Key Points
- FWD and AWD, but AWD is only a little quicker
- Kluger-sized wheelbase
- Mid-2022 production confirmed
UPDATE, April 12, 2022: Ahead of its European debut, new details for the Toyota BZ4X electric SUV have been announced. The story below has been updated.
The story to here
The world’s biggest carmaker is finally creeping properly into the electric vehicle market, with the reveal today of its new BZ4X electric SUV in final production form.
After years of prevaricating on the topic of EVs, while startups like Tesla and rising rivals like Hyundai stormed in to capitalise on the potential, Toyota is at last ready to make 2022 its year of electrification.
Where has Toyota been on EVs up to now?
The brand was once a pioneer in electrification, launching not only two limited-run generations of an electric RAV4 (the second developed with Tesla), but also the now iconic Prius – the latter into a world that had no idea it would eventually buy nearly 20 million of the things.
It has successfully captured even more hybrid buyers in recent years by launching petrol-electric variants of its regular (and less ugly) models.
Toyota also remains confident that the nascent hydrogen FCEV market will grow – and interest across industry and consumer segments suggests it will gather steam in the years ahead – but it has nonetheless been a slow mover on the one technology buyers can’t get enough of today: big-battery EVs.
All of that brings us to today, with the official reveal of the BZ4X, Toyota’s first proper mass-market go at an electric vehicle. Toyota says the not-so-catchy name is derived in part from the concept of “beyond zero”.
Due on sale sometime around the middle of 2022, the new electric SUV will make its global market debut four years after the well-regarded Hyundai Ioniq Electric reached Australia, and a couple of years after the popular MG ZS EV.
To Toyota’s credit, it might still beat Volkswagen to offering one of its ID EV models in Australia, but probably not Kia, which will launch its fast and stylish EV6 here in the opening months of 2022.
Among the BZ4X’s features will be the availability of a steering yoke – the squared-off type seen in aeroplanes and Formula 1 racers, and controversially in the updated Tesla Model S sedan and Model X SUV.
Toyota says the steer-by-wire yoke only needs to turn “around” 150 degrees lock-to-lock – based on what it detects from input – meaning drivers won’t need to take their hands off the yoke to complete a U-turn.
For those not ready to dive into a new driving paradigm, a conventional steering wheel will also be offered.
Toyota’s electric SUV: BZ4X details and driving range
The BZ4X will be built on a new bespoke electric platform called e-TNGA, developed together with Subaru.
Drive configurations will include front- and all-wheel drive. In the case of the former, a single big front-mounted motor provides motivation. But, where other brands use all-wheel drive as a welcome excuse to add a lot more power and speed, the AWD version of the BZ4X will swap the big single motor for two smaller ones – one at the front and one at the rear – to develop similar overall power.
That means there’s a 150kW motor in the FWD model, which is fairly close to standard – but only two 80kW motors in the AWD for a total of 160kW.
Toyota claims a 0-100km/h time of 8.4 seconds for the FWD version and 7.7 seconds for the AWD. Perhaps a GR BZ4X will arrive later for buyers seeking more go…
Both versions will pack a 71.4kWh battery system, with the FWD model offering 516 kilometres of driving range. As with all AWD EVs, the all-wheel-drive model will give you surety, but reduce driving range to 460 kilometres.
The BZ4X will be no hyper-fast refill either, accommodating up to 150kW charging – compared to about 230kW for the Ioniq 5. Toyota promises a 0-80 per cent charge should be achieved in 30 minutes.
Toyota claims a power consumption rate of 14.3kWh/100km (think of how regular fuel consumption is measured in L/100km) for the front-wheel-drive model, and 15.8kWh/100km for the AWD version.
How does the BZ4X’s driving range compare to other key EVs in the same size range?
The nearly-here Tesla Model Y claims up to 542 kilometres of range, while Nissan’s incoming Ariya lists up to 500km. The popular Hyundai Ioniq 5 boasts 451km, and the Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric claims 418km. When it eventually gets here, Volkswagen’s ID.4 should be good for around 510km.
So, the BZ4X measures up fairly well.
Overall dimensions for the BZ4X are 4690mm long, 1860mm wide and 1650mm tall (although the quoted number includes the antenna), with a 2850mm wheelbase – which is a match for the new Kluger’s wheelbase, despite that large family SUV being 300mm longer overall.
In this regard, the BZ4X and Ioniq 5 are similar in that they are smaller overall than each brand’s large family SUV, while boasting similar wheelbases. (The Ioniq 5’s 3000mm wheelbase is 10mm longer than the Palisade’s, which Wheels recently declared the winner in our Palisade v Kluger v CX-9 face-off.)
For one final comparison point, the mid-sized 4570mm RAV4 SUV rides on a 2690mm wheelbase.
Production for the BZ4X will begin sometime in the middle of 2022, with an Australian debut set for late 2022.
How much will the BZ4X cost in Australia?
Australian pricing for the electric Toyota BZ4X has not been confirmed, but we expect it to be quite expensive – just as most offerings in its segment are. Look for a figure above $60,000 at the lowest, but anticipate a number around $70,000.
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