THE first Toyota RAV4 to be fitted with a hybrid powertrain will cost from £26,195 when it goes on sale in the New Year.

That's for a front-wheel-drive only model which is fitted with a 2.5-litre petrol/electric CVT drive system which will also be available on 4x4 models priced from £29,795.

The hybrid heads up a revised RAV4 range which now kicks off at £23,695 for the two-wheel-drive 2.0-litre diesel Active model - an increase of £900 over the current car.

Like the Lexus RX 450h, the hybrid RAV4 4x4 is fitted with a secondary electric motor to drive the rear wheels and as such has a towing limit of 1.65 tonnes.

Full specifications are still to be announced but when Toyota took the wraps off the RAV4 hybrid at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September it was claimed that the car would be good for 57.5mpg with CO2 emissions of 115g/km.

Five trim levels are being offered across the range which will be launched with petrol and diesel engines before the end of the year.

The 2.0-litre petrol version will be available only with CVT transmission and priced from £28,295 while the hybrid will be sold only in Business Edition Plus and top grade Excel trim where it is priced from £30,795.

All RAV4s will now be fitted with Toyota's touchscreen operated multimedia system with digital audio and sat nav will be standard on all but the entry level models.