Of all of the largest automakers in the world, only one has been particularly outspoken in downplaying the prospects for battery electric vehicles (BEV) in the next decade, Toyota. As the first automaker to make hybrid electric vehicles mainstream you might think that Toyota would be all in on electrification, but it makes some very legitimate claims that hybrids are much more affordable and can be deployed in much larger quantities in the near term than BEVs and thus have a greater environmental impact. However, logic doesn’t always rule in markets and we’ve had the opportunity to drive Toyota’s first purpose-built BEV, the poorly named bZ4X.
The bZ4X was co-developed with Subaru which sells a virtually identical vehicle as the Solterra. While this is the first model built from the start as an EV, Toyota has previously sold a few thousand examples of two generations of the Rav4 EV as well as fewer than 100 Scion iQ EVs. But all of those were conversions of internal combustion models.
The new e-TNGA platform used for the bZ4X shares no major components or stampings with any other Toyota architecture. Like new EVs from other automakers, this architecture is designed to be flexible so that it can be used for multiple new BEVs in the coming years. In December 2021, Toyota had an event where it showed off 15 BEVs from the Toyota and Lexus brands coming in the next several years, several of which are expected to be based on this platform.
Like other BEV platforms, e-TNGA has a motor at each axle and a large battery under the floor. However, unlike Hyundai’s e-GMP and VW’s MEB which have rear wheel drive as the default configuration, e-TNGA is front-drive with optional all-wheel-drive.
Another difference between e-TNGA and its competitors is the power configuration for dual AWD models. Hyundai and VW use the same base rear motor regardless of whether there is a front motor, with the latter being additive for extra performance. The single motor bZ4X has a 201-hp motor on the front axle. Selecting the AWD version gets you a 107-hp motor at each axle for a total of 214-hp and 248 lb-ft of torque. The dual motor variants weigh 66-lbs more than the single motor, offsetting some of the slight power and torque advantage. Putting some of the tractive effort at the rear wheels does help the AWD model put the power down a bit better so that quoted 0-60 mph times drop from 7.1 sec to 6.5 sec.
We had the opportunity to drive both the front and all wheel drive versions in both of the available trims, XLE limited. While Limited models get some additional features as standard, the only notable difference from a performance perspective is a switch from 18-inch to 20-inch alloy wheels. While the larger wheels don’t make any appreciable difference in handling, the added inertia does hit the driving range a bit. For front-drive models the bigger tires cost about 10 miles going from 252 to 242 miles while the AWD versions lose 6 miles from 228 to 222 miles.
Compared to the current generation Rav4, the bZ4X is 3.7 inches longer, 2.0-inches lower and 0.2 inch wider. At 112.2 inches, the EV’s wheelbase is 6.3 inches longer than the RAV4 and that translates into substantially more leg room in both rows with 44.8-inches for front seat occupants and 47.7 in the back with a completely flat floor. Behind the back seats there is almost 28 cubic feet of cargo space, plenty for four adults for a road trip.
Toyota designers have made some interesting choices with the interior of the bZ4X. Unlike Tesla, they have retained an instrument display directly in front of the driver where it belongs. However, unlike most vehicles, the digital display sits at the end of a channel on top of the instrument panel so it is visible above the steering wheel instead through the top section. This puts it close to where a heads up display would be. The only drawback to the layout is that for those that like to drive with one or both hands on top of the steering wheel, they will block at least part of the display. However, if hands are kept at 9 and 3 or 10 and 2, this layout works great.
Unlike most modern vehicles, the dashboard isn’t covered in plastic (or at least nothing that looks like plastic), wood or leather. Instead it is wrapped in an interesting looking fabric. The result (which assuming it is some sort of polyester or other synthetic material is technically a plastic) looks surprisingly premium, feels good and is non-reflective. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the piano black finish on most of the center console. It’s time to move beyond piano black.
The seats in the bZ4X were comfortable for about 3 hours of driving and don’t feature a huge number of adjustments but generally provide support in the right places. As with many EVs, Toyota has come up with a unique take on the gear selector. It looks like a rotary control and mostly is. The black center button selects neutral when pressed down. The chromed ring surrounding can be pushed down separately and then twisted left for reverse or right for drive. A separate switch in front of this controller engages park. After a couple of drives, this setup becomes relatively second nature.
Next up the stack are a mix of capacitive touch controls to select climate control modes, physical rockers to adjust the temperature and buttons for audio volume. Above all this is a bright, widescreen 12.3-inch display for the infotainment. The screen itself is excellent quality and doesn’t exhibit the glare issues many previous Toyota screens have had or distortion while wearing polarized sunglasses.
However, the user interface for the new generation infotainment has a questionable design choice. Toyota really wants drivers to use voice control and to their credit it works quite well. Even when listening to audio, you can press the button and speak as it filters out the sounds the speakers are producing. Except for driving at higher speeds with the windows open, the system reliably understood what I was asking for and executed it. In addition to the usual terrestrial and satellite radio, wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto, and bluetooth, the system has built-in apps for Amazon and Apple Music.
