Regardless of what model you get, the 2026 RAV4 has major upgrades in the technology department. It’s the first Toyota with a new, much cleaner infotainment system that really brings the brand up to date — fingers crossed it quickly spreads across the brand’s lineup. Most trim levels have a 10.5-inch touchscreen that is fine, but the XSE, Limited and GR Sport have a great 12.9-inch unit, shown above. The new multimedia system has a customizable home screen with a widget tile design that is very intuitive, bright graphics, clean animations, and simple menus.
An always-there bar on the left side of the screen has shortcuts to things like navigation, media and settings, and an always-there bar at the bottom has climate control functions. But don’t worry, there’s also physical buttons for temperature and front and rear defrosters, plus a volume knob. A new virtual assistant, activated by saying “Hey, Toyota,” is able to do things like turn on your wipers, adjust the climate control, or find restaurant recommendations or sports results using an AT&T 5G connection. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard across the board, but the new cloud-based native navigation system is very good, especially with how it’s integrated in the gauge cluster and uses Google data. But most of you will probably be mad because it’ll require a subscription after a one-year trial.
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Every RAV4 has a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster with a much nicer look and more customization than basically any other recent Toyota, and you can get a color head-up display on the very top trims. There’s a USB-C port on each side of the lower dash, which are 15w on the LE, SE, and weirdly the GR Sport, but 45w on the XLE Premium, Woodland, XSE and Limited. All but the base model have two USB-C ports for the back seat, too. The available 9-speaker JBL sound system is pretty good for this class of car, and you can get a digital rear-view mirror and a built-in dash cam.
What might annoy me the most, though, is the backup camera. These things have been mandated in all new cars since 2018, and some of the most value-oriented brands have super high-resolution backup cameras. The new RAV4’s backup camera is plain bad, even if you get the optional 360-degree camera setup that has a 3D view. It’s too low-res, and the 3D view looks wonky. You do get an over-the-wheels view that’s helpful when off-roading in the Woodland, though the camera views automatically turn off once you’ve reached about 12 mph.
