In the face of the wave of automotive electrification, Japanese manufacturers have always seemed somewhat uncertain.

While car companies from other countries have been constantly promoting pure electric platforms and new technologies such as autonomous driving, Japanese manufacturers have been sticking to old-fashioned “oil-to-electricity” models, such as the Mazda CX-30 EV.

Not to mention, since the end of last year, Toyota Motor’s CEO Akio Toyoda has been making a lot of skeptical comments about electric cars, which have been repeatedly hyped by the media.

Nevertheless, the tides of time cannot be stopped.

Although Japanese manufacturers may not be as aggressive as their European and Chinese competitors, they are still gradually releasing new electric vehicles at their own steady pace.

Just last week, despite saying “no” all the time, Toyota released its first new car based on its Toyota e-TNGA electric architecture – the Toyota bZ4X (hereinafter referred to as the bZ4X).

Toyota has already introduced electric cars such as the CH-R EV and the Yize IZOA EV in China, but they are all just “oil-to-electricity” trial products.

These products lack competitiveness and are priced high, so they have not caused much of a stir in the market.

Therefore, the biggest significance of the bZ4X to Toyota is that it is a new car built on the basis of a pure electric architecture, which also marks the largest Japanese automaker’s serious embrace of electrification.

Looking at the information on the bZ4X’s model, we can discover some interesting new technologies, as well as some “old-fashioned” shortcomings compared to other electric cars on the market.

All of these make people wonder: Japanese manufacturers always seem to have their own unique way of thinking when it comes to innovation and conservatism.

First, let’s talk about the somewhat convoluted name of bZ4X.Like EQ to Mercedes-Benz and iX to BMW, bZ will serve as the dedicated code for Toyota’s upcoming electric vehicles, standing for “beyond Zero” and representing the idea of “surpassing zero emissions.” Meanwhile, the letter “X” will serve as a suffix exclusive to SUVs.

Regrettably, conventional automakers’ electric vehicle brands are exhibiting an ever-increasing trend to become more liberal.

From Volkswagen’s ID. (note the essential punctuation) to Honda’s recent electric sub-brand e:N in China—

Although manufacturers can find an analogy that explains the brand’s beauty, the application of various weird capitalization, punctuation, and numerals still makes it difficult for people to remember, and they may encounter some trouble doing keyword searches online.

As for the number 4 found in the bZ4X, it is hard not to link it with another classic Toyota fuel vehicle, the RAV4. This also led to many people misinterpreting the bZ4X concept car as the “electric conversion” of the RAV4 during its debut at the Shanghai Auto Show this year.

If only the exterior is considered, this impression might even be reinforced.

Despite having design elements that are standard for electric vehicles, such as the full-width taillights and enclosed front face, when people first see the bZ4X, it is still easy to associate it with the traditional image of Toyota’s gasoline vehicles.

This adherence to “conventional” design seems to be a shared philosophy among Japanese designers. For example, Honda’s new electric car e:NS1, which was released earlier, looks almost the same, don’t you think?

When we enter the bZ4X’s interior, this “conventional” feeling still pervades. Toyota officially named this set of interior design language “lagom”—Swedish for “just the right amount.” However, there are still many vestiges of the gasoline vehicle era, including physical buttons, fabric seats, and a steady color scheme.

Nevertheless, there are some small innovations hidden inside this interior.

For example, Toyota emphasized the 7-inch TFT instrument cluster on the center console, stating that it is precisely located on the steering wheel’s centerline, enabling the driver to check instrument information with the least eye movement.

In addition, bZ4X can be equipped with a non-circular steering wheel similar to the Tesla Model S Plaid Yoke, which is supported by a One Motion Grip linear steering system. We will introduce the advantages of this system in detail in the following text.

The appearance and interior design of bZ4X are not particularly outstanding, and its performance seems to be “ordinary.” It continues the consistent thinking of Japanese car manufacturers represented by Toyota: innovation advances in small steps and pays more attention to stability and reliability.

The pure electric platform of bZ4X was jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru. In addition to the large space and high expansibility that all manufacturers talk about when it comes to pure electric platforms, this car is equipped with a four-wheel drive system jointly developed by the two Japanese manufacturers.

In terms of space performance, we can compare it with the fuel-powered Toyota RAV4:

• RAV4 has a length, width, and height of 4600/1855/1680 millimeters and a wheelbase of 2690 millimeters.

• bZ4X has a length, width, and height of 4690/1860/1515 millimeters and a wheelbase of 2850 millimeters.

In the case of similar vehicle dimensions, bZ4X has a 160-millimeter longer wheelbase than RAV4, naturally making it superior in space performance.

Toyota is also very confident in claiming that this electric vehicle will have “spacious interior space across levels, and rear space comparable to that of a D-class car.”

From its side-view visual effect of the vehicle body, the “four-wheel-four-corner” arrangement is very obvious.

As for expansibility, similar to Volkswagen’s ID. family of vehicles developed on the MEB platform, Toyota also plans to develop more models based on the same platform in the future, aiming to launch seven models of bZ series electric vehicles, including sedans, MPVs, and crossover vehicles, by 2025.

As for the improvement in handling experience brought about by low center of gravity of the battery pack, there is no need to introduce it further. This is a standard quality for all pure electric platform models nowadays.

Furthermore, the bZ4X is equipped with the four-wheel-drive X-MODE function developed jointly by Toyota and Subaru. Through the “Grip-Control Intelligent Multi-Terrain Adaptation System”, it can enhance the vehicle’s off-road performance, allowing electric vehicles to handle light off-road driving.

