It may have taken Toyota the best part of a decade to enter the EV market, but they’ve gone and done it in true Toyota fashion. This is the Toyota bZ4X, which I’ll admit is a silly name, but that’s where the folly ends. The bZ4X will be the first Toyota vehicle that will display a blue icon badge, but not all future vehicles displaying the blue icon will be BEVs.
Firstly, let’s explain that name. The “bZ” stands for “beyond Zero” emissions representing the battery-electric vehicle, “4” means it’s the equivalent-sized Toyota RAV4 and the “X” describes it as a compact crossover SUV. This is the higher spec of the two bZ4Xs currently available, the bZ4X AWD and it’s got premium paint in a rich dark blue and a two-tone roof.
Underneath the bx4X is a dedicated battery electric vehicle platform, e-TNGA, for greater rigidity and a low centre of gravity for improved handling and stability and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor and BEV automatic transmission. The maximum power output of the bx4X AWD is 160kW and the maximum torque is 337Nm and this provides a surprisingly good acceleration from a vehicle weighing more than 2.5 tonnes. The official 0-100km/h time for the AWD is 6.9 seconds and the both bZ4X’s have a top speed of 160km/h.
The energy for the bZ4X comes from a 71.4 kWh Lithium-Ion Battery that has been rigorously tested through a proven production process, with a unique design that includes multiple monitoring systems. With dual EV motors and an AWD powertrain, the top grade offers enhanced traction with X-Mode and Grip Control for intuitive off-road performance and Eco mode for maximum efficiency.
The claimed range for the bZ4X AWD is 411km (WLTP) or 485km (NEDC) with a claimed electric energy consumption figure of 181.1Wh/km (WLTP) or 141Wh/km (NEDC). For my week I used 207Wh/km or 20.7kWh/100km that would have given me a maximum range of 346kms. The maximum braked and unbraked towing capacity for the bZ4X is 750kg and towing would further reduce your available range.
The charge port for the bZ4X is located on the passenger side front quarter panel and when charging is in progress the light above the port is illuminated green and the estimated charge time is displayed on the driver’s dash. The bZ4X comes standard with a Mode 2 (for household power point charging) and a Mode 3 (for faster charging) charging cable. A wall-mounted home charger is available from JET Charge at an additional cost.
I was impressed that Toyota prominently displayed the household power point charging (Mode 2) charging time on their website, which is approximately 30+ hours for a 10-100%. This may sound like a long time, but you will most likely not be using all of the battery in one day, so if you plug the bZ4X when you get home every night, it would most likely recharge enough by the next day. Using a dedicated AC wall charger (Mode 3) at home with 7kW single phase charging the claimed time for a 10-100% charge is approximately 10 hours. The bZ4X is also compatible with DC 150kW fast charging (Mode 4) and the claimed 10-80% charge time is approximately 45 minutes.
The bZ4X is a peaceful in the cabin, thanks to quiet electric motors and sound-proofed materials, and I found that it drove very nicely and felt solid on the road. I’m not a fan of the dash design though and the placement of the steering wheel felt a bit odd as well. It’s like Toyota tried too hard to achieve a futuristic design and the end result was a mash up of materials and angles.
The bZ4X AWD cabin does have a premium feel though thanks to the lovely thick floor mats, premium SofTex seat trim, and the fixed panoramic moon roof. Both front seats are heated and cooled and the driver’s seat has power adjustment for recline, forward/back, seat height, two way lumbar support and two memory positions and the driver also gets a heated steering wheel. The passenger seat only has manual adjustment for recline, forward/back and seat height adjustment.
Like the dash design, the centre console also has some interesting features as well, and I really don’t like the gloss black used here and, on the door pulls, as they show finger marks and dust. The arm rest can be slid forward and back and as there is no glove box the user manual is located in the arm rest under a removable ledge. The two cup holders in centre console are set quite low so it can make it difficult to get your coffee cup out, but there are good sized drink bottle storage cubbies for two drink bottles in each front door.
