UMW Toyota Motor has announced three new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) into the Malaysian market. Leading the line-up is the company’s premiere EV, the bZ4X, followed by the iconic pickup, the Hilux. And finally, there’s also the Urban Cruiser, completing the line-up of the day.
Toyota bZ4X
Going in order, the Toyota bZ4X is the latest entry in the brand’s “Beyond Zero” line of EVs. That being said, depending on perspective, you may consider it as already being a bit long in the tooth. Performance figures include an output of 167 kW and 268 Nm through the front-mounted electric motor, and a WLTP range of up to 525km. Charging is done via up to 22 kW AC or up to 150 kW DC, the latter of which lets it hit 80% of charge in 30 minutes. This car is also noted to be the first to use e-TNGA, the EV version of the Toyota New Generation Architecture. Which translates to things like having the battery being lower, resulting in a low centre of gravity.
Inside, the Toyota bZ4X has a 7-inch display that sits quite far beyond the steering wheel, almost where you’d expect a Heads Up Display to be. At the centre is the more conventional 14-inch display. Speaking of steering wheel, the one in the bZ4X features flappy paddles, but these are not for gear shifting. Instead, you use these to determine the braking force, and the resulting amount of energy regenerated.
Driver assistance tools come in a bundle called the Toyota Safety Sense, which includes features like Full-Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC), Lane Tracing Assist (LTA), Adaptive High-beam System (AHS), Blind Spot Monitor (BSM). All of this is done with the help of 12 sensors around the bZ4X. This also enables its Intelligent Parking Assist system for automatic parallel and perpendicular parking. Adding onto that is the Parking Support Brake, to stop the vehicle when it detects obstacles, other vehicles, or even pedestrians. On the opposite end of the feature is the pretty self explanatory Safe Exit Assist.
The Toyota bZ4X comes with a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty, while its battery has the duration extended to eight years instead. To buy, it has a starting price of RM220,000.
Toyota Hilux
Moving on to the company’s iconic pickup truck, the Toyota Hilux BEV was initially revealed eleswhere late last year. It has a total power output of 144 kW. The company has provided separate torque figures for the front and rear eAxle, being 206 Nm and 267 Nm respectively. It also has is the only one of the three to have its range estimate tested via the NEDC standard. For what it’s worth, the figure itself is noted to be 315km. AC and DC charging are rated at 10 kW and 150 kW respectively, with the latter having the familiar 10% to 80% charging time of 30 minutes.
The first electric Toyota Hilux is also the first of the range to get electric power steering. Beyond that, it was built to be about as tough as as the series of pickup trucks are known for. For that, it has been given additional crossmembers, as well as a de Dion rear suspension. The result is a similar approach and departure angles to other Hilux models, as well as matching their ground clearance, allowing for 700mm water crossing capabilities. It is also the first of Toyota’s BEVs to be equipped with the Multi-Terrain Select, a system that helps it automatically adapt to rock, sand, mud, dirt or general bumpy surfaces.
On the inside, the Toyota Hilux BEV gets two 12.3-inch display’s inside, one for the driver and the other in the middle. There are also two USB-C ports for the latter, as well as built-in support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Notably, this is also the only one of the three that the company specifically mentions working with the Toyota Remote mobile app. With this, you do the usual EV remote app things like start / stop and door locking or unlocking.
Also featured here is the Toyota Safety Sense, but it doesn’t extend to covering the parking assistance features. Similarly, while the battery has the same eight-year unlimited range warranty, the vehicle itself is limited to five years and up to 150,000 km, whichever comes first. This is the priciest of the lot, starting from RM226,000
Toyota Urban Cruiser
Finally, the Toyota Urban Cruiser. Performance figures for this include an output of 128 kW, 193 Nm of torque, and a maximum WLTP range of 426km. It supports 7 kW AC, but the Dc charging rate was not disclosed. Instead, the brand provided a 10% to 80% charging time of 50 minutes.
The driver of the Urban Cruiser gets a 10.25-inch instrument display, with a 10.1-inch LCD infotainment display sits in the middle. As before, this supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Plus, Toyota mentions a “premium JBL audio system” being provided as standard.
Toyota doesn’t mention its Safety Sense here, but the Urban Cruiser still has driver assistance features such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Departure Prevention, Blind Spot Monitor, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Also added to the list of automated features is the Adaptive High Beam System.
As with the bZ4X, the Toyota Urban Cruiser comes with a five year unlimited range warranty, with the battery getting eight years and unlimited range instead. This is also the most affordable one of the lot, but not by much, with a starting price of RM198,000.
