It's another week of dragging, not too many new cars, not dragging more has become a habit, but FAW Toyota bZ4X is worth a good taste!
It has been more than a week since FAW Toyota bZ4X opened pre-sale, and finally can jump out of topics such as "the first solar charging" and "Toyota's first pure electric exclusive platform mass production car" and start to write this article.
The Toyota RAV4-EV was introduced in the 1990s
Regarding "solar charging", many peers and users shout novelty and uniqueness. But as everyone knows, there have been BMW and Audi committed to it as early as before, and the hyundai Sonata Hybrid version produced in 2019 also has a precedent of relying on solar charging to provide battery life. Therefore, the "solar charging" that can bring more than 1800 kilometers of extra endurance a year is not the advanced point of FAW Toyota bZ4X. As for the second point, I don't know if you want to belittle Toyota's experience in not building electric cars, or if you want to tell everyone what this car means to Toyota, but you really need to understand the Yize E Jinqing. In fact, before that, Toyota has already begun the research and development of pure electric vehicles, and has also been mass-produced models on the market.
Into the chest or after the realization?
On December 14, 2021, Toyota, which has rarely had a voice in the field of pure electricity, made a big move, posing a big battle of "16 pure electric vehicles" in one breath, covering almost all the market segments in which the Toyota brand is involved, making the entire automotive industry shake. Along with this action, there are affirmations and doubts. Many people lament that Toyota is worthy of being one of the world's leading car companies, and it is a big deal. Some people also question toyota's big battle is really a bit late, because at this time it has been more than half a year since the old rival Volkswagen's ID. series landed in the domestic market, and Toyota, which has produced so many concept cars, makes people feel that "you are in a hurry".
Is it a bamboo in the chest, or is it an afterthought? Toyota has already given the answer. As early as 1997, the RAV4-EV and the pure electric version of the Prius were already produced at Toyota's plant, and Toyota's hybrid process began much earlier. Will Toyota, with such a forward-looking and strategic vision, be aware of it? The answer is self-evident. Putting aside history, the current Toyota has its own actions in electrification, and the first model based on the e-TNGA architecture, the bZ4X, will be born in an exclusive new energy factory. As early as 2020, FAW Toyota officially broke ground at its new plant in Tianjin's Binhai New Area, and its mission was to produce models from the e-TNGA architecture.
Perhaps it is the radical attitude of the new forces to "tell the story first and rebuild the car", which has led to the misjudgment of Toyota's hindsight. But Toyota is still Toyota, synonymous with calm and down-to-earth, the leader of Japanese car companies, and the forward-looking Toyota of the market! You can not understand Toyota, but you can not believe that Toyota, which has been ranked "world number one" many times, is not idle. Rather than saying that Toyota "gets up early and catches up late," I'd rather like to compare it to the big guy behind "let the bullets fly for a while." No hurry, everything is in Toyota's planning.
How strong is the bZ4X?
Perhaps the previous article will make this manuscript feel like an excuse for Toyota, then it is time for FAW Toyota bZ4X to meet the "in-laws". After all, all products need to face consumers and be tested by the market.
The bZ4X is positioned differently from the Volkswagen ID.4 series in that it has a wheelbase of up to 2850mm and is positioned as a mid-size SUV. You know, the wheelbase of the Positioning Midsize SUV Harrier is only 2690mm. From this point of view, FAW Toyota bZ4X is a change in the image of "cutting the rope" before. This also shows that e-TNGA is by no means a simple "oil to electricity" platform in everyone's mouth, although the name is easy to misunderstand, but this platform does have the characteristics of a pure electric platform.
The different positioning with the Volkswagen ID.4 also makes faw Toyota bZ4X open up a gap with the former in terms of price. The pre-sale price range of 220,000-300,000 yuan is by no means low, and may even make many prospective users who are ready to start shout "can't afford to buy" and then switch to the embrace of volkswagen ID.4 series or other models. In addition to Volkswagen, there are not a few "strength-level" pure electric medium-sizeD SUVs in this price range, such as BYD Tang EV, GAC Aion V, and WM W6 are also strong opponents of FAW Toyota bZ4X.
Putting aside the controversy of "oil to electricity", we also abandon the deep prejudice against independent brands, and only talk about the product power of FAW Toyota bZ4X to see if it can bring new experiences that make consumers shine.
At the first sight of the bZ4X, my first reaction was: It's not like Toyota. The middle way is Toyota's long-standing philosophy, but at the bZ4X there are many changes. More and more bold, stylish, is my first impression of it. Sharp headlights, funky color schemes, exaggerated side styling, and even the irregular steering wheel of the original version, if I put the logo on it, I would not associate it with the word "Toyota" in the slightest. I dare not say how advanced the design of the bZ4X is, but at least from the perspective of today's young people, it has a certain appeal. While many of its siblings can give the same appeal, the bZ4X will at least not be detracted from "stereotypical" points.
