It is rather surprising that Toyota, which helped popularize hybrid cars, has yet to announce a fully electric vehicle. Instead, Toyota has placed all its bets on hydrogen.

But despite a rather late start, Toyota has finally unveiled its first production electric car. It is the bZ4X, with solar panels, a water-cooled battery, and a range of 280 miles.

The bZ4X is powered by a 71.4 kWh battery, and the water-cooling technology is intended to make the battery last as long as possible. Heat is the battery's enemy; prolonged exposure to high temperatures accelerates degradation and decreases capacity over time. Unfortunately, heat is one of the byproducts of fast charging, which is quite essential if you plan to drive beyond the typical range of a car.

Other automakers have figured out ways to cool the battery during the charging process. Companies like Renault blow cool air over the battery, while the ever-popular Tesla uses a custom-made coolant to keep the temperature constant. Toyota uses old-fashioned water, which it claims will limit degradation to about 10% after 10 years (or 150,000 miles) of driving.

As for quick charging, the bZ4X offers speeds of up to 150 kW and claims to be able to restore 80% of power in 30 minutes. In addition, drivers can integrate solar panels on the roof to provide additional power to the battery.

How much will depend on where you live, but based on other solar cars, it would be a few miles per hour at most. Unfortunately, Toyota has not revealed any details about the panels.

The overall range is said to be about 280 miles by European WLTP standards, but this has not yet been officially tested and is subject to change. Similarly, U.S. EPA estimates of range tend to be more conservative than European ones.

Toyota will market the car in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants. The front-wheel drive model will be powered by a 150 kW motor with a maximum output of 201 bhp, a top speed of 100 mph, and a 0-60 time of 8.4 seconds. The all-wheel drive model, on the other hand, will be powered by dual 80kW motors, with a maximum output of 214.5bhp and a 0-60 time reduced to 7.7 seconds.

Inside, there is a 7-inch instrument cluster behind the wheel and a large infotainment screen in the center of the dashboard. Fortunately, Toyota has not fallen into the trap of putting everything behind a touchscreen, so there are physical buttons for key in-car functions like climate control; Apple CarPlay is also supported, and we expect Android Auto to be available as well.

A Tesla-style steering yoke is also available, but unlike the Tesla, there appears to be a choice of conventional steering wheels.

There are still a few unknowns, but this gives us a pretty clear picture of what Toyota has planned for this car. The honest truth? Not so bad. Considering that various Toyota executives have been critical of EVs, it is a big surprise that Toyota has any EV at all, much less one as impressive as this.

No doubt more details about the car will be unveiled at the European launch on December 3. Reservations will open on December 15 and the car will go on sale in Europe in the third quarter of 2022. Pricing is unknown at this time, as are details of the U.S. launch.