Toyota bZ4X EV debuts in Europe – 1 million km batt warranty, remote parking

• First purpose-built Toyota EV, eTNGA platform
• 71.4 kWh battery to be offered with 1-million km / 10-year warranty
• Type 2 CCS fast-charge at 150 kW; 80% capacity in 30 minutes
• Toyota T-Mate with remote parking 

The Toyota bZ4X, the first model in Toyota’s new bZ – beyond Zero – family of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) has been presented as a production-ready vehicle that will be launched across Europe in 2022.

The bZ4X brings to the fore over 25 years of Toyota expertise and is the first model to be developed by Toyota entirely as a BEV and also the first to use the company’s new BEV-dedicated platform.

The bZ4X should be of particular interest to us, as it could be one of two EV models rumoured to be launched Malaysia in 2022 / early-2023.

Based on eTNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture), it incorporates the battery unit as an integral part of the chassis, beneath the vehicle floor for a low centre of gravity, excellent front/rear weight balance and high body rigidity.

Two variants of the bZ4X will be offered, a 2WD version which produces 204 PS and 265 Nm of torque, which delivers a 0-100 km/h acceleration in 8.4 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h.

The AWD variant was developed together with Subaru (which will feature on the Subaru Solterra EV), features two separate 80 kW motors to drive the front and rear axles, delivering a total of 217 PS and 336 Nm of torque, top speed is unchanged, while acceleration to 0-100 km/h is reduced to 7.7 seconds. 

The AWD variant comes with an XMode that allows the driver to select a drive mode to suit the conditions, with settings for snow/mud, deep snow and mud, and Grip Control for tougher off-road driving.

The system also offers the option of “single pedal drive”, common in Nissan EV and hybrid models.

Power is supplied by a 71.4 kWh high-density battery that is expected to offer up to 450 km (WLTP cycle) of driving range with a full charge.

A major highlight of the bZ4X is its the first Toyota model to offer Type-2 CCS fast charging of up to 150 kW fast-charging system. An 80 percent charge can be achieved in around 30 minutes.

From the Q4 of 2022, Toyota will offer an 11 kW three-phase on-board charger depending on market, further improving charging compatibility.

Toyota claims the bZ4X’s battery offers world-leading quality, durability, and reliability, thus, Toyota will offer an extended care programme that guarantees the battery will still operate to 70 percent of its original capacity after up to 10 years or 1 million kilometres driven.

The guarantee is subject to the customer taking their vehicle to an authorised Toyota service centre for an annual health check. To ensure this guarantee could be offered, Toyota developed the battery with a target of 90 percent of capacity retained after 10 years/240,000 km.

This is achieved by closely monitoring the battery’s voltage, current and temperature, at an individual cell level. If any abnormal heat generation is detected, controls are automatically triggered.

Countermeasures have been put in place to mitigate any material degradation, and there are safeguards in the manufacturing process to prevent foreign matter from entering the battery.

In another Toyota first, the battery in the bZ4X is water-cooled.

The bZ4X is also the first production Toyota to offer a steer-by-wire system, dubbed One Motion Grip.

One Motion Grip, which will be introduced in Europe at a later date, gets its name by replacing the traditional steering with the One Motion Grip-control which requires no need for ‘hand-over-hand’ turning. Full-lock can be achieved with just a 150-degree turn.

The traditional round steering wheel will remain available.

In terms of design, the bZ4X presents a new “hammerhead” frontal shape replete with slim headlight units for a sleek shape.

The design incorporates aerodynamic elements that manage air flow over and under the vehicle and contribute to the driving range.

These include apertures deep in the front bumper corners to create smooth air curtains, a full underbody cover, a split roof spoiler and rear duck-tail lip spoiler, rear diffuser; and a precisely angled rear screen.

The slim lower grille has a shutter that adjusts to channel cooling air flow to the battery and helps reduce wind resistance. The bZ4X will be offered with wheel sizes ranging up to 20-inch in diameter.

The long-wheelbase allows for a spacious, five-seat cabin. The instrument panel designed to be low set, adding to the sense of openness and the driver’s forward visibility.

Elsewhere, the bZ4X features a seven-inch TFT instrument display sits directly above the line of the steering wheel. The bZ4X uses a 12-inch infotainment touch-screen, giving access to cloud-based navigation with BEV-specific features such as driving range, driving support, and charging station details.

Additionally, the bZ4X offers voice and sight activated controls, using a new on-board assistant to activate vehicle functions such as adjusting the climate, opening/closing windows, and multimedia controls.

The system offers Over-The-Air (OTA) updates for software upgrades and new services.

Given the battery is located in the floor, the bZ4X offers decent bootspace capacity of up to 452 litres with the rear seats in place.

In terms of safety systems – the bZ4X comes equipped with Toyota T-Mate systems which elevates the Toyota Safety Sense ADAS suite with even more driver assistance features.

Thanks to upgraded front camera and radar, as well front side radars; the bZ4X offers Pre-Collision System with oncoming vehicles and motorcycles detection, Emergency Steering Assist system (mild braking to help keep the car within its traffic lane) and The Front Cross Traffic Alert system.

Moreover, the unused Progressed Stop framework, which employments four All encompassing See Screen cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors around the car permits the driver enter and exit the stopping spot, completely remotely without the driver being within the driver’s situate.