In both cases, the first attraction is the possibility of plugging in the vehicle and having an interesting electric range. But that's not the only attractive feature. The choice is difficult, but let's look at what each of these vehicles has to offer.
Engines first
The Ford Escape PHEV has a 4-cylinder engine backed by an electric motor. It develops 221 horsepower and allows a range of 50 kilometres once the 14.4 kWh battery is full.
The Toyota RAV4 also has a 2.5-litre 4-cylinder engine with 176 horsepower. It is complemented by two electric motors, one in the front and one in the back. This makes it more powerful in theory. But its heavier battery and its two motors, if they give a slight advantage of 8 kilometres of autonomy, penalize it in consumption.
In fact, according to the data, once the battery is empty, the Ford Escape has the best fuel consumption at 5.8 litres per 100 kilometres compared to the RAV4's 6.0 litres.
Practicality
When you compare the dimensions of the two vehicles, they are similar, but the Ford Escape's interior seems more spacious. There's more headroom in both the front and back, and the larger door openings make it easier to get into the Ford.
The good news is that both have about the same amount of cargo space in the back, but the Escape has an advantage: a sliding second row that allows for more legroom if you're not using the cargo. If you slide Ford's second row of seats back, you get 869 litres of space; if you slide it forward, you get 974 litres. Toyota's cargo area is just as easy to access and gives you 949 litres of space.
Safety
We've been telling you for a long time that Ford's driver assistance systems are a plus. This time, too, they are. It's true that both models are equipped with a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, as well as lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control and blind spot warning.
To that, however, the Ford Escape adds an active parking assist system that can parallel or perpendicular park for you. They also offer Ford's Co-Pilot360 Assist+, which adds lane centring to the highway driving assist suite, as well as Evasive Steering Assist, a last chance assist feature that can help you get around a potential collision if you don't have time to brake.
Same range, better fuel economy and more room, the Ford Escape PHEV has it all. And while the Toyota RAV4 Prime is a great vehicle, logic tells you to look to Ford.
