Toyota has revealed additional details of the all-electric bZ4X crossover that it has co-developed with Subaru. Subaru’s version will be called Solterra. Pricing is yet to be revealed, but Toyota plans to launch the bZ4X worldwide in mid-2022. And hopefully, the chip shortage situation wouldn’t be as bad as it is at the present.
Although Toyota referred to the bZ4X as a “concept” earlier, the production version doesn’t look any different whatsoever, which is of course, not a bad thing at all. It looks just as funky as it looked before. The only difference/addition you might notice is an unnecessary “Electric” badge on the charging port flap on the front fender.
For those who care to know the dimensions, the bZ4X measures 4,690 mm long, 1,860 mm wide and 1,650 mm tall (including the shark fin antenna). It boasts a wheelbase of 2,850 mm.
The cockpit design remains unchanged too, although you might notice a conventional steering wheel in the upper photo as opposed to yoke-like steering shown in the concept (below). However, the “wing-shape” steering as Toyota puts it, might be offered as an option. This steering will be combined with the steer-by-wire system, where there is no mechanical connection between the steering and the axle. Another key highlight of this steering combined with steer-by-wire system is setting the lock-to-lock at around 150 degrees, eliminating the need to change grips when steering, making it easy for the driver. And of course, the latest version of Toyota Safety Sense comes standard.
Toyota plans to offer a solar panel roof as an option, which is claimed to generate electricity equivalent to 1,800 km (1,118 mi) of driving distance per year. The Japanese market might get DC external power supply function where the vehicle can brighten up a home at night, literal or otherwise.
Alright then, moving on to the juicy bits of the story then, the bZ4X will be available in single motor FWD and dual-motor AWD variants. In the FWD variant, the front motor offers an output of 150 kW (204 metric hp). It appears that Toyota doesn’t wanna give too much power to the AWD variant either, since the electric motors offer an output of 80 kW each, bringing the grand total to 160 kW (218 metric hp). The AWD is claimed to take 7.7 seconds to sprint from 0-100 km/h (62 mph), should you fancy doing such things in an SUV. But either way, both variants get a 71.4 kWh, 355-volt lithium-ion battery pack that is estimated to offer a cruising range of approximately 500 km (311 mi) in FWD and 460 km (286 mi) in AWD variant. The battery pack can be DC fast-charged with up to 150 kW, which should take about 30 minutes to get to 80%.
A Digital Key will be offered as an option, where the users can lock/unlock and switch on the vehicle via a smartphone.
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