After falling short of driving range claims – and reducing its charging speed after rapid top-ups – an update is in the works for the Toyota BZ4X electric car. Will Australia get the improved model?
Japanese car giant Toyota has detailed a series of updates for the Australia-bound 2023 Toyota BZ4X electric SUV – the company’s first mass-produced electric car –designed to cut charging times and maximise driving range, after it performed below expectations during tests in Europe.
Tests in Europe by Norwegian magazine Elbil24 and respected YouTube electric-car reviewer Bjorn Nyland saw the BZ4X – the twin to the Subaru Solterra – cover only 65 per cent of its claimed driving range in real-world conditions.
The testing also found the Toyota only allowed two high-speed recharging “sessions” within 24 hours – before being restricted to accept less than a third of its maximum charging speed to preserve the longevity of the battery.
Elbil24 and Mr Nyland achieved about 300km of driving range on the open road, compared to the laboratory-tested WLTP claim of 470km.
This dropped to as low as 207km on a 120km/h motorway in Mr Nyland’s testing – albeit in colder conditions where electric cars are not as efficient, on higher rolling-resistance winter tyres.
The difference between the Toyota BZ4X’s real-world and claimed driving-range figures is greater than electric cars from other brands, which in some cases have achieved more than 80 per cent of their driving range claims in similar testing.
Toyota in Japan and Europe has announced plans to roll out a software update for existing and yet-to-be-delivered BZ4X vehicles in the northern summer of 2023 (June to August) to resolve the issues publicised overseas, and improve driving range and charging times.
The updates are expected to spread to the Toyota BZ4X’s twin, the Subaru Solterra – as the vehicles are largely identical, made on the same production line, and differ primarily in their bumpers, lights and badges.
Toyota and Subaru Australia are yet to advise if the updates will be implemented when the BZ4X (due October to December 2023) and Solterra (due July or August 2023) arrive locally. Both arrival timing forecasts are pending any unforeseen delays.
Toyota Australia has previously said it has elected to delay the BZ4X’s arrival until late this year – from sometime last year – to await “the latest spec”, which could refer to this software update.
A factor in the driving range results published overseas is a battery-charge readout in the instrument cluster that has been found to be conservative. That is, it shows the battery is empty when there is still eight per cent charge remaining.
This ‘buffer’ is designed to allow drivers reach the next charging station – rather than run out of electricity on the side of the road – if they let the battery charge level hit zero, and is said to represent a similar percentage of total driving range to Toyota’s petrol-powered cars.
However, the safety margin has been found to be about double that of rival electric cars in similar test conditions.
As reported by Japan’s Magazine X, the UK’s Car magazine, and a follow-up video by Mr Nyland in Norway, the software update is planned to reduce the battery buffer – and add a battery charge percentage readout in the instrument display.
“We’re going to give a greater degree of transparency and unlock some hidden elements of range,” Toyota UK spokesperson Robert Tickner reportedly told Car in the UK.
“We are going to optimise the range buffer: when the instrument panel says zero kilometres left, actually there’s eight per cent still remaining. Compared with the competition, our buffer is a bit bigger and we want to release some of that to make it usable.”
Mr Nyland says Toyota has promised to increase driving range by “10 to 15 per cent” with the software update – believed to include the reduced battery buffer.
“What they’re going to do is they will increase the range by 10 to 15 per cent, decrease the buffer … the usable range that appears for most people will appear to be more,” Mr Nyland said in a YouTube video.
Toyota says the software update will also double the number of high-speed 10 to 80 per cent recharges permitted within 24 hours, from two to approximately four, according to Magazine X and Mr Nyland.
“When it comes to fast charging sessions, they will increase it from two sessions to 3.86 sessions … from 10 to 80 per cent … it means you will be able to fast charge way more before the [charge speed bottleneck] kicks in,” the Norwegian electric-car reviewer said.
According to Mr Nyland, Toyota says the update is planned to cut the 20 to 80 per cent charge time from 100 minutes to 60 minutes – while Magazine X reports the 80 to 100 per cent charge time is claimed to fall from 60 minutes to 30-40 minutes.
It is unclear how Toyota calculated the first number, as Mr Nyland’s tests have seen the car charge from about 20 to 80 per cent battery capacity in closer to 40 minutes, prior to the updates.
Other updates planned according to Japanese and European media include a reprogrammed driving range display, which more accurately estimates the remaining range after the air conditioning is switched on.
In Norwegian magazine Elbil24‘s testing, switching on the air conditioning to 20 degrees slashed the car’s driving range estimate by about 25 per cent – from 407km to 297km.
“We will implement a more accurate HVAC [heating venting and air-conditioning] methodology,” Toyota UK spokesperson Mr Tickner told Car.
“You might see a 100km deterioration, but [in reality] it might be 50 or so. It will be more accurate going forward.”
Japanese and European media report the vehicle updates will be available to overseas BZ4X and Solterra owners from this month.
While some of the updates can be downloaded and installed over the air, others will require owners to bring their vehicle to the dealership to program the new software.
It is anticipated the updated software will be included on the Toyota BZ4X when it arrives in Australia in the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December), pending any delays.
“The reason we’ve delayed [BZ4X] actually is we want to be able secure supply and the latest spec. They’re the two fundamental reasons,” Toyota Australia vice president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley told Australian media in late January.
However, it is less clear if it will be programmed on the Subaru Solterra electric car from its Australian launch, as it is due earlier than its Toyota twin, in July or August.
“More information about Australian Solterra specification will be shared in due course,” a Subaru Australia spokesperson told Drive when asked about the software update.
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