The hybrid and regular 2.5l Dynamic Force engines are different, not the same as the author of the article claims - not awake at the press conference perhaps. The hybrid one runs Atkinson cycle all the time and loses about 25 hp over the regular one. The electric motor makes up the difference to 219 hp. When you add the third electric motor in the rear for hybrid AWD, one wonders what total system power is then ...
https://newsroom.toyota.co.jp/en/detail/14384561or from media.toyota.ca:
"The combination of a very high compression ratio (13:1 on gas models, 14:1 on HV models, which uses Atkinson cycle), D4-S fuel injection (combining direct and secondary port injectors), high-speed combustion, VVT-iE intelligent variable valve-timing and ultra-low internal friction yield a maximum thermal efficiency of 40 percent. That remarkable figure is among the highest in the world for a passenger vehicle engine (41 percent for the RAV4 HV), exemplifying Toyota’s leadership in fuel efficiency technology."
Also, where does Toyota claim the engine is specially tuned for the RAV4 compared to the Camry?
The criticism of the new pure gas engine has been noise and coarseness at higher revs - it went direct injection in this iteration, with the usual port injection as well being Toyota.