- China-market outlet spies what is likely the 2026 Toyota RAV4
- Styling could take much from the Toyota Camry and Prius
- RAV4 sales counted for over one-third of Canadian sales volume at Toyota
Our official position on leaks is that they are generally bad, particularly when occurring on a submarine or one of the tattered hoopties belonging to our staff. However, today’s leak is of a different sort – and one which involves one of the most popular vehicles on sale in Canada.
Thanks to the eagle eyes of contributors at a Japanese website called Creative Trends, we have an advance look at what is very likely the next Toyota RAV4. The image was apparently contained in a presentation about a vehicle called the JAC Wildlander, a vehicle which is the fruit of a joint JAC/Toyota partnership and historically just a RAV4 with rhinoplasty. The machine spied in the presentation is the next Wildlander – and it shows plenty in common with models on sale today in Toyota showrooms.
Images posted from the event on an outlet south of the border show a crossover with headlights that are distinctly similar to the ones presently found on cars like the new Camry and Prius. Migrating this look to the RAV4 makes a lot of sense, given the oft-shouted desire by designers that models in a brand should have some level of familial resemblance. Bedwetting accountants also like it for the economies of scale. We think it’s OK in this instance since it simply looks good.
While the grille isn’t of the Predator-style maw once seen on Lexus products, it does take on some of those properties. The fact that it is colour keyed helps, a tack used recently on rigs like the recently refurbished Lexus RX. We look forward to seeing it on an expressive colour, to say nothing of what will happen when the inevitable special trims like Trail and Woodland appear in due course.
Toyota shifted 77,556 copies of the RAV4 in Canada last year, up 3.8% year-over-year which made it both an annual record and the best-selling vehicle in Canada that wasn’t a pickup truck. That is a whopping 37% of total Toyota brand sales, making wholesale styling changes to the model worth noting.
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