$44K for less than 300 miles of range and barely 200 HP is pathetic. They started at the back of the pack with this offering and are losing ground quickly. There isn't a single thing about it that is market competitive. It falls short on charging speed, range, power, acceleration, etc. It doesn't even have a glove box or rear wiper for goodness sake. This is coming from someone who has owned Toyotas and Subarus and like both brands in general. This model is just a fail. Toyota needs to go back to the drawing board.
The absence of a glove box is to make room for the infrared heater, something no other EV offers. That, combined with their prior plug-in vehicle experience, should provide better winter performance than others.
Came to the comments to say the exact same thing. If I can get an 80% "fill up" in 18 minutes like the Hyundai/Kia group offerings, then a smaller battery pack is almost a non-issue for those of us who mostly drive longer trips out of town.
TBH, as I have a garage close to the flat I live, speed of charging is not an issue as I would charge the vehicle 99% of the time overnight. 500+ km range is more than good enough for me as it is 500+ km range with good efficient motors, good cooling, acceptable weight for an SUV, solar roof, heat pump and IR heating for legs in winter :) So I guess it's not 650 km range in summer and 350 km range in winter like you can find on some other EVs. But it's an SUV, so it's a no-go for me. Still, compared to RAV4, Venza, RAV4 PHV it is respectable alternative.
This new Toyota/Subaru is a total fail in my opinion. I am NOT against EVs, but where I live in Texas, the closest charging station is about 100 miles. It’s over 200 miles in any direction, for me to be in another state. Having a 200 mile range is pathetic, in comparison to gasoline vehicles. Add to that, auto makers seem to want to make EVs as ugly as possible, both inside & outside. To me, the best looking EVs on the market are the Ford F-150 Lightning & the larger Tesla models.
I LOVE seeing the episode in house. the interaction live is so important and real microphones too, so enjoyable!! Here's an idea, a Canadian episode, maybe in the fall, winter tire season!!
I find it funny that car reviewers will say you don’t need to own a pickup for a a dump run that you do once or twice a year. But you do need range for an EV over 250 miles per charge for a trip you might make once or twice a year. Inconciliable position. Besides, you lug that extra weight. You pay for that extra capacity that you will not use for 98% of the time.
That’s a valid point. But the issue is slightly more complex than simply range and I think that’s generally not covered during superficial reviews of EVs. Degradation of batteries and thus loss of range over the ownership period is a problem. Just look at used Leafs. Hard to sell a used one when the range is 35 miles after 5 years. So a bigger battery pack means longer sustained useable range for those that keep vehicles for more than 5 years. There’s also battery optimization challenges. It’s much easier to keep a larger battery charge in an optimal range to maintain battery life and efficiency with a bigger battery pack. You can also almost always avoid needing to charge at expensive charging stations.
@@micd9256 However, batteries in general aren't really degrading that much over time in EVs with thermal management. Leaf's only have passive cooling of the batteries while more expensive EVs tend to have better battery management with liquid cooling. Toyota has pretty good guarantees on the battery life so that should alleviate concerns for those worried about rapid degradation. Keeping an 80% charge and range on the bZ4X would satisfy a lot of people's needs with daily driving. If you drive a lot more every day than maybe a Tesla would be a better choice.
@@jmack108 I don’t disagree. I do think EVs with longer range are better options and the reasons you cited are justification for that. Longer range EVs are likely to have more sophisticated cooling systems and more advanced battery management software. Once these longer range EVs have highly modular battery packs and components, you’ll see a much better return on investment for long-term ownership of over 10 years. As for warranties, the federal government requires 8 year, 100k mile coverage. California extends that to 10 years or 150k miles. I believe that applies to degradation of more than 30%. That means a vehicle with 200 mile range to start can degrade to 140 mile range before any warranty coverage applies. Lots to consider when spending $50k or more on an EV.
Too much range is wasteful. My experience is that you don't actually need much more than 180 in the battery. BUT too little is also problematic. My wife has a 2017 leaf. No real degradation but it never got more than 80/90 miles in winter and, frankly, this is inconvenient,... Because you have to go out and back to places and sometimes rapid charging (especially with kids in the car late at night) is a royal pain in the rear. And as Michael says, there is less scope for a larger battery to degrade as they're less likely to go near the top and bottoms of their ranges. A range of 200 miles is super convenient. Not charging every night. Not thinking about charging on longer trips. They're just easier to live with and that can count for quite a lot. As I say, 50KWh is probably as much as most people need in a car, though.
We’re pleased with our bz4x since we’re older and only drive to a lager city 60 miles away once or twice a month. We have a 4wd Tacoma pickup for carrying things. Glad to have the awd x addition since we live on a lake 4 miles from a main road.
My older Prius has the instrument panel closer to the windshield but in the center of the dash. However, it doesn't put a whole lot of info up there. It works fine for me with my bad eyes which do not change focus easily. What is really great is that my Prius also has a color head-up display, putting some of the same information like speed and navigation arrows on the windshield itself. That seems like a better option than the bZ4X's (hard to type as well as say) distant instrument panel.
Not worth the money to test it ? So why bother to do the Polaris thingy ? And why buy the super expensive models ? Why not skip a bunch of those and do one Lexus LFA instead ? And why not do some “classic” cars: the RX 7, the CRX, the MR 2, an old Jaguar, an old Mercedes 300 ? And also why not a Honda cub ? Or a Vespa ?
They would have to find someone who still has theirs before Toyota tells them to stop driving the bz4x. They are canceling customer orders and buying them all back.
Not necessarily a mechanical problem. Lug nuts coming loose could be a problem in the design in that an electric motor can put more stress on a wheel because of the instant torque where as a ICE puts less torque on a wheel at initial roll off.
