RAV4 EV Powered by TESLA
11-17-10, 07:24 PM
#17
11-17-10, 07:25 PM
#18
Lexus Test Driver
I like the idea with the buttons. I just hope someone doesn't spill anything and your stuck with the car in drive and the brakes not working.
Had no idea the current RAV4 was built in Canada. I would love to get my hand on one of the 35 EVs and test it in Montreal winter conditions. Seeing Montreal winter is considered one of the worst for major cities across the globe.
160 km on one charge is great. I wonder what it will be like in winter though in -30c to -40c weather.
Had no idea the current RAV4 was built in Canada. I would love to get my hand on one of the 35 EVs and test it in Montreal winter conditions. Seeing Montreal winter is considered one of the worst for major cities across the globe.
160 km on one charge is great. I wonder what it will be like in winter though in -30c to -40c weather.
Last edited by JessePS; 11-17-10 at 07:30 PM.
11-17-10, 07:26 PM
#19
Lexus Champion
humm, nice but....why is the range only 100 miles when the Tesla e-car has a 250 mile range? just because of the extra weight of the Rav4 or is this a reduced capacity battery or? cuz if it had a 200 mile range it would be a guaranteed hit.
11-17-10, 07:55 PM
#22
11-17-10, 10:20 PM
#23
A good percentage, but some are still built in Japan. I don't know the percentage though.
My '10 Rav4 is from Japan, and wasn't part of the recalls earlier this year...
As far as the electric Rav is concerned, I like how they cleaned up the front grill and lower bumper, and got rid of the roof rack. The spare-less rear door is always preferred; helps lighten the car too. They did use the 18" wheels with run flats; I would have preferred the e-Rav to have smaller wheels for more efficiency.
My '10 Rav4 is from Japan, and wasn't part of the recalls earlier this year...
As far as the electric Rav is concerned, I like how they cleaned up the front grill and lower bumper, and got rid of the roof rack. The spare-less rear door is always preferred; helps lighten the car too. They did use the 18" wheels with run flats; I would have preferred the e-Rav to have smaller wheels for more efficiency.
11-18-10, 02:53 AM
#24
A good percentage, but some are still built in Japan. I don't know the percentage though.
My '10 Rav4 is from Japan, and wasn't part of the recalls earlier this year...
As far as the electric Rav is concerned, I like how they cleaned up the front grill and lower bumper, and got rid of the roof rack. The spare-less rear door is always preferred; helps lighten the car too. They did use the 18" wheels with run flats; I would have preferred the e-Rav to have smaller wheels for more efficiency.
My '10 Rav4 is from Japan, and wasn't part of the recalls earlier this year...
As far as the electric Rav is concerned, I like how they cleaned up the front grill and lower bumper, and got rid of the roof rack. The spare-less rear door is always preferred; helps lighten the car too. They did use the 18" wheels with run flats; I would have preferred the e-Rav to have smaller wheels for more efficiency.
... thats less than 7 sec 0-60.Plus, you gonna pay 50k for this, it better look and drive great.
11-18-10, 07:29 AM
#27
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So is this and the restyled Corolla what Toyota has for the L.A. Show? I can't find any more news. If so it's kind of a hum drum showing for them. Probably holding their cards for Detroit or New York.
01-12-11, 11:14 AM
#30
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Possible Pricing info.............
Toyota banks on low-cost Tesla EV battery
Toyota, relying on partner Tesla Motors for battery technology, says the RAV4 EV will target drivers traveling longer distances, while its own EV would be suitable for short distances. Tesla's batteries that will power the electric RAV4 may cost as little as one-third of the electric car batteries used by conventional automakers, Toyota says.
January 12, 2011 - 12:01 am ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp.'s top engineer said the batteries that would power the electric RAV4 crossover being developed with Tesla Motors could cost as little as one-third of the electric car batteries being developed by conventional automakers.
Tesla links together thousands of lithium-ion batteries used in laptops to power its zero-emission Roadster sports car, while automakers with electric models such as Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. use expensive batteries developed specifically for EV use.
