2019 Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid: the Excellent Gas-efficient SUV You Might Not Be Able to Find

If you have been small SUV shopping in the last few months, you may have stumbled upon news of the all-new RAV4 Hybrids. They are incredibly popular, to undersell and sugarcoat the situation a little. Toyota enjoyed its best RAV4 sales month of all time, EVER, in May, due in large part to the success of its Hybrid models.

Since they came out this spring, car shoppers have been on a furious hunt for 2019 RAV4 Hybrids – especially the XSE model. We have not seen a frantic search of this magnitude since Tommy Lee Jones called for “a hard target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, outhouse and dog house in the area” looking for Dr. Richard Kimble.

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If you have not yet met this mythical SUV, let’s get introductions out of the way. Meet 2019 Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid. This is the RAV4 Hybrid that takes sporty to a whole new level, and comes with excellent mpg and is priced quite reasonably as well.

Let’s get to know RAV4 XSE Hybrid

There are four grade levels of 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – LE, XLE, Limited and XSE. The XSE is “the eccentric sporty one” of the bunch – AND the most popular.

It is known for its unique black accents, including a two-tone Midnight Black metallic roof, 18” gloss black alloy wheels, badging and side mirror covers.

XSE Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is available in Blizzard Pearl, Blueprint, Silver Sky Metallic and Magnetic Gray Metallic.

Seating is SofTex-trimmed heated front seats in black with blue fabric inserts and blue accent stitching. Also, feel the flow of this blue cabin symmetry with anti-slip storage trays with blue ambient lighting.

Use your standard 8” touch-screen with Entune Audio Plus to navigate through your audio and multimedia information, including Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM and Amazon Alexa commands.

Tell me about horsepower and mpg

The 2019 Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid works with a combination of a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine (176hp) and two electric motors. When combined and working in perfect harmony, the horsepower of the Hybrid increases to 219 net horsepower. This is a pretty significant increase versus the gasoline version, which gives drivers 203 horsepower to work with.

For consumers needing really strong gas mileage, you will be pleased with this Hybrid SUV. Expect a combined 40mpg, which is comprised of 41mpg in the city and 38mpg on the highway. Just like the 2019 Camry Hybrid, which gets up to 52 combined mpg with its LE Hybrid entry, this is very impressive fuel efficiency.

What RAV4 Hybrid option packages can you choose?

Several option packages can be added to a base 2019 Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid. They are designed to help with convenience, offer increased technology and safety, and to add overall value.

Weather Package: Heated steering wheel. Rain-sensing variable wipers with de-icer function. This would be especially important in cold weather climates where your wipers might stick to the windshield in ice and snow.

Panoramic Sunroof: This Toyota moonroof extends all the way to the back seats. You can open the glass for the front half and allow for light and openness for both rows of seating.

Technology Package: This includes Intelligent Clearance Sonar with Rear Cross-Traffic Braking and Qi wireless smartphone charging.

Entune Premium Audio with Dynamic Navigation and JBL w/Clari-Fi: Experience concert-like performance in your RAV4 Hybrid with 11 speakers in 9 locations including subwoofer. Clari-Fi restores crystal clear sound that had previously been compressed. For musical listening as the original artists intended.

VIDEO: Compare ALL 2019 RAV4 Hybrid Models...pick your winner

I love the RAV4 Hybrid and want one. So what now?

First thing to do is plan out when you ideally want your new RAV4 Hybrid. Hopefully it is a few months out. Then work backward from a 1 to 4 month wait time from the day you order yours from your local dealership.

The best advice I can give you, especially when searching for the 2019 Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid, is to be flexible if possible. In other words, instead of telling your dealer you only want your XSE in gray with panoramic sunroof, tech and weather packages, maybe offer two or three or four color choices you would be happy with. This might shorten your wait time.

Pricing for 2019 Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid is reasonable and a great value. Base MSRP pricing from the factory is $33,850 and increases as you upgrade with your ideal blend of option packages.

Everyone wants a good deal when buying their vehicle. However, I would not plan on this with the RAV4 XSE (or Limited) Hybrids for the foreseeable future. I have heard from many readers and also my Toyotajeff YouTube channel viewers who are all paying full MSRP or close to MSRP. Such is the law of supply and demand.

You may also walk on your local Toyota dealership lot and stumble upon the perfect XSE Hybrid just sitting there unclaimed. Some folks have gotten lucky this way too.

I’m curious now. What has your experience been with the new 2019 RAV4 Hybrids? If you own one already, how are you doing for mpg so far? If you are searching or have one on order, how is the process going?

Thanks everyone for reading my Torque News Toyota News / Reviews. See you next story…

Jeff Teague is a Toyota news reporter at Torque News. You can reach Jeff on Facebook and Instagram. Twitter at @toyotajeff1 and tweet him tips for new stories. Jeff also shares Toyota news videos on his Youtube Channel at ToyotaJeff1.