I have read that the battery cels are from different suppliers and may be different chemistry so different charging specs but you would think the AWD would need faster charging because it should weigh more and less efficient ?
Is CR going to update it's review of the BZ4X now that the 2024 model updated the DC fast charging speeds for the AWD version and added features to the XLE model?
Given the dashboard gauge display, Toyota can use a software fix for the display issue you identified. You said the dashboard gauge is too far from the driver's face, as the gauges display information (speed, etc.) using standard sized fonts. If Toyota updates the gauge cluster software, they could show fewer items (e.g., speed, remaining range, and one other item) but using a larger font. If they change the color of the font or background (e.g., green/amber/red) to signal how fast the battery is being drained, they don't need a separate gauge for this information. Any emergency message can be flashed in red, centered near the top of the screen.
Also, may be able to be significantly updated if Toyota/Subaru enables Apple CarPlay v16.0 on the cluster screen as many other car makers have indicated will do so.
Didn't Toyota recall ALL BZ4X cars because the wheels come off!!! Apparently wheel locks can't fix the problem. How does Tesla handle this issue. I have never heard of wheels coming off a Tesla.
The infrastructure has to keep up with sales, too. It's not just that we need to have enough infrastructure, but that it needs to grow with the growth of usage. And it's going to be an issue on holiday weekends anyway, unless we have a lot of excess infrastructure.
This bird near my work would always pick my car mirrors to sit beside and scratch at his reflection. I’d come back to my car mirrors scratched up and bird poop everywhere… Had to start manually pushing those mirrors in
The range discussion comes down to pricing. Spending over $40K for something that people will use almost solely for daily commutes and city driving is simply too much.
How come you are doing this episode wearing shorts - appropriate for mid-July - but when you show us some video of the Toyota "you were driving this week" on your track it was clearly shot in the early spring?
Six models with limited range and slow charging - sounds like a true winner for Subaru/Toyota. I don't blame CR for not buying it. It probably is not worth the time and testing the Subaru version won't amount to much either.
EVs are not practical in Japan due to the lack of electrical generation capacity. Right now due to the summer heat, electrical generation is maxed out.
One most also don't consider about having a larger battery pack- well two things. First, the pack ends up lasting longer, though as batteries have gotten better, this may become less of an issue. But second, with a larger pack, you can charge from 20% up to 80% very quickly, and still have enough range at 80% to continue for a few hours- and even though a long trip may take more stops, overall you will still spend less time charging! It is a new way of thinking when 'refueling' your vehicle.
It's a nice looking car. It's just that range is a worry and it's unacceptable for me especially the AWD. Believe me, that est range will drop depending how you drive.
14 minutes into the review to mention the recall because the wheels fall off? How long has Toyota been making cars? 101 car manufacturing, the wheels shouldn’t fall off…
Toyota is recalling these because the wheels fall off. LMAO You never see Nissan with issues like this. Remember the Toyota accelerator pedal fiasco? Nissan had brake pedal override far before Toyota finally installed it.
15,000 EV-only miles per year with ZERO range anxiety... That is what the RAV4 Prime offers when you simply plug in each night to your basic 110v outlet (and beats BZ4X for real-world practicality). This is why Akio Toyoda is correct about PHEVs and hybrids being the answer (at least for now). Akio isn't in a position he's worried about appeasing politicians and shareholders' short-term greenwashing moves to bump the stock price. Toyota looks long term, and makes rational market decisions. Full disclosure: Owner of a 200k mile 4Runner and a 950mpg i3REx.
No, Toyoda is wrong. When I want to go on a long trip I don't want to burn ANY gas. Sure, it might be just once a week. But that's still once a week where I AM burning a fossil fuel needlessly. We don't have time to keep fossil burners on the road for the lifetimes of those vehicles. In less than 20 years time we need to be stopping burning gas completely or we're screwed. I can go anywhere in my Ioniq 5. Anywhere. No restrictions. And at no point in the next 4 years of my lease will I burn a single cl of petroleum. And don't get me started on hydrogen,.... Plug in hybrids are a stop gap technology that we've now surpassed. And if Toyota was REALLY serious when it says they're the answer they'd sell on with a range of more than 50 miles. Which they don't.
Supercharging has a much lower impact on battery longevity than your state of charge. Charging to 100% or leaving below 10% frequently will destroy a battery very quickly. That makes me think that if Toyota is extremely focused on just longevity, their batteries must have huge amounts of energy withheld at the top and bottom. That depends on battery chemistry, but I don't think Toyota is using LFP.
Toyota really should have simply taken the existing RAV4, modified the floor-pan so it could hold the electric battery tray, and then swapped out the gas engine for the electric motor, and sell that as the 'Electric RAV4'. I think they would have had a huge hit on their hands if they had done that.
Well. I'm a lot older than 75........But that weird seating and dashboard will prevent Me from buying one........I have a new Lyrik on order because it is more normal.... AND far, far nicer......And a flat screen that looks like it really belongs where it is.........Enough early adopters that Toyota will sell out at first, But will NEVER attract a wide audience............Paul
That thing is ugly ! Hyundai has better looking EVs and more options to choose from. I could be wrong but that car is made in china by another company for Toyota. (BYD)
I have some issues with this, you are talking about a car you didn't buy? You didn't say anything about how the cold could effect the range. It is different than the Subaru. You really don't know anything about this car but still but out this lame video. Not your best work.
Hopefully the lazy effort in EVs is to wait and learn from mistakes of other EV manufacturers. I hope that the Japanese attempt at carbon isotope batteries does become a commercial success just like the Chinese attempts at fusion reactors that use deuterium.