Car Review Observation, Car Review Agency, No. 521
Foreword: In 2021, while domestic automobile production and sales are back to growth, there is no shortage of bright spots in the market. Not only are there new and old forces competing in the field of new energy vehicles, but also the outbreak of new products and the continuous heating up of market demand.
Especially at the end of last year, Toyota, as a world-renowned car company, released as many as 15 pure electric vehicle models in one go, and the high-profile electrification transformation has aroused great concern in the industry.
However, this year Toyota still has three new cars worth paying attention to, and they play a pivotal role in their respective segments. And they are the Toyota bZ4X, Lexus RZ and the 16th generation Toyota Crown, let's get a sneak peek together!
Toyota bZ4X
Time to market: Expected in 2022
Model price: Expected to be about 400,000 yuan
As Toyota's first pure electric model in the true sense, Toyota bZ4X has taken the lead in the British market, and the official guidance price range for new cars is currently 41950 pounds to 51550 pounds (about 35.9 -44.12 million yuan). According to the car review agency, the domestic version has been unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show and is expected to be listed in 2022.
The Toyota bZ4X is the first model built on the Toyota e-TNGA architecture and positions itself as a compact pure electric SUV.
From the appearance point of view, the design is completely different from the conventional Toyota design, and the entire exterior design shows a sense of futurism. The front face of the new car adopts a closed air intake grille design, and the blackened headlight groups on both sides are connected by penetrating chrome strips, which effectively stretches the horizontal visual width of the front face, and the style is more personalized.
The overall lines of the body are sharp and aggressive, and the two-tone body creates a suspended roof shape, while also presenting a strong sense of light and shadow beauty. In terms of tail styling, the tail light group adopts a through-line design, the roof is also equipped with a hollowed out small tail wing, and the lower surrounding part creates a diffuser shape, and the overall style is very dynamic.
In terms of size, the Toyota bZ4X overseas version of the model has a length, width and height of 4690*1860*1650mm, and a wheelbase of 2850mm, respectively.
The interior design is still toyota family style, providing a three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, a full LCD instrument panel, a floating central control screen and an electronic gear shift mechanism, which is more outstanding in terms of scientific and technological performance.
In terms of configuration, the new car will provide wireless charging of front mobile phones, electric adjustment of front seats, rear privacy glass, steering system by wire, reversing image, keyless entry, one-key start, remote start, panoramic sunroof, JLB audio and other functions according to different models.
Among them, the multimedia system is more powerful, the online resources are more abundant, and the OTA remote upgrade is supported. At the same time, the bZ4X series uses a steer-by-wire system, and the whole series is equipped with Toyota's latest TSS+ intelligent driver assistance system as standard.
In terms of power, the new car is available in a two-wheel drive version as well as a four-wheel drive version, of which the two-wheel drive version is equipped with a front-mounted single motor with a maximum power of 150 kW, matching a battery pack with a capacity of 71,4 kWh.
The four-wheel drive version is equipped with a dual motor front and rear, with a combined maximum power of 160kW, matching a 72.8kWh battery pack, and the cruising range under WLTP conditions is 450km.
Car Reviews Agency:
I believe that many people, like the author, will be puzzled when they first hear the name of this car. In fact, don't worry, after entering the Chinese market, there will definitely be corresponding Chinese, such as the previous RAV4 (Rongfang), the new car is expected to be officially launched in the summer of this year, and will adopt a two-car strategy.
To be sure, this is an exciting new energy model.
Lexus RZ
Release time: Expected Spring 2022
Model price: Estimated at about 500,000 yuan
A few days ago, Lexus has announced that its RZ's first dedicated electric crossover SUV will be launched in the first half of this year, and the official also released many official pictures of its new pure electric vehicle RZ 450e.
From the appearance point of view, the new car adopts the latest design language of the Lexus family, but in order to highlight the identity of the electric vehicle, it adopts a closed grille design, which has become a flat shape and more layered.
In addition, the interior of the headlights also retains the "check-check" LED daytime running lights, and the fog light areas on both sides of the front of the car are added with bright black paint, making the overall front of the car look very dynamic and sharp.
The side design of the body is very smooth, and the B, C and D pillars are all blackened and hidden, creating the effect of a suspended roof. In addition, with the blackened wheel eyebrows and side skirts, it looks more dynamic and stylish.
The tail is made of penetrating taillights, and the upper part of the trunk also has an upturned ducktail shape, which is matched with the spoiler at the rear of the roof to make the whole car look sporty and high-end.
In terms of motivation, the official has not yet disclosed any information. For comparison, both the Toyota bZ4x and Subaru Solterra are equipped with a dual-motor powertrain with a total power of 160 kW (218 hp) and match them with a 72.8 kWh battery pack. In terms of endurance, the WLTC mileage performance may exceed 500km under working conditions.
It is worth mentioning that the new car is based on the Toyota e-TNGA architecture, and is a sister model with toyota bZ4X and Subaru SOLTERRA, which can be regarded as a luxury version of bZ4X.
However, the official map released this time only has the appearance, and whether the interior design is consistent with the Toyota bZ4X is still unknown.
16th generation Toyota Crown
Release time: Expected to be the end of this year
Model price: estimated at 350,000-450,000 yuan
A few days ago, there was news that Toyota Crown would return to the domestic market in the form of imported cars, which once again triggered heated discussion among netizens.
For this matter, there is no clear official report at present. However, its 15th-generation models will be discontinued in the Japanese domestic market in May this year, and the 16th-generation Crown models are expected to be released at the end of this year or early 2023.
Judging from the pictures currently exposed, the 16th generation of crowns has changed a lot compared to the old ones. The new car features a sport coupe exterior design with a large blackened grille on the front face and a headlight on both sides connected by a through-trim strip, stretching the visual width of the front of the car again.
On the side of the body, you can see a slightly similar back line to the Honda Accord, and the waist line design is also extremely sharp. The rear taillights echo the headlights, both in a penetrating shape, and the bottom provides a polygonal exhaust layout with a double out of both sides.
In terms of power, the new car will most likely be equipped with the 2.5-liter hybrid engine and the 2.5-liter self-priming engine on the Asian Dragon. With a combined output of 166 kW and a peak torque of 221 N·m, the drivetrain will match the E-CVT as well as the 8-speed manual transmission.
Toyota's 16th-generation Crown model will be positioned as a luxury medium- and large-sized sedan under the brand, and it is expected that after the official sale, the market price will be higher than that of Camry, Asian Dragon and other models, or it will be comparable to the price of Lexus ES models.
At the same time, the status of the crown in the minds of the Chinese people should not be underestimated, and the previous suspension of production in China has also caused quite a stir. If the 16th generation of crown is imported into China, it will fill the product gap of the brand's coupe models.
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