I’m no fan of using touchscreens while driving, but, if you must have one, the way you display information is important. Too much information can be distracting to the driver, but too little means having to tap more to switch modes. Most modern vehicles with extra wide displays have the ability to display at least two panes of information. For example the leftmost 2/3 to 3/4 will contain whatever is the current primary application. To the right might be a secondary pane with another app. When using navigation it might be in the primary pane while a media control interface is in the secondary pane or vice versa. Toyota only allows one function to show at a time. While decluttering is good, if the front passenger wants to change media playback without moving the map, this isn’t possible. I think Toyota may have gone a step too far here.
Another disagreement I have with Toyota is on regenerative braking. To the left of the shifter is a button to enable regen boost for more aggressive braking when releasing the accelerator pedal. It’s still not as aggressive as the one-pedal modes found on many other EVs and it won’t bring the vehicle to complete stop. Toyota argues that forcing the driver to move their foot from the accelerator to brake keeps them engaged in the driving task. I disagree. By modulating a single pedal, the driver is just as engaged and there is less risk of pedal misapplication.
Another odd choice is a message that pops when the battery is nearly full and can’t accept any charge from regen. In most EVs, if one pedal drive is enabled, the system will just blend in friction braking when the accelerator is released. However, Toyota has chosen to pop up a message that regen boost isn’t available right now. To someone not familiar with the inner workings of EVs, this might imply that there is something wrong when the system is in fact completely normal. Allowing regen boost to be engaged and then simply using friction brakes until the battery has been depleted a bit would be transparent to the driver and a better solution.
While this might seem like a lot of complaints, none of these are deal breakers, just design choices that were made and all can be changed, in most cases with an over-the-air update. We spoke with Toyota representatives about this and they took copious notes. Whether they change any of this remains to be seen, but at least they were interested in our feedback.
On the road, we got to drive all four combinations of drive and wheel size. While the quoted acceleration numbers may not look particularly impressive compared to the frankly absurd numbers from Tesla and some other EV makers, they are far more than adequate for any normal driving. The instant torque of an electric motor compared to a gas engine, makes the bZ4X and other EVs feel eminently driveable.
It feels responsive any time you squeeze the accelerator pedal and quickly gets you to speeds that might be too quick if you’re not careful. The ride quality was smooth on the relatively good quality roads in the Encinitas/Carlsbad area. If anything the suspension might be a bit on the soft side, but that may pay dividends on rougher pavement such as those near Toyota’s Ann Arbor, Mich. technical centers. Hopefully, we’ll get to try it there soon. Having the weight of the battery down low in the car helps to keep body roll to a minimum even with a softer suspension. For what is clearly targeted as a mainstream product for the same people that buy 400,000+ Rav4s a year, this is probably a good compromise.
When Toyota first revealed the bZ4X last November, another interesting detail popped out from the spec sheet. While both the single and dual motor versions have the same size battery pack, the AWD model actually has slightly more capacity at 72.8 kWh vs 71.4 kWh for the front driver. This is because the front drive battery comes from Panasonic while CATL supplies the AWD battery. Toyota won’t talk about any differences in the chemistry of the two batteries except to say they provide similar overall performance.
So why choose two suppliers like this? Supply constraints. Toyota told us they couldn’t get enough batteries from either supplier to meet the full production demand for both the bZ4X and Solterra, so they split them between two suppliers. There was not particularly noticeable difference in performance between front and all wheel drive configurations. However, while the Panasonic (FWD) can be charged at up to 150 kW from a DC fast charger, the AWD CATL battery can only absorb 100 kW. Toyota says the FWD bZ4X can charge from an undisclosed low charge level to about 80% in a little over 30 minutes while the AWD takes closer to one hour.
The bZ4X will start arriving at dealers in California and other ZEV mandate states in April, gradually rolling out to all 50 states by the end of the year. The FWD XLE starts at $43,125 (including delivery) and ranges up to $49,995 for the AWD Limited. The range goes from 222 miles for the most expensive model to 252 miles for the most affordable. This should be more than adequate for the vast majority of drivers. However, the extended range RWD Hyundai Ioniq 5 has a similar price point to the FWD Toyota and offers over 300 miles of range and significantly faster charging while the AWD Hyundai is also available at similar prices with substantially quicker acceleration.
Toyota is only planning to bring about 7,000 bZ4Xs to the US this year due to supply constraints and plans to ramp up in 2023. They’ll probably have no problem selling all of them, and this is a solid first effort at a dedicated BEV. But the number of BEVs in the market is growing rapidly and many of them offer some superior features or capabilities. Toyota has solid dealers and a well earned quality reputation, but they will have to step up their BEV game to be competitive.