"If (Tesla's battery structure) works, we won't have to wait for a breakthrough in battery technology to develop a relatively cheap electric vehicle," Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota' executive vice president for research and development, told Reuters in an interview.
"It could be as low as one-third of the cost of batteries being developed by car makers, because (laptop) batteries are produced in massive volumes."
Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, tied up with Tesla last year and the two companies are racing to prepare a RAV4 EV by next year, when Toyota will also launch a tiny electric commuter car developed in-house. Toyota has said the RAV4 EV would target drivers traveling longer distances, while its own EV would be suitable for short distances.
Calling the cooperation with Tesla "an experiment" to challenge Toyota's own engineers to work with the mindset of a startup, Uchiyamada said the Japanese automaker had not decided whether future joint models would follow.
Even if the RAV4 EV passes Toyota's rigorous durability tests and can be offered at relatively low prices, Uchiyamada said Toyota still believed hybrids and plug-in hybrid vehicles had the best chance of mass proliferation.
Toyota is set to offer a plug-in version of its popular Prius next year that is positioned to be the most inexpensive green car of its kind. It expects to sell about 20,000 Prius PHVs in the first year and to offer them at a $3,000 to $5,000 premium to the standard hybrid Prius, putting the car's price below $28,000.
By contrast, General Motors Co.'s Chevy Volt, also a plug-in hybrid that uses a different technology, sells for $41,000. The plug-in Prius can run on battery power for the first 13 miles, while the Volt can go 40 miles. Nissan's all-electric Leaf carries a retail price of $32,780 in the United States.
Toyota unveiled a family of Prius models at the Detroit auto show this week as it works toward a goal of selling 1 million hybrid cars annually worldwide by the middle of the decade.
Toyota, relying on partner Tesla Motors for battery technology, says the RAV4 EV will target drivers traveling longer distances, while its own EV would be suitable for short distances. Tesla's batteries that will power the electric RAV4 may cost as little as one-third of the electric car batteries used by conventional automakers, Toyota says.January 12, 2011 - 12:01 am ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp.'s top engineer said the batteries that would power the electric RAV4 crossover being developed with Tesla Motors could cost as little as one-third of the electric car batteries being developed by conventional automakers.
Tesla links together thousands of lithium-ion batteries used in laptops to power its zero-emission Roadster sports car, while automakers with electric models such as Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. use expensive batteries developed specifically for EV use.
"If (Tesla's battery structure) works, we won't have to wait for a breakthrough in battery technology to develop a relatively cheap electric vehicle," Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota' executive vice president for research and development, told Reuters in an interview.
"It could be as low as one-third of the cost of batteries being developed by car makers, because (laptop) batteries are produced in massive volumes."
Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, tied up with Tesla last year and the two companies are racing to prepare a RAV4 EV by next year, when Toyota will also launch a tiny electric commuter car developed in-house. Toyota has said the RAV4 EV would target drivers traveling longer distances, while its own EV would be suitable for short distances.
Calling the cooperation with Tesla "an experiment" to challenge Toyota's own engineers to work with the mindset of a startup, Uchiyamada said the Japanese automaker had not decided whether future joint models would follow.
Even if the RAV4 EV passes Toyota's rigorous durability tests and can be offered at relatively low prices, Uchiyamada said Toyota still believed hybrids and plug-in hybrid vehicles had the best chance of mass proliferation.
Toyota is set to offer a plug-in version of its popular Prius next year that is positioned to be the most inexpensive green car of its kind. It expects to sell about 20,000 Prius PHVs in the first year and to offer them at a $3,000 to $5,000 premium to the standard hybrid Prius, putting the car's price below $28,000.
By contrast, General Motors Co.'s Chevy Volt, also a plug-in hybrid that uses a different technology, sells for $41,000. The plug-in Prius can run on battery power for the first 13 miles, while the Volt can go 40 miles. Nissan's all-electric Leaf carries a retail price of $32,780 in the United States.
Toyota unveiled a family of Prius models at the Detroit auto show this week as it works toward a goal of selling 1 million hybrid cars annually worldwide by the middle of the decade.