The wireless phone charger is located in the centre console under the pop up cover and I liked that the cover was slightly transparent, so you can see if your phone is in there. But this cubby may not be wide enough to fit some of the larger smart phones available? There’s one USB-A port located here and two USB-C ports and one 12V socket located on the ledge under the centre console.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Wireless Android Auto are standard and the latter worked well for me. The 12.3″ multimedia system has cloud navigation and you can select to display charge stations on sat nav and you have the ability to specify quick charge only locations or availability on the menu selection. The bZ4X comes with one year’s complementary access to Toyota Connected Services and after 12 months fees and charges may apply. Using the myToyota Connect app you can access Charge Management features including Safety and Security features, Driving Insights, Connected Multimedia and Remote Connect.
There was a good amount of leg room for me in the rear seats, but headroom was tight and taller people would find it even more uncomfortable, and my knees also felt like they were sitting up high. For younger passengers there are two ISOfix/three rear tether child seat restraint points, but really only room for two car seats due to the width of the rear seat. If not in use, the centre seat folds down as arm rest and has two rigid cup holders and a slot for a small tablet or smart phone. There are also good-sized drink bottle storage cubbies in the rear doors.
There are two central air vents with individual direction control and one central on/off switch and you can stop air blowing on rear passengers from the front climate controls if required. Above the vents there are two USB-C ports, but by far my favourite feature is the thick carpet mat over the entire length of the flat rear floor as it feels quite luxurious and would make cleaning easier.
The bZ4X AWD has a powered boot with an open/close button under boot lid, on the key fob and in the cabin and it also has kick sensor, but I didn’t realise so didn’t test it. The boot is a good size however the cargo cover does hang down low when it’s pushed back and you have to lift it in order to place items right at the back of the boot. But under the boot floor the cargo cover can be cleverly stowed when not in use and there is also an excellent first aid kit here and room for the charge cord that you use less. The tyre repair kit is neatly packaged in the driver’s side of the boot. The boot space has two plastic tie down points and two hooks oddly located at the front of the boot and one light. If more room is required the rear seats have a 40:60 split fold mechanism with release on seat shoulders.
The bZ4X has a 5-star ANCAP (2022) safety rating with an Adult Occupant Protection score of 88% (33.69 out of 38) and a Child Occupant Protection score also of 88% (43.43 out of 49). Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags are standard. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard.
The Toyota bZ4X is equipped with the latest Toyota Safety Sense technology including All-speed Active Cruise Control with curve speed reduction that did glitch on me for one occasion and would not engage and wearing sunglasses caused an issue with the driver distraction detection system. There’s also Lane Departure Alert with steering assist, Lane Change Assist, Pre-Collision Safety system with pedestrian and daylight cyclist detection and Intersection Turn Assistance, Emergency Steering Assist, Road Sign Assist (speed signs only) and Blind Spot Monitor with Safe Exit Assist, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. You also get a 360-degree rear view camera with front and rear parking sensors, auto lights with automatic high beam and auto wipers for convenience.
ANCAP tests of the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) (Car-to-Car) system showed GOOD performance with collisions avoided or mitigated in all scenarios, including AEB Junction Assist where the test vehicle can autonomously brake to avoid crashes when turning across the path of an oncoming vehicle. ANCAP tests of the lane support system functionality showed GOOD performance, including in several of the more critical emergency lane keeping test scenarios. Overall, the Safety Assist score was 93% for the bZ4X.
All new Toyota vehicles are backed by a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty and if a defect covered by the Toyota Warranty Advantage causes your vehicle to be undriveable, towing to the nearest Toyota Dealer and a loan car is covered. The bZ4X also comes with 8 years/160,000kms (whichever occurs first) warranty for the battery and applies if the battery energy storage capacity falls below 70% of original capacity provided regular Health Checks in the maintenance program are executed according to Toyota specifications, and operation, charging and maintenance complies with Toyota EV Operating Instructions contained within the vehicle Owner’s Manual.
The services interval for the bZ4X is 12 months or 15,000 km, whichever occurs first and the service cost is fixed at $180 for the first five scheduled services. This service includes an inspection of the 12-volt auxiliary battery and a Traction Battery Health Check.
The bZ4X AWD is priced from $74,900 excluding on-road costs and as tested with Dynamic Blue premium paint ($575) and two-tone roof ($1,350) my bZ4X AWD was $76,825 plus on-roads. You can Build & Price your bZ4X online or visit your preferred Toyota dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| Quiet, solid feeling EV | Some of the interior design features |
| The thick carpet mats | You only get 12 months complimentary access to Toyota Connected Services |
| The quality of the first aid kit | It’s a silly name |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.