My dad bought one of these awd's a couple months ago. I know next to nothing about them or hybrids in general. While visiting he made me his driver. He's 86 and his eyesight and reflexes aren't what they used to be. Anyhoo, my impressions of this vehicle weren't great. Maybe I'm too harsh a critic. The vehicle wasn't smooth transitioning from electric to gas and back, I could feel it every time. It wasn't especially powerful. It was noisy and full of rattles over less than smooth roads. He paid what I thought was way too much for this vehicle. He has some lament and says he wouldn't buy it again give the chance. He really liked the Pacifica hybrid he test drove and he didn't have to partially dismantle his road bike/trike to haul it around like with his new RAV. My brother convinced him he needed the awd and thus the choice. Like I said, I have no real world experience with other awd mini suv's for comparison. Maybe I'm being too critical.