2026 Toyota RAV4: Rugged exterior teased just ahead of launch

We’re just a day-and-a-half from the launch of the sixth-generation Toyota RAV4, and the automaker has provided some extra photos showing parts of the all-new mid-size SUV’s exterior.

As we saw in an earlier leak from China, as well as last week’s interior teaser, the new RAV4 is a gentle evolution of today’s model that leans further into the its off-road capabilities, such as they are.

Like the current model, which was Toyota Australia’s best-seller last year, the new RAV4 is full of edges and creases. If anything, the next generation seems even blockier and sharper-edged than before.

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In lieu of a traditional upper grille there’s now a black plastic strip joining the car’s crab claw headlights. Below is a T-shaped lower grille with honeycomb inserts, and large gloss black side air intakes. A less overtly off-road oriented design was seen in the leak from China, and could be used on different model grades.

Along the side there are squared off wheel-arches with black or grey plastic protectors. The car pictured in the snow seems to be a US Adventure-spec model with chunky all-terrain tyres, and gloss black everything.

At the rear there’s a full-width black strip housing a segmented tail-light display, underneath which is a thin area for the indicators and reversing lights. In the centre there’s a tiny Toyota logo, similar to the one seen on the recently unveiled bZ4X Touring, with larger RAV4 text underneath.

Some variants, like the red car above, will also feature a large spoiler that protrudes out from the rear windscreen.

Last week Toyota revealed parts of the new RAV4’s dashboard and centre tunnel. Like the exterior, it’s chunkier than the current car’s.

There’s a binnacle-free digital instrument cluster and a steering wheel with squared-off spokes. The centre stack flows directly into the centre tunnel, which dispenses with a traditional gear shifter in favour of a tiny flick switch.

Following on from the Camry template, Toyota isn’t messing too much with what’s proven to be a very successful formula.

Up until the end of April, the RAV4 (17,610) is leading the Australian sales race, just ahead of the Ford Ranger (17,257) and Toyota HiLux (15,120).

In the US, the RAV4 has usurped the Camry to become the country’s leading passenger car. According to Good Car Bad Car, after the first quarter of 2025 the RAV4 (115,402) currently sits in third spot behind the Ford F-Series (190,389) and Chevrolet Silverado (129,714).

The sixth-generation RAV4 will be unveiled on May 21 at 11:00am AEST.

What do you think so far of the new RAV4? Let us know in the comments section below.

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