With all of the bickering with Top Gear and the constant delays and promises over the Model S electric sedan, it's forgivable to forget the $50 million investment Toyota made in the California startup.
And when you make an investment like that, you expect something in return. Since profit seems unlikely right now, the return in this case is Tesla's EV technology. Toyota has taken this and dumped it into a Rav4 and now John O'Dell over at Edmunds' AutoObserver has driven one of the 35 prototypes.
"A prototype it may be, but it is nicely balanced, well-finished, and pleasant to drive. Except for instrumentation and other uniquely EV aspects - the redesigned nose, electric motor torque and whine, regenerative braking drag, a tiny bit of compressor hum at low speeds and a push button gear selector on the center console - is pretty much indistinguishable from a "normal" RAV4." -- AutoObserver
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