In addition, the car can also achieve a minimum turning radius of 5.7 meters, bringing more flexible steering control.

At the same time, in terms of handling, Toyota has equipped bZ4X with a “black technology” – the One Motion Grip wire-controlled steering system.

Simply put, the wire-controlled steering system is a technology that abandons the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the tires and uses wire signal transmission to make the operation more flexible.

The technology itself is not new, but currently, it is largely used in aircraft. When the wire-controlled steering system is used in passenger cars, the benefits it brings include:

• Easy implementation of active steering. In bZ4X, the steering wheel turning angle is set to ± 150°, and the steering can be completed without changing hands, reducing the driver’s operational burden when turning, parking or driving on bends, and also making it possible to design non-circular steering wheels.

• Faster response speed than traditional steering systems. On bZ4X, the driver’s steering feel is improved through independent controlled steering torque and tire steering angle. In different driving modes, this steering feel can also be adjusted.

• Prevent unnecessary tire vibration and only transmit necessary vibrations such as road vibrations. This is also easy to imagine. Without the mechanical structure between the tires and the steering wheel, some unnecessary vibrations from the tires can be filtered out.

• When a collision occurs, the possibility of the mechanical connection structure invading the driver’s cabin is reduced, and safety is improved. At the same time, a more flexible layout can provide the driver with more legroom.

In fact, equipping passenger cars with steer-by-wire is no longer news. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Citroen have already tried this technology on concept cars.

Moreover, Infiniti, the luxury brand also from Japan, has also experimented with this technology on the previous Q50 model.

Unfortunately, within less than a year of being on the market, this batch of Q50s had to be recalled in large numbers due to defects in the steer-by-wire system, from pioneers to martyrs.

The application of steer-by-wire on passenger cars is not yet mature, due to two reasons:

First, cars move on a flat plane, while airplanes move in multiple dimensions. Airplanes require higher sensitivity and flexibility in steering control.

Secondly, the steering control mechanism and steering actuator (servo) of airplanes are very far apart, which creates a more urgent need for steer-by-wire. On passenger cars, traditional drive systems can basically meet current driving needs, so they are not yet widely used.

“Just because it’s not necessary doesn’t mean it’s not needed.” The well-known Tesla has previously stated that it is conducting related research and hopes to apply this technology to the Cybertruck electric pickup truck.

On the other hand, Toyota, who is usually seen as “conservative,” dared to be ahead of Tesla and apply steer-by-wire to pure electric vehicles. In this regard, Toyota also has a radical side.

The contradiction is that while it is radical to equip steer-by-wire, the bZ4X is not “impressive” in terms of performance, endurance, and autonomous driving assistance.

In terms of power, the bZ4X will provide two versions, front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. The front-wheel drive, single motor version has a maximum power of 150 kilowatts and a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 8.4 seconds.

What’s interesting is the all-wheel drive version of the bZ4X. According to the general practice of most current manufacturers, they would install another motor of the same power after the rear wheels to provide more powerful performance and a more impressive 0-100 km/h acceleration time.

However, the maximum power of the four-wheel drive version of the bZ4X is only 160 kilowatts–with one small power motor of 80 kilowatts installed on both the front and back wheels, the 0-100 km/h acceleration time has not improved by much, and it remains at 7.7 seconds.Speaking of which, while other brands call it “high-performance four-wheel drive,” Toyota bZ4X may only be referred to as “dual-motor four-wheel drive” in the future…

At the same time, the bZ4X’s performance in terms of range is not impressive. Both versions are equipped with a 71.4 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, with a WLTC range of 500 kilometers (single motor) and 460 kilometers (dual motor).

As for intelligent driving, Toyota has not provided much description yet. For now, it seems that it will still adopt the core of ZF and Mobileye, with camera technology integrated with millimeter-wave radar technology, providing mainstream ADAS driving assistance functions such as ACC and lane-keeping, with the main focus being on “ensuring safety” rather than “autonomous driving”.

Behind these “mediocre” performances, Toyota’s fundamental principle of car-making philosophy still reflects itself: safety and reliability.

For example, in terms of vehicle safety, the bZ4X adopts an all-round collision response structure, with a cross member connecting and stabilizing the left and right front face side frames in the front compartment to enhance the collision energy absorption rate. Two cross members are placed in front of the vehicle to improve the buffering and shock absorption ability of the vehicle in the front and side collisions.

In terms of battery safety, in addition to software monitoring the battery’s voltage, current, and temperature to preheat and prevent thermal runaway, the bZ4X battery pack also adopts a structure isolated from the cooling circuit and the battery unit, using high-resistance cooling liquid to prevent short circuits and fires caused by coolant leaks from the battery pack.

While ensuring safety, the bZ4X also added a small innovation to energy recovery: A solar panel on the car roof for solar charging.

This optional solar panel on the roof of the car can charge the vehicle battery pack while it is parked. According to Toyota’s estimate, it can add up to 1,800 kilometers of driving range each year.

The following is the English Markdown text while keeping the HTML tags in the original Markdown text:

Toyota is confident that the bZ4X’s battery pack has world-leading quality, durability, and reliability. Even after 10 years or 240,000 kilometers of driving, the battery capacity can still maintain 90%.

By now, you should have a basic understanding of the bZ4X: it is first and foremost a Toyota, and secondly, an all-electric vehicle.

For Toyota, creating an electric car with reliable quality, safety, and fire prevention that upholds the century-old factory’s reputation is the top priority.

As for autonomous driving and intelligent cabins… well, let Tesla and the new forces be the guinea pigs.

The question is, in a few years, will you still consider Japanese brands when buying an electric car?

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.