Posted: 26/11/2019
The all-new RAV4 has done it again!
We're thrilled to let you know that Toyota's most affordable hybrid RAV4 is the best new vehicle available on the Australian market, according to judges of the prestigious Drive Car of the Year Awards.
The hybrid RAV4 - also named the best mid-size SUV - won the Drive award ahead of 19 other category winners, three of which were also Toyota vehicles.
It is the third headline media award for Toyota's all-new RAV4 in recent weeks.
A second Toyota hybrid, a top-of-the-line Camry SL, was named best medium car, while Toyota's reborn GR Supra sports car and the "king off the road" turbo-diesel LandCruiser 200 Series VX topped the judging in their competitive sets.
Drive editor Trent Nikolic said Toyota's RAV4 had moved the game forward significantly in a segment that attracted the biggest number of new-vehicle buyers.
"Medium SUVs show no signs of losing popularity and the RAV4 is the best of the current crop," Mr Nikolic said.
"Always a strong performer, the redesign, and especially the hybrid drivetrain, put the RAV4 right at the pointy end of the field," he said.
The annual Drive Car of the Year awards focus on almost 100 vehicles chosen from the hundreds of cars driven by its journalists throughout the year.
The selected vehicles are subjected to an intense week of driving evaluation - track, on and off-road - and comparisons of features, safety, comfort and packaging.