR Sport goes ham sandwich on apparent track-readiness. It wears Dunlop Sportmaxx summer tires wrapped around 20-inch wheels that fill more of the fenders—their offset is wider than regular RAV4 wheels—and beefy brakes with red-painted calipers. The GR Sport's face is entirely different from the headlights down relative to other 2026 RAV4s, with a gaping lower intake and huge vents at each front corner. Out back, a wild spoiler sprouts from the top of the tailgate, and the lower bumper incorporates as much black trim as the nose. Inside there is a black-and-red color scheme, with red contrast stitching, sporty aluminum pedals, and heavily bolstered front seats not shared with other RAV4s.
Will this GR Sport be the quickest factory RAV4 ever? Last year's RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid was capable of a relatively quick 5.5-second zero-to-60-mph time. With the GR Sport's stickier tires, hotter chassis setup, and the same 18-hp bump shared by other plug-in-hybrid 2026 RAV4s, we anticipate it will be. But just remember—it wouldn't be the first time the RAV4 delivered unexpected power and performance, even if we won't ever see a V-6 (or a Tesla-sourced motor) under the hood again.