Toyota has confirmed a longer-than-expected range for its first mass-produced electric model, the bZ4x.
The front wheel bZ4x has a claimed range of 516 km in the tougher WLTP test cycle, up from the initially claimed 500 km, while all-wheel drive delivers a claimed 470 km. That’s 20 km from the original claim.
The claimed power consumption is 14.3kWh/100 km for the front-wheel drive and 15.8 kWh/100 km for the all-wheel drive.
Here’s how those claims stack up against the car’s biggest rivals:
The BZ4x was first revealed in April 2021 and sits on a dedicated electric (EV, or BEV) platform under the TNGA architecture umbrella. It will arrive in Australia at the end of 2022.
Toyota has warned that it won’t be cheap when it hits the low end.
“Price will be announced closer to launch, but it will be expensive, like the original Prius we launched in October 2001,” Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales and Marketing , Sean Hanley, said earlier.
“This is due to the substantial cost recovery of research and development. Like hybrids, battery-electric vehicle adoption and affordability will take time, but certainly not 20 years. They will eventually become a sustainable means of transportation.”
It was developed with and will be shared by Subaru, which has its own improved version called Solterra.
The cheapest versions will come with front-wheel drive, powered by a 150kW motor for 8.4 seconds 0-100km/h.
The all-wheel drive (AWD) versions instead use two 80kW motors, one on each axle, to generate a combined 160kW and reduce the 0-100km/h time to 7.7 seconds.
The FWD weighs in at 1920kg, with the AWD increasing by 85kg, to 2005kg. For context, the dual-engine Tesla Model Y weighs 2003kg.
The full range uses a 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery that can charge up to 150kW on a public DC charger.
The BZ4x will also be capable of V2L or vehicle delivery services as explained in Our feature is here.
The ‘bZ’ (‘beyond Zero’) moniker will be applied to no less than seven lines of all-electric vehicles on pre-ordered platforms that will roll out globally by 2025 – meaning a launch cycle of about two bZ-branded dedicated EVs per year.
This powerful ‘bZ’ product line will be the mainstay of the Toyota group’s broader plan of 15 BEV products, available in different regions, by 2025.
