2024 Toyota bZ4X EV
Toyota Canada right now has on offer just a single battery-electric Toyota model, the oddly-named bZ4X. There is also a Lexus pure EV, the RX 450e. Not surprisingly, they share a basic architecture.
Toyota calls it a small SUV.
Meanwhile, the dozens of car companies operating in Chinda, reports The New York Times, “plan to put 71 new battery electric models on sale this year.” If you want an EV in China, you have plenty of choice. EV there come in all shapes, sizes and trim levels, and the batteries “are ever smaller, more powerful and quicker to recharge.”
Best of all, as Reuters reports, a “brutal price war” in China means you can now buy a BYD Seagull for just a bit more than $13,000 or 69,800 yuan.
At 13 grand, I would be willing to take a flyer on a Seagull, tiny as it is. I imagine it to be the perfect city commuter. And perhaps one day BYD will bring it to Canada.
“BYD has also been aggressively expanding its presence overseas. It is, for example, spearheading a Chinese EV push in Australia and has begun construction for a manufacturing complex in Brazil,” reports Reuters. We can only hope Canada gets on the BYD list.
A well done cabin.
Two thoughts:
First, as the EV model selection in Canada suggests, Toyota is far, far behind BYD and many others on the EV front.
Second, I am not so sure I’d be willing to drop $50,000-plus on Toyota’s only EV in Canada. Yes, the bZ4X starts at $50,050 and you should expect to spend more before taxpayer-funded subsidies kick in – the ones available from the federal government, and in a small handful of provinces. The top models in the range go for $62,000-plus.
Toyota has, reluctantly, committed to EVs. But because Toyota was long-skeptical about pure battery-electrics, the world’s biggest automaker by sales has ceded ground to all sorts of EV makers, not just BYD. Toyota is playing EV catch-up.
Do not underestimate Toyota when it comes to EVs — or anything lese.
Do not underestimate Toyota, however. The company has vast resources, enviable technical and manufacturing expertise and a global footprint that is unmatched in the auto industry. Remember, EVs are mostly a first-world luxury cars, rather than a mainstream necessity in less-wealthy places. In the latter, the idea $50,000 EVs and a charging infrastructure for them elicits incredulous looks and even gales of laughter.
As for Toyota being an EV laggard, entering first into any industrial race does not mean you will finish first. Toyota, like Apple, has long embraced a “not first but best” mantra. Toyota and Apple do not generally rush new products to market, turning customers into beta testers. Toyota’s reputation today has been built on two things: reliability and gasoline-electric hybrids like the Prius.
The bZ4X is, of course, not a hybrid. The name says as much. The “bZ” piece, we’re told, stands for “beyond zero,” suggesting that Toyota promises to take the entire zero-emissions thing to some sort of new, though not entirely defined level. Hydrogen fuel cell cars, for instance.
Range: on a good day, 400 km or so.
What I can tell you about the bZ is that it is a very tidy, somewhat-smallish hatchback that seats five, has decent cargo space, 400 km-plus of battery range on its best day, and is available with front- or all-wheel-drive. Toyota calls it a compact SUV (sport-utility vehicle), and I think that’s a stretch. It’s a hatchback, one that boasts Toyota’s high level of build quality.
The base version boasts quick acceleration and 406 km of range. Power output is rated at 201 hp/196 lb-ft of torque. Fancier models with AWD are rated at 214 hp and 248 lb-ft of torque. Yes, it’s a lively ride, with sharp, near-instant acceleration and pretty nice driving responses. I very much enjoyed my time with it.
I also applaud the control layout and the simplicity of operating the infotainment system. The seats are okay, but not great. The cabin is spacious for a compact and outward visibility is quite good, overall.
Toyota has priced this EV to be competitive with the likes of Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and others. And these are for the most part entry-level EVs. Personally, I’d like to see the Seagull for sale in Canada. I might be willing to go as high as $20,000 for one.
Useful cargo space.
Until then, well, I’ll take a Prius or something like it to satisfy my immediate worries about climate change.
