Toyota made its big step in to the Electrified crossovers world with the BZ4X. this is the name of the very first EV crossover of this Japanese automaker. “bZ” stands for “beyond zero” which is a code to Toyota to make the customers surprised in the coming years.
bZ4X is the first on the base model of e-TNGA which is developed by help of the Subaru. This beyond zero will go on the production line in middle of next year in Japan and China. What is interesting about this new vehicle, is its significant design. Toyota confess the high comfort and luxurious saloon as it inherits somehow some characteristics of Lexus’s flagship LS luxury saloon. Koji Toyoshima told about this new design:
Our target customer is someone who places importance on time spent together with family and friends. When they want to enjoy such times, Toyota’s bZ4X concept can serve as a hub for them
Inside this car shows us what we can expect from the produced bZ4x. the instrument panel is just on the best place for accessibility and visibility. In the same time we can see the large central display, wide center console and textured dashboard can be expected to feature on the production car.
Exterior of this car is also very attractive. We can sense the power from the sharp angels on the body and the wheel-arch trim says hi to the future. The silhouette and contrasting roof are somehow familiar as we had seen it on the RAV4 SUV (and now has the plug-in hybrid option too). But the new front-end design is the pure art of Toyota.
Instead of the muscular grilles, what Toyota offers us is just a narrow black strip houses sensor for autonomous driving features. The headlights and sculpted air channels can be also counted as the new Toyota “hammerhead” look. This is called by the company “a new attitude and road presence”. Also, using the C-pillar provided sharp look from the side.
The powertrain is still a mystery. The things we know, is just an all-wheel-drive bZ4X.(as mentioned it’s based on the e-TNGA platform). That is said, bZ4X brings a genuine off-road capability, as well as “peace of mind” in all on-road situations.
This would not be the end of story for the bZ family. Toyota has planed by 2025 has a whole family around the world. That means 15 electric bZ vehicles. moreover, we should wait for other electrified pickup trucks too.