Featured Toyota bZ4X Specifications Revealed

And look at the sharp edges at the top of the screen. Just what I want when tossed around in an accident.

 

The Prius has less air drag. Air drag goes with Cd×frontal area (CdA) and the Y has much more frontal area because its a much bigger car.

The Cd of a 747 is 0.03.

 

Years ago I read that motorcycles have a Cd very similar to that of a barn door. I guess that's why I did well to get 45 mpg on my Suzuki GS850 and I get 60+ in my Prius, even though the Prius is much bigger and heavier.

 

Excellent news! I saw 310 miles of range in one article I read. Hmmm. Either way, with many models coming it’s a good time to think EV. Though I might still get the new 86 with a manual!

 

Most interested in the cargo space. European site says it has about 16 ft3 behind the rear seats. Looks bigger than that so I’ll wait for official stats and has an adjustable deckboard. It has the same wheelbase as the Highlander Hybrid, total length of vehicle is longer than the RAV4 Hybrid/Prime but slightly shorter than the Venza. Still has a huge hood and looks like nothing is under it in front of the charger/inverter.

European site also says the battery is definitely Lithium-ion which correlates with Toyota research into better Lithium-ion batteries (TOYOTA NEWS #168｜Integration with Vehicles—The Strengths of Toyota’s Battery Development Strategy｜TOYOTA TIMES) and being targeted for the bZ4X.

European site: World premiere of the all-new Toyota bZ4X


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It was a combination of things, but the biggest factor is the Chinese government poured money into LFP R&D that increased energy density and reduced cost. A secondary factor is cobalt and nickel prices look to continue to go up making the switch strategic if you assume cost of materials will dominate battery pack production costs. The progress for car and bus LFP battery packs only got really good a few years ago, but it may be accelerating.

Part of the increase in energy density is cell to pack and future cell to chassis packaging of the CATL and BYD batteries. Tesla is doing the same thing with their Panasonic NCA 4680 batteries that should be out next year. That still leaves a big gap and I would expect the higher priced end of the market to continue to push for lighter battery packs. I would assume Toyota has the resources to develop their own cell to chassis battery tech whether it is LFP or another chemistry.

We don't know which chemistry Toyota is going to use in the bz4x. John has speculated that it will be LFP and there will be a higher priced lexus version, maybe with a bigger battery or lighter that would use a more energy dense battery.

 

I read a motorcycle had a higher cD than a semi truck with trailer. Making for a good example of the effect of frontal area on aerodynamics.

If that is an official cargo space value, it will be smaller than the EPA, or what the manufacturer can use in the US. The EU standard for wagons, and I assume SUVs, is like the US one for trunks. The space is filled up with standard sized boxes, and their volumes are added up for the metric. It results in a lower value than using a tape measure, but is a better measure of usable space. The quoted space could also be just up to the beltline and not the ceiling.

Huge hood and no frunk makes it sound like the platform isn't making the most of the possibilities with a BEV. It's something we have to wait and see about. It is FWD though, while the Tesla and VW platforms are RWD. Perhaps they got got more rear cargo space, or dare I say it, a spare tire.

LFP is a Li-ion.

The talk of slim battery design does have me thinking it the more energy dense NMC type typically meant by Li-ion. Then maybe Toyota has a bipolar lithium ready for cars. Others started the path towards commercialization years ago. https://www.eenewsautomotive.com/news/bipolar-lithium-ion-batteries-approach-production-readiness The bipolar NiMH in the aqua seemed to have been a surprise. A bipolar LFP would help with its energy density, I just put it at low odds at this time.

 

Toyota bZ4X revealed with yoke steering wheel and 500km of range | Tesla Owners Online


There has been a lot of buzz about the yoke in the Tesla Model S Plaid. Here is the Toyota version.

Bob Wilson

 

I understand there is a new Tesla software release that addresses the steering yoke.

Bob Wilson

 

The rotary shifter looks interesting. Drive is clockwise to the right and reverse is anti-clockwise to the left, rather than the PRND convention.

 

Ha ha, pretty sure I would not be getting that although I do like the real estate and clean look above. Just doesn’t fit how I drive. Weird, how they want to put that in a SUV that need 7.7 seconds to get to 100 kph (62 mph).

I’ll bet the solar roof won’t make it to the US but the Pano roof might be cool.


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There must be a checklist at Toyota, and one item is "Polarizing enough?".

 

I forgot about only 150 degree travel. Holy cow! I could get in some trouble! Now that I think of it, it might be better when backing up (yes I still turn around and look). I would definitely need some practice, ha ha.


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That isn't much different from the Prius knob; it is moved in opposite directions for drive and reverse.

Some EVs with a traditional shifter make use of the other gear positions to set differing levels of regenerative braking. I wonder how Toyota will handle that here.

 

There is a button with a braking symbol to the left of the shift knob.

The rotary shifter is cheaper, simpler and more compact than the current Prius shifter.

The rocker switch on my Ryobi battery powered riding lawn mower is even simpler and cheaper. A photo of that shifter is uploaded.

 

New 2022 NX 450h+ soft shifter then has paddle shifters on the steering wheel. My NX 300h has a real shifter with the S instead of the M and again paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

 

It's an S in my non-hybrid Camry too. It isn't as 'manual' as the Sonic was; Toyota just had it set the max gear to use. In the hybrids, it sounds like a Prius B with graduations. I couldn't make out paddle shifters in the Yoke photo, though there are plenty of buttons.

I'd prefer having more than two braking strength options, which the brake button applies. My guess is that might be for turning on one peddle driving, which would mean heavier braking. It could also mean no 'downshift' option when not using it.