Everyone, it seems, wants an SUV these days, but what do you do if you’re feeling little conflicted about the impact driving one could have on the environment?

Fear not, because there is a solution. It isn’t, admittedly, as green as getting on your bike but Toyota’s RAV4, with its hybrid powertrain and emissions that can put a supermini to shame should go some way to soothing your conscience.

The RAV4 sits between the smaller C-HR and the proper off-roader that is the Land Cruiser in the firm’s SUV line-up. It’s only direct competitor is the Honda CR-V, which is also available as a hybrid but if you’re a little less concerned about your green credentials there’s the Mazda CX-5, Seat Tarraco and Skoda Kodiaq – the two siblings from the VW Group both seat seven – that should all prove worthy of consideration.

The first RAV4 appeared in 1994. It combined the footprint of a hatchback with the rugged, go-anywhere stance of an SUV. It’s fair to say that, 25 years later, the fifth generation model is significantly larger and, with it’s hybrid powertrain, significantly cleaner.

The styling is very much a combination of straight lines, bold creases and sharp angles. I wouldn’t describe it as handsome, but it certainly is striking and successfully distances itself from the square box on wheels aesthetic that you might associate with large SUVs.

The cabin is a very pleasant environment, with plenty of high quality and tactile materials in evidence. It isn’t the most inspiring of settings, but the controls have a reassuringly slick action and the rubberised finish gives them a solid, made-to-last, feel. Ergonomics are also excellent, with all the switches and dials within easy reach.

It should be easy for anyone to get comfortable in the front of the RAV4. There is plenty of adjustment in the positions of both seat and steering wheel and a generous amount of both head and legroom. Adjustment is manual unless you take the step up to Excel trim, then you can hand over the heavy lifting to electric motors. You also get a memory recall function and lumbar support

The view out is, as you would expect in a high-riding SUV, a commanding one. The windscreen pillars are reasonably narrow so visibility out the front is decent. The rear windscreen is a wide and deep so you get a good view back down the road but the C-pillars are quite large and impact on the rear three-quarter view, particularly when you’re reversing.

Thankfully the RAV4 is equipped with both rear parking sensors and a reversing camera as standard right across the range. Design trim adds parking sensors at the front, too.

It is, perhaps, the infotainment system that most badly lets the side down. The 8-inch screen is mounted high on the dashboard, which means that you don’t have to divert your eyes too far from the road to operate it. That is just as well, because the buttons are quite small and require a degree of precision to make contact with, while the screen itself is quite low definition.

Running an operating system that isn’t particularly satisfying to use wouldn’t be a problem if Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were present but the only smartphone integration available was via MirrorLink which, quite frankly, was poor.

You do get DAB radio and Bluetooth audio streaming, as well as handsfree calling, as standard across the range while the six-speaker JBL audio system on my Excel trim test car at least delivered decent sound quality.

The RAV4 is a standard hybrid, which means that you don’t have to plug it in to charge the battery. You can operate the car in EV-only mode, but even when you do, it isn’t long before the 2.5-litre petrol engine kicks in to provide assistance to the motors.

With that in mind it’s simpler to leave the car in its default driving mode when it will decide for itself when to switch between the electric motor and petrol engine which, perhaps unsurprisingly, usually means a combination of both at higher speeds and just electric power in stop-start traffic.

The suspension is quite firm – as is often the case in hybrids in order to compensate for the additional mass of the battery pack and motors – and can feel a little fidgety and unsettled driving along all but the smoothest of roads.

Unfortunately the firm set-up doesn’t translate into stellar handling. The RAV4 feels reluctant to change direction quickly thanks to the extra weight that it’s carrying. There’s a significant amount of body roll and the two-wheel drive version tested here doesn’t possess a great deal of grip.

At cruising speed the passenger space is reasonably quiet, although there is some tyre and wind roar permeating the cabin, but under hard acceleration the noise levels increase uncomfortably. Put your foot down and, thanks to the RAV4’s CVT automatic gearbox, the revs soar and stay there until you ease your foot off the accelerator.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, that the RAV4 is silent when it’s operating on electric power alone. The brakes are a bit grabby, something that affects most hybrids, as the regeneration system tops up the battery and you have to adapt your driving style if you want to slow down smoothly.

If you’re an enthusiastic driver the RAV4 is never going to send shivers down your spine. That’s partly because it’s an SUV – although there are some decent-handling options out there – and partly because, being a hybrid, it has to haul around a considerable amount of additional weight in the form of a battery pack.

Where the RAV4 really shines are its running costs. It isn’t the cheapest SUV on the market, but it boasts decent equipment levels, a well-appointed cabin and a striking design. Perhaps most importantly of all, you should see fuel economy figures of close to 50mpg and, with CO2 emissions just breeching 100g/km, you can feel a little less guilty about parking one on your drive.

Toyota RAV4 Excel 2.5 Hybrid 2WD

Engine: 2.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Transmission: Electric CVT

Power (engine): 131bhp

Torque (engine): 221Nm @ 3,600rpm

Max power: 160bhp

Max speed: 112mph

0-62mph: 8.4sec

WLTP combined: 48.7 – 50.4mpg

Emissions (CO2): 105g/km

For more information about Toyota cars visit www.toyota.co.uk