bZ4X - Start Your Impossible

A little too late for talking about having 3 cars per household or garage. 5 families within a mile of my home on just my road have 3 and more cars parked outside and I would consider it impossible to try and sell a bZ4X to any of them.

The 3rd quarter the credit will drop to 50% or up to $3,600, the 4th quarter will be 25% of $7,200 or up to $1,800. The 5th quarter will zero out any credit. These are calendar quarters BTW. So for the Prius Prime you would get $4,502 for the first 2 quarters, $2,251 for the 3rd quarter, and $1,125.50 for final quarter.

 

Just checked Toyota's website for their first BEV and it is a glorious "meh" for me.
I find it overpriced, there is nickel and diming on the options of the XLE vs Limited. There is no LE/cheaper variant. No head-up display, not even as an option. No adaptive headlights (federal law has been updated to my knowledge and the Prime in Europe offers it). Design is questionable. No colors (several variations of greyscale and red). Of course it is a cross-over. The range is meh vs competition.

BTW: The Digital Key is only with a subscription and you need the Toyota App - no support from Apple (so this means it is a closed system).

It seems like a car made quickly because they needed to make a BEV after all the criticism and scrutiny they got recently.

I am keeping my Prime, thank you very much.
This article summarizes many of my impressions.

PS: the best is the fine print on the charger they offer as an option for $699, no shipping and installing included (see attached image and fine print - my bold):

Are they serious?? You sell me a charger from a third party on your own website, while ordering your car, and you tell it is not tested for the car I am buying it for and "might" void my warranty?

Waiting to see if and when they come out with a more serious offering. A Prius with a solid-state battery perhaps with more than 250mi range. In 2030 maybe. In the meantime the other manufacturers...(and I am looking at them for my next purchase in 2-3 years).

Toyota has been my go-to manufacturer, this BEV is making me look elsewhere. Because my next car needs to be a BEV, and this car is definitely not it.
PS: I will never buy a Tesla.

 

It's their first iteration. Think of it like the 1990s Prius, not exactly a whole lot to write home about, compared to now days - but still good for what it was/is.
That said, $699 is a heck of a lot for an L2 evse. I paid less than ½ that for an 80 amp Tesla wall unit.
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Because if on their website they sell something specifically necessary for their own car and it "might" void the warranty of a device not tested to work on their own car, why offer it in the first place. Either you offer a solution, with a third-party - sure, that is tested and "might" not void the warranty, or don't offer me anything at all. I'll go and find an EVSE myself and void the warranty myself, thank you very much.
I don't find it serious to sell something that might void your own vehicle's warranty. Either you sell it and it is approved by Toyota, or I can go down the road and by something cheaper that does the same job. And "might" void the warranty. Like every time I go and charge my Prime at a charging station.
That's why I am worked up about it.
Other manufacturers offer their own branded EVSE and they are certified to work with their vehicles and they don't void any warranty. Toyota doesn't even offer their own and the one they offer, voids the warranty of the vehicle it is supposed to charge.
Clearly BEVs are not their focus. Not that we didn't notice.

 

Ummm, that's not exactly what is implied. Go back and read it carefully, especially the part you put in bold. And yes they have to put that in because it's for same the reason they tell you Do Not Eat in instructions that have those dry packets in electronics.

 

BMW

 

“Installation of this product may impact your vehicles' warranty”

That for me says it all.

 

I wonder if that disclaimer is for legal purposes in our litigious society.

I recently had to take some medicine short term for a medical problem. Looking over the listed side effects was sobering. Perhaps the most sobering of all the listed side effects was of course, possible death. This probably has to be listed on almost any medicine these days to avoid potential lawsuits.

I wonder if all product manufacturers aren't forced to preemptively list warning as Toyota did on the charger.

 

Warnings - because you can never give people to much credit


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Yikes! And double ouch !!
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Gerdes recommendation for those that didn't check CleanMPG was to get the Rav4 Prime instead.

There is a Dual Level charge cord for the Bolts available instead of the standard Level 1 EVSE that can do Level 2. It's standard with the EUV, and an $295 option for the EV.

And, of course, Tesla.

 

John likely didn't mention Tesla as it's not a legacy manufacturer. Even so we kept our mobile EVSE out of the Model X we had -
Where else could you get a 9.6 KW 40 amp mobile charger


Sure the cable was a little thick & unwieldy - but charging fast is really nice.

 

Toyota has not fully evaluated this product to determine its overall impact on the performance or safety of any Toyota vehicle onto which it is installed or to determine whether installation would render the vehicle illegal for operation on public roadways in any states.

This is 39 years of writing installation manuals for the Gov't. The whole thing means EXACTLY what the underlined states. And you are correct "Installation of this product may impact your vehicles' warranty - in reference to installing onto your Toyota vehicle. It does NOT mean what you are assuming which is common sense.

 

So .... when Toyota is dragged Kicking and Screaming into the electric vehicle Market (example; China demanding Toyota sell ev's if Toyota wants to continue gas burner sales as well) - you get to claim Toyota is slow to market because they are conservative .....
BUT
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/tesla-hatchback-dollar25k-price-2023-release-possible-range-and-more
When Tesla takes their sweet amount of time to get their cheap car to market ..... it's a different motive?

Of COURSE Tesla isn't interested in building gas burners. the entire developing world wants to get away from fossil fuel.
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