Bitche Original In the past few years, new car-making forces and BYD's plug-in hybrid models have long occupied the top spots in hot topics and sales lists. To be honest, as one of the most profitable car companies in the world, Toyota's sales should not be a headache, but the sales of its pure electric models are indeed not ideal. In recent years, Toyota has been in popular new energy sources. There is little voice in the field, and many people have come to the conclusion that Toyota is not interested in pure electric models.
But you are never too late for a good meal. No, bZ4X, the first model built on Toyota's e-TNGA pure electric platform, is coming to us.
First let’s talk about the e-TNGA platform, which was co-created by Toyota and Subaru. In short, this platform It was born to build BEV models. Models under the e-TNGA platform all have a distinctive feature, which is a low center of gravity and high-rigidity body design.
Starting from the naming point of view, the TOYOTA bZ series is the abbreviation of Beyond Zero, which translates as beyond zero emission. The bZ4X is the pioneer of the TOYOTA bZ series, and Toyota will launch 7 models before 2025. For the bZ series model, I just want to ask, who said before that Toyota is not interested in electric vehicles?
(The static part of this shooting is the domestic version of FAW Toyota, and the dynamic part is the Japanese version)
Exterior design
Toyota The exterior design of bZ4X is really sci-fi and futuristic. The front of the car adopts a large area of contrasting color splicing design, which weakens the air intake grille of traditional fuel vehicles and increases the integration of the hood and headlights. , connecting them together to form a characteristic hammer-shaped headlight shape. At the same time, the headlights also use full LED light sources.
From the side shape, the Toyota bZ4X is actually somewhat similar to the RAV4 Rongfang, except that the lines of the Toyota bZ4X are sharper. The areas around the wheel arches and side skirts have been blackened, giving it a very wild charm. It is also one of the demonstrations of the e-TNGA platform's off-road fun positioning of this bZ4X.
The body size of this car reaches 4690*1860*1650 mm. The black roof and brown body also give this car a rich color gradient, and the visual center of gravity of the side shape is very low.
Coming to the rear, the through-type taillights are a normal operation, but the design of the left and right taillights is indeed a bit unusual. The shape is very sci-fi and avant-garde, and the very thick guard plate in the lower half makes up for the visual emptiness caused by the lack of exhaust layout of the pure electric model. The overall shape is very compact.
WithinDecoration design
The appearance of Toyota bZ4X is eye-catching, but when you enter the car, you will still be surprised. Looking at all Toyota's products now, there really is no one that can compete with TOYOTA bZ4X in terms of unconstrained imagination. It feels like Toyota's interior designers have suddenly enlightened.
Of course, the one that attracts the most attention is the special-shaped steering wheel + steering-by-wire version. This was something we photographed in a 4S store before. If you are interested, you can go to the store. Take a look inside.
Ever since the Tesla Model S Plaid version of the special-shaped steering wheel was launched, there have been ongoing controversies over safety and controllability. The special-shaped steering wheel is nothing more than the concern that people may lose their hands after turning it for more than one turn. The special-shaped steering wheel of TOYOTA bZ4X is based on the steering-by-wire technology. From the maximum rotation angle to the normal position, the angle of the TOYOTA bZ4X steering wheel is only 150 degrees. Spend.
However, it is still somewhat difficult for this technology to be implemented in China, including regulations, certification and other issues, including the 150-degree usage habit that car owners need to get used to. I hope this technology can be put into mass production as soon as possible, so the TOYOTA bZ4X that everyone is currently talking about will look like this. Although it is not so sci-fi, it looks quite cute.
The shape of the full LCD instrument panel behind the steering wheel is also quite eye-catching. The overall shape is very much like an extension of the driver's hand holding the steering wheel. Moreover, the height of the instrument panel is also much higher than that of ordinary models. The advantage is that when observing the road conditions in front of the car and the instrument panel, the line of sight will not shift to a large extent. However, if a girl who is 1.5 meters tall is driving, she can still see The road ahead?
The large screen size of the central control is not too small. In addition to the touch control, there are still a lot of control buttons underneath. Toyota has always been fond of function buttons. The interface and functions of the vehicle system are basically the same as those of Lingfang and Lufang models, and the user experience is quite satisfactory.
