Toyota is sick of being labelled as slow or latent in the event and production of pure electric vehicles.
The market leader for hybrids, let alone Australia’s recent automotive market overall, hasn’t really made as large a stride in plug-in vehicle tech as quite a few rival brands, with its bZ4x electric SUV delayed for nearly two years Down Under.
But, while the Japanese auto giant doesn’t yet have a rival to something just like the top-selling Tesla Model Y, the brand has quickly pulled out several concept vehicles that are supposed to be a press release of its intentions moving forward.
Take this Toyota HiLux Revo BEV Concept you’re here. It’s based on Australia’s top-selling recent vehicle overall, and potentially previews a future all-electric solution for the likes of tradies and traffic controllers that need a utility but spend most of their time in the town or sitting there idling on the side of the road.
While there’s been no confirmation of a production model as yet, Toyota tells us the Revo BEV (currently a 1 of 1 unit) can be shipped back to Thailand and be utilized in an urban share taxi fleet, where utes like this are commonly used to ferry people around within the tray.
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HiLux Revo BEV Urban Taxi Concept -
As for a way an electrical HiLux stacks up for the Australian market, Toyota Australia’s vp for sales and marketing, Sean Hanley, says the technology demonstrated by the Revo BEV Concept is a “strong indicator” of the corporate’s “multi-path strategy” to impress its industrial vehicles for various use cases.
“It’s clear the vehicle’s all-electric powertrain delivers the impressive torque you’d normally expect from a diesel engine,” Mr Hanley said.
“It’s further evidence of the broad scope of Toyota’s multi-path strategy for achieving carbon-free mobility, applying different powertrain solutions to suit different user needs and operating environments worldwide.”
“It’s a powerful indicator of Toyota’s determination to beat the challenges of electrifying our industrial vehicles, ensuring there are multiple options that may meet the expectations of end users,” Mr Hanley added.
While Toyota has confirmed the HiLux Revo BEV Concept is A) “very much an idea” and B) “powered by Toyota’s EV-related technologies over greater than 1 / 4 of a century”, there’s little or no detail concerning the underpinnings of this electric prototype.
Toyota’s team told us there’s a high-voltage battery mounted within the underbody, attached to an electrical motor on the rear axle. Energy density and e-motor outputs are all, at this stage, confidential.
Projected range was said to be “around 200 kilometres” but not based on any official test cycle, and we weren’t allowed to look under the bonnet or under the rear end of the vehicle. We also know the concept vehicle relies on a Thai-market HiLux single-cab long tub 4×2 model.
We got a really quick stint behind the wheel of this currently one-of-one ute at Toyota Australia’s test track in Altona for some early impressions.
How does the Toyota HiLux Revo BEV Concept drive?
Inside, this prototype is like most base model HiLuxes, though the inside has some minor modifications.
The prototype has a lower-grade head unit tacked onto the dashboard, while the gear lever has been replaced with the rotary shift selector from the bZ4X on the centre console.
Ahead of the motive force you’ll notice the gauge cluster has been revised barely, with the tachometer dial repurposed as a battery level meter. Sandwiched in between the dials is identical supervision display you’ve got in other HiLuxes.
Now my time with the HiLux Revo BEV was very short, limited to a half-hour stint across the Toyota Australia Autodrome at the corporate’s Altona site west of Melbourne. The course is a easily paved circuit with various speed limits.
Beginning a Toyota HiLux in complete silence is a bit weird, given latest HiLux owners are used to the clatter of a diesel engine by default – not here. Bar a few signature Toyota beeps when the vehicle is switched on (like several one among Toyota’s hybrids), there’s no noise.
Pulling out from the track-side holding area and onto the Autodome, the HiLux Revo BEV is incredibly smooth and refined, with a faint whirr coming from the drivetrain. The sunshine steering and relaxed throttle feel very HiLux though.
Those expecting Tesla-style performance look elsewhere, since the HiLux BEV might be essentially the most opposite from a high-output Muskmobile as an EV can get. With no weight apart from two cabin occupants – the Toyota technician needed to ride shotgun while I used to be driving – the Revo BEV’s acceleration is best described as leisurely.
Strong torque gets things moving but when you’re beyond 60km/h the motor tapers off, reiterating the more urban- and city-oriented focus of this vehicle. I can’t imagine this stuff going much faster than 40km/h in Thailand with 10 passengers under the tray-mounted cover, and it’ll do those speeds just tremendous.
At speed all you possibly can hear is wind noise really, with the electrical motor seemingly more silent within the background once things are up and running.
Despite being an idea or prototype, there have been no signs that this HiLux Revo BEV isn’t technically production ready. It’s common for working prototypes to be a bit rough around the perimeters and feel like a bucket of bolts, but the electrical HiLux was arguably more refined than the production-spec diesel ute that’s currently Australia’s favourite automotive.
One other thing I noticed was a more settled ride despite a number of the strong crosswinds hitting the Autodrome that day. Diesel HiLuxes are typically quite stiff and jittery even on smooth roads, particularly with nothing within the tray – the floor-mounted battery appears to have brought down the centre of gravity and weighed down the springs a bit.
Toyota’s representatives assured me that the Thai-spec vehicle on test maintains the identical wheelbase because the HiLuxes we get here, so it will possibly’t be due to that. Perhaps the added weight meant a softer suspension tune as well.
Surprisingly, Toyota allow us to do a 0-100km/h run within the HiLux Revo BEV during our time with the prototype. I didn’t have any proper timing gear readily available, but my rough counting equated to a 12-13-second run to 100km/h with two adult men on board.
Given Paul Maric managed a ten.7s run within the diesel-engined HiLux Rogue in his performance testing, the electrical HiLux is a pair seconds off the pace. It wouldn’t surprise me if Toyota has wedged an existing electric motor from its portfolio onto the HiLux’s rear axle – perhaps the 134kW/300Nm power unit from the rear of the Toyota Mirai.
It handles well enough too, with light steering and predictable responses that makes it as easy to position as a daily HiLux. All told nonetheless, we’d need more time in real-world conditions to see how this fares in comparison with a normal diesel-powered production model.
CarExpert’s Tackle the Toyota HiLux Revo BEV Concept
Our time with the HiLux Revo BEV was too short for a correct assessment, but when a production vehicle feels any bit as complete as this prototype, Toyota may very well be onto something.
Normally early prototypes feel very rough around the perimeters and show their pre-production elements pretty obviously, this HiLux Revo BEV not a lot.
The short test loop revealed a smooth, quiet drive that’s arguably more refined than the diesel-powered version that’s currently our nation’s vehicle of alternative, and the minor interior modifications wouldn’t need much polish to be made right into a showroom-ready product.
With that said, the limited information readily available is frustrating, and we all know that in Australia just “around 200km” of electrical driving range won’t be enough for buyers used to the go-anywhere capability of the HiLux nameplate.
Toyota appears to be really focused on solid-state battery tech, which the corporate’s local vp for sales and marketing has indicated is the favourable tech to bring the capabilities of what current HiLux owners expect, but with a battery electric drivetrain.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
