The current meta in the South African EV landscape is all about one-upping the competition with more and more affordable pricing. The title for the cheapest EV in the country currently goes to the Geely E2. But every once in a while, we see a return to the early days of the electric wasteland, like with Toyota SA’s first-ever EV, the bZ4X.
It really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? While it does seem like the bZ4X is one competent EV, with approximately 480km of range on a single charge and a 0-100km/h sprint of 5.1 seconds, it’ll come at a hefty cost. Toyota South Africa is looking for a payment of R1,182,000 before the bZ4X will take you home, according to The Citizen.
OMG, bZ4X IRL
Part of that pricing has to do with the fact that this is a big boy. The bZ4X has 452L of boot space (before flipping those backseats down) to fit all your holiday gear, with a tow rating of 750kg to back it all up. It’s all driven by a pair of electric motors, for which the 73.1-kWh battery pack is responsible. Not too shabby.
That’ll result in the bZ4X choking down 255kW of power and a combined 438Nm of torque (268Nm from the front motor, 169.8Nm from the rear). Then there’s the claimed 480km of range, which at least uses the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), meaning it’ll likely match real-world conditions. Stick it with a DC charger, and it’ll go from 0-80% in 29 minutes at 150kW. That drops to 22kW on an AC charge.
Read More: Volkswagen shows off the all-electric ID. Polo GTI at world premiere
You can expect a lot of bang for your buck here. In addition to the 7in digital instrument cluster in front of the driver, passengers will get to fiddle with the 14in behemoth infotainment display in the centre console. Sound derives from the nine-speaker JBL system, while your hands get warmed up by the heated steering wheel.
Buyers can also expect keyless entry, electric mirrors, leather (heated) seats, 4x USB-C ports, and a wireless smartphone charger. Then there’s the myriad of safety features — the all-encompassing camera system. Digital rearview mirrors are also included, as is blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, park assist, and parking sensors for the front and back, plus many others besides.