Toyota bZ4X also uses a heat pump air conditioner. The principle is that the multi-way reversing valve will cause the refrigerant to repeatedly jump between the condenser and the evaporator, using evaporation to absorb heat. The principle of condensation and heat release is used to replace the heat in the low-temperature air drawn from the outside for heating. Under the condition that the heating effect remains the same, heat pump air conditioners can save about 30% to 40% of electricity than traditional PTC heating. This is already life-saving for the battery life of electric vehicles in winter. We will also be the first to get the car in the future. Time to test its battery life.
As for space, thanks to the 2850mm wheelbase, the second row of this car is very spacious, and a person with a height of 1.8 meters After the experiencer adjusts his sitting position in the front row, he can easily cross his legs in the second row. Coupled with the almost flat floor in the middle and soft and comfortable seats, the overall riding experience of bZ4X is very comfortable.
Test drive experience (the actual model is the Japanese version)
The car we tested has a dual-motor layout. The motor has a maximum power of 150kW and a maximum torque of 300 Nm. Official The acceleration from 0 to 100 seconds is 7.7 seconds. For electric trains that can easily accelerate in 3-4 seconds, this The data does seem to be average, but the actual power feeling is still good, especially in the starting stage. With a light step, it immediately jumps forward. The body feels more like a car that accelerates for 6 seconds, and in the middle and late stages , the acceleration becomes relatively gentle, and overall it is a comfortable state to travel in the city.
In fact, for the vast majority of electric cars in this era, power is not a problem at all. Have you ever heard the owners of electric cars around you complain about their cars? No motivation?
I give a good review to the steering wheel. It is very textured and the overall strength is a little light. This is the style I like very much. Even at low speed, it always stays on my hands. The damping throughout the entire range is adjusted moderately, and the gain in steering force with speed and angle is also very linear and natural. Among the many trams I have driven, the steering feel of the bZ4X is definitely relatively forward.
The chassis maintains the consistent level of the TNGA architecture and has good vibration filtering properties. It will not feel too stiff when running over uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as speed bumps. Feedback, passed by in an understatement, sitting in the car There seems to be a sense of isolation between the interior and the road. This texture is very similar to Toyota's own fuel vehicles of about 250,000 to 300,000 yuan. At the same time, it also provides you with support. It will not sway left and right when driving intensely. It has a really good balance between comfort and sportiness.
At the same time, it is equipped with the X-MODE function jointly developed with Subaru and an intelligent multi-road condition adaptation system. It has two modes: snow and mud. When one wheel slips, When driving, the power should be distributed to the wheel with adhesion in time to ensure its passability.
The WLTC range announced on the official website of this car is 500km, which is relatively normal, but the battery technology is very powerful. After all, Toyota has been developing hybrids for so many years. I have so much experience in this area. What everyone is most worried about is battery degradation. For this part, Toyota's research and development target is: if you drive the bZ4X for 10 years, the battery capacity can still be maintained at 90%, which is awesome. At least if you buy it, you don't have to worry about it. At the beginning of the year, I had to spend a lot of money to replace the battery, which solved a pain point problem.
In addition, you sometimes watch the news, saying that a certain electric car spontaneously ignited in the parking lot, or spontaneously combusted after being hit, etc. Many people attack battery safety. One of the key points of electric vehicles is that Toyota has also made great efforts in this regard. For example, it uses a large-capacity battery pack integrated with the body, and the system can also monitor various indicators of the battery at all times. If there is an abnormality, measures will be taken immediately.
It is worth mentioning that this time bZ4X is equipped with the latest generation of TSS smart safety system, which is on the same level as the latest Lexus NX. I have experienced the previous version 2.0, and the new version has upgraded the pre-installed safety system. Collision safety and lane tracking assist systems, and also newly added safe exit assist and predictive active driving assist systems, the functions are already very comprehensive.
Summary
This is a test drive experience of Toyota bZ4X. What impressed me deeply is that the car has a very good texture and a very comfortable space, and the other is Regarding the efforts it has made in terms of safety and battery attenuation, the bZ4X will be launched soon and the price will be announced. We are all looking forward to this Toyota electric car.