Toyota’s race to zero
TOYOtA this week launched its first electric car — a new mid-sized SUV model called ‘Password’. except that’s not actually its name. it’s really called ‘bZ4X’. honestly. But as its official name looks like a randomly generated computer log-in code and, as i struggle to remember any of mine, the toyota Password seems more fitting.
the bZ is supposed to stand for ‘beyond zero’ — highlighting its green credentials. how do we pronounce this ‘bZ’? Buzz?
it marks the start of toyota’s sub-brand for zero emission vehicles.
it’s handy timing for a new electric car, as petrol hits the £2 a litre mark and filling up an average car crashes through the £100 barrier. even rocketing electricity charges won’t match that. charging to 80 per cent takes 30 minutes and it has a range of between 257 and 317 miles depending on the model.
With a 71.4kWh battery, the all-wheel drive version with two electric motors developing 215bhp accelerates from rest to 62 mph
in 6.9 seconds. the 201 bhp front-wheel drive does it in 7.5 seconds. top speed is limited to 100 mph.
the new electric five-door SUV is priced from £41,950 for the front-wheel drive, base-level Pure trim, up to £51,550 for allwheel drive Premiere edition.
Other trim levels between are Motion and Vision. trimdependent options include a panoramic roof (£540), 20 in alloy wheels (£490) and metallic paint (from £600). n tOYOtA has also added more power to its facelifted, British-built all-hybrid and sensibly named corolla — as it is given a mid-life refresh following the launch of the original 12th-generation version in 2018. the 1.8-litre hybrid is boosted to 138 bhp (from 120bhp) and accelerates from rest to 62 mph in 9.2 seconds.
the 2-litre hybrid is increased to 193bhp (from 181bhp) and hits the same mark in 7.5 seconds. But there is no increase in cO2 emissions (102 g/km and
107 g/km respectively).