Over the past 12 months, Australians have shown they are keen to jump on the electric bandwagon and the BZ4X from Toyota provides us all with another option.
While the Toyota BZ4X electric SUV isn’t scheduled to launch until the latter half of 2022, Australians are quickly expressing their interest in Toyota’s first-ever EV.
The Toyota bZ4X SUV will be priced from $US42,000 (which translates to $A56,500) and will have a range of around 400kms, and acceleration from zero to 100km/h of between 6.5 and 7.1 seconds, depending on the model.
What is the BZ4X?
The BZ4X is the first fully electric vehicle to be manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation.
It’s similar in shape and size to a RAV4 and will be a strong competitor for cars such as the Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Polestar 2, and Kia EV6.
The BZ4X will be available in front- and all-wheel drive layouts. The all-wheel drive features front and rear electric motors that combined produce 160kW of power. The front-drive BZ4X has a slightly lower power output of 150kW.
While neither BZ4X will be breaking any performance records, the all-wheel drive version completes the 0-100km/h sprint in a claimed 7.7 seconds, while the front-drive version does the same sprint in 8.4 seconds.
Underpinning the bZ4X is a 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery that serves up a driving range of up to 460km, but with fast-charging capabilities, owners can recoup 80 percent of the battery in as little as 23 minutes supported by fast-charging up to 150kW.
Toyota has consolidated its alliance with Subaru in the BZ4X, utilising Subaru’s all-wheel-drive technology which is marketed as ‘X-Mode’.
A feature some may like others will detest on some variants.
Inside, the cabin has taken a futuristic approach, including a brand new yoke-shaped steering wheel that looks like it’s from a jet plane’s cockpit.
Although Tesla has introduced a similar wheel design, the yoke wheel is definitely a love or hate proposition. One day, it might become the industry standard for steering-wheel design.
The BZ4X skateboard-like battery platform
On the technical side of things, the BZ4X features a skateboard-like battery platform with the cells located underneath the floor.
Toyota claims it has developed several technologies for battery management to avoid overheating or a potential fire. New high-resistant coolant can prevent fire from an electrical short circuit even if there is a leakage from the main battery coolant.
As for charging, Toyota has chosen to equip all bZ4X models with a J1772/CCS1 (Combined Charging System (CCS)) socket, which allows for both home and public charging.
The 6.6 kW onboard charger allows the bZ4X to charge from low to full in about 9 hours with a Level 2 charger either at home or at a public charger (at optimal outside temperatures).
Toyota advises that the bZ4X will not be offered on sale in Australia until some time in 2023.
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