2024 Toyota bZ4X EV
Toyota Canada right now has on offer just a single battery-electric Toyota model, the oddly-named bZ4X. There is also a Lexus pure EV, the RX 450e. Not surprisingly, they share a basic architecture.
Toyota calls it a small SUV.
Meanwhile, the dozens of car companies operating in Chinda, reports The New York Times, “plan to put 71 new battery electric models on sale this year.” If you want an EV in China, you have plenty of choice. EV there come in all shapes, sizes and trim levels, and the batteries “are ever smaller, more powerful and quicker to recharge.”
Best of all, as Reuters reports, a “brutal price war” in China means you can now buy a BYD Seagull for just a bit more than $13,000 or 69,800 yuan.
At 13 grand, I would be willing to take a flyer on a Seagull, tiny as it is. I imagine it to be the perfect city commuter. And perhaps one day BYD will bring it to Canada.
“BYD has also been aggressively expanding its presence overseas. It is, for example, spearheading a Chinese EV push in Australia and has begun construction for a manufacturing complex in Brazil,” reports Reuters. We can only hope Canada gets on the BYD list.
A well done cabin.
Two thoughts:
First, as the EV model selection in Canada suggests, Toyota is far, far behind BYD and many others on the EV front.
Second, I am not so sure I’d be willing to drop $50,000-plus on Toyota’s only EV in Canada. Yes, the bZ4X starts at $50,050 and you should expect to spend more before taxpayer-funded subsidies kick in – the ones available from the federal government, and in a small handful of provinces. The top models in the range go for $62,000-plus.
Toyota has, reluctantly, committed to EVs. But because Toyota was long-skeptical about pure battery-electrics, the world’s biggest automaker by sales has ceded ground to all sorts of EV makers, not just BYD. Toyota is playing EV catch-up.
Do not underestimate Toyota when it comes to EVs — or anything lese.
Do not underestimate Toyota, however. The company has vast resources, enviable technical and manufacturing expertise and a global footprint that is unmatched in the auto industry. Remember, EVs are mostly a first-world luxury cars, rather than a mainstream necessity in less-wealthy places. In the latter, the idea $50,000 EVs and a charging infrastructure for them elicits incredulous looks and even gales of laughter.
As for Toyota being an EV laggard, entering first into any industrial race does not mean you will finish first. Toyota, like Apple, has long embraced a “not first but best” mantra. Toyota and Apple do not generally rush new products to market, turning customers into beta testers. Toyota’s reputation today has been built on two things: reliability and gasoline-electric hybrids like the Prius.
The bZ4X is, of course, not a hybrid. The name says as much. The “bZ” piece, we’re told, stands for “beyond zero,” suggesting that Toyota promises to take the entire zero-emissions thing to some sort of new, though not entirely defined level. Hydrogen fuel cell cars, for instance.
Range: on a good day, 400 km or so.
What I can tell you about the bZ is that it is a very tidy, somewhat-smallish hatchback that seats five, has decent cargo space, 400 km-plus of battery range on its best day, and is available with front- or all-wheel-drive. Toyota calls it a compact SUV (sport-utility vehicle), and I think that’s a stretch. It’s a hatchback, one that boasts Toyota’s high level of build quality.
The base version boasts quick acceleration and 406 km of range. Power output is rated at 201 hp/196 lb-ft of torque. Fancier models with AWD are rated at 214 hp and 248 lb-ft of torque. Yes, it’s a lively ride, with sharp, near-instant acceleration and pretty nice driving responses. I very much enjoyed my time with it.
I also applaud the control layout and the simplicity of operating the infotainment system. The seats are okay, but not great. The cabin is spacious for a compact and outward visibility is quite good, overall.
Toyota has priced this EV to be competitive with the likes of Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and others. And these are for the most part entry-level EVs. Personally, I’d like to see the Seagull for sale in Canada. I might be willing to go as high as $20,000 for one.
Useful cargo space.
Until then, well, I’ll take a Prius or something like it to satisfy my immediate worries about climate change.
About the Author / Jeremy Cato
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