The 2027 Toyota RAV4 Woodland gets new springs, new shocks and new jounce bumpers, and the changes lift ground clearance to 9.1 inches. Toyota detailed the revisions on Nov. 5 alongside the rest of the 2027 RAV4 lineup. The Woodland grade, which debuted last year as a trail-minded trim, was the only one to receive them.
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Toyota’s own comparison point is 8.1 inches on the other non-GR Sport RAV4 grades, so the Woodland gains a full inch over its siblings. Carscoops, which covered the update on Nov. 9, cites a smaller prior figure of 8.5 inches for the earlier Woodland, a difference in baseline that Toyota’s wording does not address.
New springs, shocks and jounce bumpers
The hardware list is short and specific. According to Toyota’s pressroom page, the Woodland has new suspension components that give it ground clearance of 9.1 inches, against 8.1 inches on other hybrid grades. The jounce bumpers deserve attention because they are the rubber stops that catch the suspension at full compression, and Carscoops says the new ones make bottoming out less harsh for the cabin and for the components underneath.
Carscoops frames the work as meant to improve off-road capability, and it notes that the all-terrain tires fitted at the Woodland’s debut had already added ride height. It finds no mention of new tires for 2027, so the extra inch comes from the springs and shocks. Carscoops lists the Woodland’s fuel economy at 38 mpg city, 35 highway and 37 combined, against 42, 39 and 41 for the SE, which puts a number on what the added capability and all-terrain rubber cost at the pump.
Rock & Dirt and Mud & Sand replace Trail mode
Software changed too. On all-wheel-drive models, Toyota’s 2027 model-year release says Multi-Terrain Select now offers Rock & Dirt and Mud & Sand modes, which replace the Trail mode from last year. Snow mode moves to the drive mode select switch, where it sits beside Normal, Eco, Sport and Custom. Carscoops reads the swap as the end of the single Trail setting. Both new modes are named for the surfaces they target, rock and dirt in one case and mud and sand in the other, and Toyota ties them to the all-wheel-drive versions of the RAV4, so a front-drive hybrid does not receive them. The release does not describe what each mode changes in throttle, traction or braking calibration.
Redesigned all-weather floor and cargo mats round out the Woodland changes in the release. Toyota does not attach a named engineer or executive to any of this in its pressroom material, which lists a media contact and an author but no quoted statement, so the claims rest on the company’s published specifications rather than on a spokesperson’s explanation of the tuning goals. Toyota’s page also says the hybrid carries over from the 2026 model year in LE, XLE Premium and Limited grades, and the Woodland sits alongside those as the one with the changed hardware.
Plug-in hybrid charging and what the Woodland costs
Charging is the other big change, and it applies beyond the Woodland. Every 2027 RAV4 plug-in hybrid gets a NACS port, DC fast-charging capability and an 11-kilowatt onboard AC charger, and Autoevolution adds that the port moves to the driver’s side. Previously only the Woodland and the XSE had the stronger charger and DC fast charging. The plug-in drivetrain is unchanged at 321 horsepower from a 2.5-liter four-cylinder, with at least 45 miles of electric range, Carscoops says.
Pricing rose modestly, by $400 on the hybrid LE and $600 on the plug-in SE. Autoevolution lists the hybrid LE front-drive at $32,300, up from $31,900, and the plug-in SE at $42,100, up from $41,500, both before the delivery fee. Motor1 gives the Woodland hybrid an MSRP of $40,655 including destination. Toyota’s release says hybrids arrive at U.S. dealerships later in 2026 and plug-in hybrids in early 2027, so a Woodland plug-in buyer will wait longer, and a Woodland plug-in price was not listed in the material reviewed. Motor1 reads the schedule the same way, noting that regular hybrids reach dealers before the end of 2026 and updated plug-ins follow early in 2027, which leaves the Woodland hybrid as the first version of the changed truck that customers can actually buy.
The 2027 model year is the sixth-generation RAV4’s second. Toyota has not said how much of the Woodland’s added off-road ability shows up in approach, breakover or departure angles, and none of the sources gives tire or load-rating changes, so the inch of clearance, the two new drive modes and the shared plug-in charging upgrades are the measurable differences between this Woodland and the one it replaces. Real-world testing of the new damper tuning has not been published, and the first independent drive impressions will show whether the revised suspension is as noticeable on a trail as it looks on a spec sheet.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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