As the first model under the e-TNGA architecture, the bZ4X has some upgrades in terms of smart cockpit and technology, but it is limited to "some". Compared with many new forces, independent brand models of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip, more than 30 inches + more than 2 touch screens, etc., bZ4X's sense of technology is still not enough. The so-called smart cockpit is equipped with a digital in-vehicle ecosystem, supports voice recognition, and easily realizes functions such as human-computer interaction, but these can also be found in self-owned brand models in the early 100,000s, which are indeed a bit reluctant. Of course, this is also very "Toyota", after all, in its decades of brand development history has not been known for "technology", at this moment we still can not ask Toyota. At least in terms of TSS driver assistance systems and multimedia entertainment systems, bZ4X is sincere enough.
Space utilization and reliability are the "killer skills" that Toyota has been able to traverse the market for decades, even in the era of electrification, the bZ4X has been continued. The bZ4X under the support of the e-TNGA architecture will have a wheelbase of 2850mm, which is a wheelbase for a 7-seat SUV in the era of fuel vehicles, and the fourth-generation Highlander is the best example. Toyota's great point is that it makes highlander's space performance comparable to many 7-seat SUVs with a wheelbase of more than 2900mm. As you can imagine, the bZ4X's spatial performance will not disappoint. However, it is undeniable that models from the electrification platform have basically had a good spatial performance. Maybe the bZ4X space will perform better, but the extra bit is not enough for consumers to choose it.
As for reliability, in the era of globalization of auto parts, no one in the three electric technology is in an absolute leading position, so in order to open the gap, car companies still want to make the "remaining mileage" as accurate as possible, which is also one of the few Toyotas that can play "reliability". The maximum cruising range of 615km is not outstanding among many competitors, but if Toyota has achieved "every 1 kilometer" to be real, why not belong to its advantages? As a traditional car company, I believe that Toyota will also take it seriously in this regard, but it is not easy for the mileage of pure electric vehicles to be accurate, and you should not hold 100% expectations, you can only say that Toyota is better than its opponents.
Motivation is a point I don't want to mention, but it is also a shortcoming that bZ4X can't avoid. Although as a pure electric vehicle, its low torque performance is good, and it also has good parameters, but in front of a number of opponents who accelerate by more than 4 seconds and more than 5 seconds from 100 kilometers, the bZ4X has almost no qualifications to speak. Another point that I don't want to mention is "solar charging", which claims that the endurance of more than 1700 kilometers a year looks good, but the daily endurance is basically a drop in the bucket, and it is not realistic to expect it to save money. If you really want to save money, buying a version without this feature is obviously more realistic.
It seems that in the era of electrification, Toyota still adheres to the "middle way" and does not have too many praiseworthy highlights. At least after watching the bZ4X, I think so, and even Honda's kung fu around "no halo" is more attractive than it. However, you also have to admit that Toyota and Volkswagen can achieve such a huge scale, adhering to the "middle way" so that they have a larger audience, and they have the size they have today. Perhaps under the stimulation of radical consumption and fancy marketing, bZ4X is not remarkable, but at any time there will be consumers who "don't want to be guinea pigs" who choose it. Once frustrated in the market, it is also the most stress-resistant presence.
Back to the market level, SUV is still the darling of the majority of consumers, Toyota chose to set the first model under the e-TNGA architecture as an SUV, I believe there are also considerations in this regard. Looking at the current pure electric SUV in the price range of 200,000-300,000 yuan (Model Y has left this price level after several rounds of price increases), traditional car companies and new forces are counted, are there really a few good sales? I am afraid that there are only a few models such as the Volkswagen ID.4 series and the BYD Tang EV, and the sales volume is not eye-catching. Volkswagen can rely on brand influence, ID.4 series of products to achieve good sales, bZ4X will be difficult? I'm afraid not, but the only thing that the bZ4X, which is "good in all aspects", may be to "lower its body", after all, today's consumers are more sensitive to price.
Master observation
The bZ4X didn't give me an unexpected surprise, but that's probably the biggest "reason" it gave me, because it still showed the calm, pragmatic Toyota, and still the "you can start with your eyes closed" option. No need to draw a pie, no need to imagine the future, and even the favor of the capital market, bZ4X just gives the group of consumers who "don't want to try and make mistakes" a choice that will not make mistakes. In the last era, Toyota once achieved "the world's first" with this, but in the face of the current general impetuous young people, can Toyota continue to write a legend? It still takes time to give us answers.