US Production Model Video

[Malop]

Video just released of the MY23 BZ4X for the US market

 

[ernieb]

It's an interesting video but there must always be a caution to potential UK owners, "what you see here is not necessarily what we will get"?

[Harters]

On 11/18/2021 at 7:09 AM, ernieb said:

It's an interesting video but there must always be a caution to potential UK owners, "what you see here is not necessarily what we will get"?

Yes, YouTube is littered with videos of them now, generally in the UK we get better spec than those in the US, but time will tell I guess.  All the videos I have seen have said they are pre-production models, so things may still change/improve.

I initially thought I would go for white as I have with all my cars for years now, but I am not sure it looks so good in white, grey looks much better I think.  Really looking forward to seeing it in the metal.

[ernieb]

The US spec for the PHEV is significantly better than the one offered in the UK many features just do not make it to the UK even as an add on option.

[Harters]

2 hours ago, ernieb said:

The US spec for the PHEV is significantly better than the one offered in the UK many features just do not make it to the UK even as an add on option.

Yes that is true, we don't get the portrait screen even as an option, but we do get real leather seats instead of SofTex ones though.  Depending on people's opinion that can be better or worse. 

[ernieb]

The UK PHEV is missing the 360 camera, heated steering wheel, etc., so some really useful stuff.  I'd hope that as it's a full EV that the spec's a better harmoised but history suggests that the UK market, not just Toyota, seems to be conservative in specifying the UK cars.  I'll follow with interest the international market releases but wait to see what will eventually hits the UK market.  I think it will be 2023 before any production car hits the UK roads but already looking at the US specs the headline figures of 250 miles range have to be read with caution that's for the 2WD but generally pictures and discussions show the AWD version.  That's marketing for you...

[duncerduncs]

You'll be able to order the vehicle on the 15th December for a 'mid year' collection.  It wouldn't surprise me if Toyota UK deliver the cars next September so they are on the 72 plate...

[Harters]

18 hours ago, duncerduncs said:

You'll be able to order the vehicle on the 15th December for a 'mid year' collection.  It wouldn't surprise me if Toyota UK deliver the cars next September so they are on the 72 plate...

Will there be prices/specs at that time or will it be blind ordering I wonder?

[flash22]

The US and UK are completely different markets, the cars are built to very different standards

rule of thumb is the Japan will get it first, Europe will get the new BEV 8-14 months after that, uk may get it 3-6 months after Europe

with the way things are, it will be Q2 2023

 

£35K+ is in model 3 territory

[duncerduncs]

3 hours ago, Harters said:

Will there be prices/specs at that time or will it be blind ordering I wonder?

From the press release in October -

https://media.toyota.co.uk/world-premiere-of-the-all-new-toyota-bz4x/

Quote

The bZ4X will have its European premiere on 2 December; customers who want to be among the first to obtain the new model will be able to place a reservation via the Toyota.co.uk website from 15 December.

 

The car will definitely be available during Q3 of 2022 but waiting to Q4 will get you a faster 11kW onboard AC charger - the first cars will be limited to 6.6 kW.

 

[ernieb]

Frankly what would be the point of buying a fully electric car with only a 6.6kW charger I'd think most sensible buyers would wait until it has the higher spec'd charger.  Even the 11kW charger is a limited spec against other BEV's unless the car can accept a higher rate external charger?  

[ernieb]

Just found an answer to my own question, "Both cars offer a maximum rapid charge rate of 150kW, meaning an 80 per cent charge can be recouped in 30 minutes". You just need to find a 150kW charger.

[Malop]

It looks like the 6.6KW charger is AC (Type 2) with up to 150KW for DC (so CCS fast and rapid chargers). If charging at home with a standard 32Amp charge point you’re maxing out at around 7KW so it won’t be much slower. 
There are some Type 2 chargers that go up to 22KW for public use but most of those also have a CCS (around 50KW) so it would make sense to use DC at that point. 
So if I’m reading the specs right it won’t make that much difference for most people between 6 and 11KW.

 

[ernieb]

I think it has a 71kW Battery so with a bit of charge tapering and temperature variations a the standard 7kW home charger will take probably over 12 hours for a full charge. If you could get a suitable 11kW home charger that would significantly reduce the charge time.  

We still need a much better charger infrastructure to suport the BEV cars that will come over the next few years.  Not only the quantity of chargers but accessability without dozens of accounts and the reliabilty to have them in service.  Some of the reviews I've seen suggest that there are huge numbers of chargers that are out of service at any one time, fail to charge or you're unable to access.

[Harters]

I used to have a Renault Zoe back in 2015 which I mainly charged at home using a 32amp 7kW charger.  I found the final balancing of the cells often took longer than the main charge itself.  I know Battery technology has improved a lot since then, but it would be interesting to know if the BZ will still have to balance at the end of a charge.  

I know some people didn't bother with the balancing phase, but I found it made a difference to the range and the accuracy of the onboard range indicator.

[ernieb]

They all seem to charge quickly to 80% then then taper the charge to 100% (in fact the Toyota Battery is not charged to 100% but more like 95% even though it will say 100% this is based on reviews I’ve seen that use an OBD port measuring device) The taper time seems to vary based on the ambient and Battery temperature which is why I turn on the Battery temperature conditioning, heating and cooling, on my PHEV and assume this would be the same option on the BEV.

The traction batteries prefer to operate in the 20 to 80% charge range.

[Harters]

That's good to hear that it won't charge to 100%, but still display 100%, rather like the Prius does (never fully empty, never fully charged), but to the user's eyes it is.

Agreed, my Zoe would charge much quicker in warmer weather, cold weather would often add at least an hour extra and balancing took forever.

Really looking forward to seeing a UK spec car and what is an isn't included 😀

[ernieb]

Agree it will be interesting to see what finally gets included in the UK spec. So far many of the reviews I’ve read seem to be a pick and mix with no real detail. I’m not sure they know more than we do?