replace 2023 Prius Prime with new Rav 4 Prime - blasphemy?

Not completely true. I know Toyota owns a large percentage of the company, but Subaru is still a separate company, and the bZ4X and Solterra were partnership models. Toyota even 'borrowed' X-mode from Subaru forthe EV. Subaru had actaully developed their global platform with BEVs in mind about 3 years before Toyota announced TNGA-e.
Subaru Global Platform - Wikipedia

 

The new RAV4 PHEV is built on THS 6, which is vastly improved over THS 5.

All-new Toyota Gen 6 PHEV system | PriusChat

 

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First Gen 6 RAV4 PHEVs are arriving at dealers in about a week or two.

All Gen 5 RAV4 PHEVs have now been sold.

Many Gen 6 RAV4 PHEVs were already sold before they even arrived at dealers.

The Gen 6 RAV4 PHEV will be very hard to get with the incredible demand.

 

It was already an incredible vehicle in Toyota's fleet. Now with a msrp price reduction and better sound deadening it also improves its superb acceleration, great ride and mpg. Hard to beat.

Just needs to be made in one of the US factories so its Japanese production is not diverted to more welcoming markets.

 

It is not always necessary to upgrade a 100 amp service and panel to 200 amp in order to feed 7kw (240v at 30a) or more to a vehicle.

One exceedingly common misunderstanding is that the outlet and box installed in the garage is actually a charger - which it is not. The outlet and box is a fancy receptacle called an EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) which happens to include a signaling (communication) means to inform the car's built in charger how much current the car can pull safely. Some EVSEs can do this with jumpers while most have a digital board. If your circuit can support 20 amps the vehicle is informed to keep it below that. It could be 30a or 50a depending on the available current from the main panel and service.

Some panels and breakers can prioritize loads. If I found myself in a small service situation I would interlock a 30 amp dryer, heat pump electric strip or electric water heater such that they share their capacity with the EVSE feeding the vehicle. The dryer or other house load is prioritized over the vehicle's feed. Or use a 50 amp oven capability in the same way.

 

The supplied mobile EVSE also works with 240 V, so you don’t need to buy and hardwire an aftermarket EVSE to do Level 2 (240 V) charging.

I don’t know the current limit of the supplied EVSE (12 A on my Gen 4 Prius Prime), but it could be pretty high in the Gen 6 RAV4 PHEV. You could also set a charge current limit of 8 A, 16 A, 24 A, or 32 A (for the 11-kW charger), or maximum in the Gen 6 RAV4 PHEV.

 

MSRP will be a good deal. You should put a deposit on it before it gets to your dealer.

The only way it will be on the lot is if

a) the dealer has added $5k worth of bs and or

b) the dealer has added a $10k market adjustment or

c) the dealer has purchased units from small town rural dealers which guarantees a huge markup.

All dealers near me do a) if on the lot, most will do b) on a Rav4 plug in and one does c). The c) dealer will have them on the lot.

 

That also varies widely depending on your Toyota region. when i bought my Camry in late 2024, the distributor allocated stock to the dealer and dealers did not trade due to low production. When my son bought his 2023 RAV4 Prime (PHEV), he searched and waited to get one at MSRP sonce many dealers either were charging above list or trying to dell an older model year as 2023. He ended up driving out of state to Maryland to buy his RAV4.

 

You don’t want to pay more than MSRP, and you want to avoid dealer add-ons. If you know the trim and color you want, preordering could help to get it faster.

 

So, the included mobile EVSE provides full Level 2 (240 V) capability up to 32 A (7.68 kW). If you have a trim with the 11-kW onboard charger instead of the 7-kW onboard charger (trims that are DC/Level 3 fast charging capable), it will charge slightly more slowly than a hardwired Level 2 EVSE, but it will still charge in less than 3 hours. When used as a Level 1 (120 V) charger, it charges at 12 A (or less, depending on the vehicle’s manual charging current limit setting). This is for older models, and the Gen 6 RAV4 PHEV EVSE could look different than this one.