Even then, certain controls like the buttons to the right of the radio are not within easy reach from the driver’s seat, at least not from my driving position. I found the dash layout to be a little disorganized and it took some getting used to things before I was comfortable with where everything is placed. The dash is faced with a padded faux-leather, the thick three-spoke steering wheel is also leather-wrapped, the dash top and door panels are made from a sturdy low-sheen plastic and the cloth seats provide very good comfortable support. Inside the RAV4 XLE Hybrid looks and feels very well built. The new darker color taillights also really compliment the metallic grey very well, giving it a nice cohesive look. My tester came in Magnetic Grey Metallic, and while I am generally not a fan of grey, this color has loads of metallic in it and looks great on this RAV4. The XLE Hybrid also comes with great looking 17” alloy wheels, unique blue “Hybrid” emblems, and premium cloth seats. This includes heated front seats, heated rain sensing wipers, blind spot monitoring, rear-view camera, power sunroof, power liftgate and dual-zone automatic climate control. That said, the XLE does offer a nice set of features over the base model to help justify the price jump. The lowest trim level available on the RAV4 Hybrid is the XLE, so while the standard RAV4 starts at $24,990, you’ll need to allocate $34,465 to get into a Hybrid model. In keeping with the money saving theme of both hybrids and the RAV4, Toyota set us up with a RAV4 Hybrid XLE to test for a week. It finally happened though, and the 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is pleasing in every sense of the word. Sticking the proven Hybrid Synergy Drive system into their popular and frugal compact SUV seems like a no-brainer, right? Both the RAV4 as well as Toyota’s hybrid family have such loyal followers that rushing something like a RAV4 Hybrid into the market before its perfected could risk the legendary reputations at stake. Being the master of hybrid technology that Toyota is, I was a little surprised to see the RAV4 Hybrid took this long to show up on the market.
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