First U.S. Toyota EV Will Arrive Mid-2022
Toyota has finally taken the wraps off the all-new bZ4X, its first U.S.-bound all-electric vehicle. Sized similarly to the RAV4, the bestselling SUV in the country, the bZ4X also represents the launch of the Toyota bZ brand umbrella, which is expected to include seven new EVs by 2025.
Powering the bZ4X is a single motor drawing power from a 64-kWh lithium-ion battery pack and driving 201 horsepower to the front wheels. Electric range is an expected 250 miles. The SUV will also be offered with a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version with 215 horsepower. According to Toyota, this latter model will be able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds.
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The bZ4X is built on the e-TNGA platform. This zero-emission, all-electric architecture was developed with Subaru and will also underpin the upcoming Subaru Solterra SUV, which looks strikingly similar to the Toyota.
With a 150-kW fast charger, the bZ4X can get about 80 percent of its charge back in 30 minutes. It will also be available with optional solar panels that Toyota says can add another 1,000 miles of driving range over a year (we assume that’s based on the 15,000 miles that the average American drives annually).
The new SUV will be the first vehicle to feature Toyota Safety Sense 3.0. Compared to the current best version, TSS 3.0 can now detect guardrails, cyclists in low-light conditions, motorcyclists in daytime conditions, and has improved lane recognition functionality.
There are a few more notable goodies, like an optional yoke-style steering wheel like the one in the new Tesla Model S, over-the-air updates, an AWD-based X-MODE (no clue what it does yet, but it sounds interesting), and front seat foot-and-leg heaters.
Production for the new Toyota bZ4X is scheduled to get underway mid-2022, so we expect to see the all-electric SUV rolling out to dealerships in the late summer.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.