Tesla is not the only one who sees something in it
The fact that Tesla is putting the saw in a steering wheel is still reasonably within the line of expectations. The American brand has been doing things differently from the start. But apparently such a half steering wheel (also called a yoke mentioned in english) still bad idea not yet. Even the sensible and solid Toyota is now switching to the airplane steering wheel, but fortunately only in combination with the ‘One Motion Grip’ option. Half the steering wheel is on the new all-electric Toyota bZ4X.
The Toyota bZ4x can be equipped with ‘One Motion Grip’. This is a so-called steer-by-wire system, where the steering wheel is not physically connected to the wheels. So the steering wheel works like a wireless controller and electric motors make the wheels turn. And no, you’re not the only one who is feeling very anxious about this. For the time being, there is still an option for a round handlebar.
Why a half steering wheel in the Toyota bZ4X?
The advantage of a system like One Motion Grip is that the way the wheels react to the steering input can be different each time. If you turn a little on the highway, it will be enough to change lanes. If you turn the steering wheel just as far on a roundabout, it will be enough to take the roundabout. Overpacking becomes superfluous. According to Toyota, full steering angle can already be achieved with a 150-degree turn of the steering wheel, for example when parking.
Incidentally, there are already enough cars with a physical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels, but that do have variable power steering. You can see this as a milder form of what we describe above. With One Motion Grip, Toyota goes one step further. A similar system is also in the Tesla’s with the sawed-off steering wheel.
More about the electric Toyota
Although the steering wheel immediately attracts attention, this is actually the Toyota bZ4X. It is Toyota’s first fully electric production car. It is on a newly developed platform called e-TNGA. You can forget that right away. Most importantly, it travels 450 kilometers on a single charge. It comes with one electric motor and 204 hp plus 265 Nm or with two electric motors and four-wheel drive plus 217 hp with 336 Nm. The 0-100 times are 8.4 or 7.7 seconds.
Free driving in the Toyota bZ4X
In terms of size, the bZ4X is slightly larger than the RAV4. There are solar panels on the roof of the electric Toyota. According to the brand, these generate enough power to drive about 1,800 kilometers for free. With current fuel prices, that would save about 300 euros if you switch from a petrol car. That’s not crazy. The prices of the new Toyota are not yet known.
