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ONCE UPON a time, the RAV4 was a bit of a rebel. With its surfer-dude vibe and fun-to-drive attitude, it shook off Toyota’s grey cardigan image, appealing to younger drivers who viewed conventional hatchbacks and saloons with the same sort of disdain they’d show for their parents’ record collections.

That was way back in 1994, when Blur and Oasis were getting into verbal spats, Sony launched the PlayStation, Loaded lads mag stirred up controversy and the Channel Tunnel gave rise to that cultural high point in continental travel, the booze cruise.

Much like the drivers that buy SUVs these days, who have probably got married, had children and taken several steps up the property ladder, the latest 2016 RAV4 range has grown up. It’s larger, plusher and can now be bought with Toyota’s signature tech: hybrid.

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With hybrids available now for almost two decades, the gee-whiz factor dissipated long ago, so a new hybrid has to succeed on the same terms as any other mainstream car.

Viewed that way, the 2016 Sonata Plug-in Hybrid succeeds admirably.

The Korean auto giant introduced the redesigned mid-sized Sonata last year and, for 2016, launched its second-generation hybrid in several trim versions, with the plug-in model at the top.

Review: 2016 Hyundai Sonata plug-in hybrid makes electric wheels seem familiar - The Globe and Mail

It’s hard to imagine, but 2017 will mark the 20th anniversary of the debut of Toyota’s first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, the Prius, way back in 1997. Since then, hybrids, and the electrification of the automobile in general, have become almost ho-hum.

Yes, some still get excited about the idea of a “$35,000” all-electricTesla, but electrically-assisted, internal combustion engine vehicles are becoming the norm, not the exception, in showrooms. To the point where the normcore Camry Hybrid — and rivals from Ford,Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen — can get left off a new car buyer’s list. Yet after a...