Toyota is currently working to fix the problem.
The famous “moose test” is conducted by Sweden’s Technikens Varld. This involves vehicles having to navigate through cones fast while remaining within a narrow area. The Toyota RAV4 Prime, also known as the Plug-In hybrid there, failed spectacularly in the most recent evaluation. During the same round, the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid as well as the Volvo XC40 Recharge T4 failed to pass.
You can see the video in the video above. Teknikens Varld Running several times with the RAV4 Prime. The rear end keeps swinging out, causing the crossover to go too far through the narrow course. The vehicle finally completed the challenge at 39 mph (63 km/h), but it was too slow to be accepted by the publication.
Varld stated that the electronic stability control didn’t seem to be engaging enough to stop the RAV4 Prime sliding in an accompanying story. The publication also tested the crossover at different speeds. However, they got the same results.
Teknikens Varld had a similar problem when testing the regular HTML4 Hybrid in 2019. Toyota was able to fix the issue after confronting them.
Toyota has again been shown the results by the publication, and they have pledged to correct the problem. The company stated in a statement that it will take countermeasures to make sure the RAV4 Plug in Hybrid passes Teknikens Varld’s Elk test.
It is important to note that the stability control calibrations may differ between markets. Motor1.com contacted Toyota USA to find out if the American RAV4 Prime’s settings are the same as those in Europe and, if not, whether Toyota USA has plans to make adjustments in this area.