Test Car Specifications
Model tested: 2022 Toyota bZ4X Premiere Edition (Prototype)
Pricing: From £41,950
Engine: 159kW twin-motor electric system with 71.4kWh battery
Transmission: single-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
Body style: five-door SUV
CO2 emissions: 0g/km
Electric economy: 17-18kWh/100km (Claimed)
Electric range: 254-285 miles
Top speed: 100mph
0-62mph: 7.7 seconds
Power: 217hp
Torque: 336Nm
Boot space: 452 litres
What's this?
This is the bZ4X, and no that’s not a rejected password from my Facebook profile. It’s Toyota’s new electric car, which is to say its first electric car. Well, almost. To be entirely accurate, one must acknowledge the existence of the short-lived US-market electric RAV4 (a car actually built with Tesla’s assistance - imagine that!) and the current Lexus UX 300e, a car not entirely unrelated to the new bZ4X.
However, if the UX300e was state of the art for EVs when it was launched two years ago, then the bZ4X is intended to be an entirely new art form. The bZ bit of the name refers to Toyota’s ‘Beyond Zero’ plans to create more and more electric and electrified vehicles, and to chop its total carbon emissions - from both making and using its cars - to zero. More bZ models will be built, as many as seven by the end of the decade (although Toyota says that perhaps five of those will actually make it to European markets) and they will range from larger and smaller crossovers than this one, to saloons and hatchbacks, with maybe even a sports car thrown in.
the 4X bit of the name tells you what kind of car the bZ4X is - 4 means that it’s roughly the same size as the existing hybrid-engined RAV4, while X signifies that it’s a crossover. Confusingly, 4X does NOT mean that it’s a four-wheel-drive model - most bZ4Xs sold will come with front-wheel drive, and a single 204hp electric motor, although there will be an optional twin-motor four-wheel-drive version, with 217hp, which is the one we’re driving here.
Style-wise, you get the sense that (even under the dazzle-pattern camouflage of our pre-production prototype test car) Toyota is pinching some styling cues from its posh cousins at Lexus. Indeed, apparently, some Lexus people were a bit huffy when the design for the bZ4X was revealed, so similar is it to the likes of the Lexus NX and the incoming all-electric RX (which uses the same platform as the bZ4X). You can see the resemblance most clearly around the tail-lights and the full-width rear light bar. Up front, there’s a little of Lexus’ gaping-maw grille in the shapes of the nose, but there’s also something more distinctive - a ‘hammerhead’ look (Toyota’s own description) created by the slim LED headlights and the rolled-over shape of the bonnet lip. It’s not an especially showy car, the bZ4X, but it is nicely proportioned and handsome, and looks lower than it is thanks to a lengthy 2.8-metre wheelbase. It looks lower than the chunky RAV4, in spite of actually being the same height overall.
Does that long wheelbase mean that the cabin is roomy? Yes, but it’s not quite that simple... In the back, there’s seriously impressive legroom, with more than a little air between your knees and the backs of the front seats. That’s deceptive, though, as the bZ4X’s flat floor means you sit with those knees quite high if you’re tall, which robs you of a little comfort. Headroom, with the optional panoramic glass roof, is also not that great, while the boot - at 452-litres with no auxiliary ‘frunk’ boot at the front - is below average for the class.
Up front, though, things are good. We can’t quite comment on the overall quality of the fixtures and fittings, as again this was a hand-built prototype, but the layout and design are quite a departure from the Toyota norm. Indeed, there’s a bit of Peugeot in the way you sit low and snug in the exceptionally comfortable driver’s seat, with a small steering wheel almost sitting in your lap. Ahead and above is a neat seven-inch digital instrument panel, which sits up high enough that it removes the need for an optional heads-up display. With the high centre console creating a distinct ‘cockpit’ feeling, this feels quite different to any other current Toyota, but in a very good way.
There’s a new touchscreen, too. Basic models will get an eight-inch version, but our top-spec Premiere Edition test car came with a big 12.3-inch screen, which is running Toyota’s impressive new infotainment software, that we’ve already seen in the Lexus NX. There’s lots of storage and USB connections in the centre console, as well as a neat wireless phone charging pad that comes with its own semi-transparent lid, but there’s no conventional glovebox - the front-seat passenger gets just a bit of moulded plastic.
How does it drive?
To kick off with, the bZ4X drives very conventionally, by electric car standards. The four-wheel-drive model has a modest 336Nm of torque, so while initial acceleration is strong, it tapers off pretty quickly as your speed rises. The bZ4X cruises very comfortably indeed through town, and on main roads and motorways, with exceptional stability and a ride quality that’s just the right side of firm. It’s not as good as, say, the Skoda Enyaq at feeling like someone’s ironed the road ahead of you, but surface imperfections are heard more than they’re felt, while wind and tyre noise are kept well under control.
Where the bZ4X really surprises is when the road turns properly twisty. Toyota chucked us the keys at the bottom of a steep, winding road that launched us up the mountains outside Barcelona to a sandy, dusty peak occupied only by whirling wind generators and sinuous tarmac. Normally, a hefty electric car (and the bZ4X weighs a not-inconsiderable 2.5 tonnes at the kerb) would be all at sea on a road such as this, losing range and composure in equal measure. But no... The bZ4X didn’t just step up, it positively leaped, darting and jabbing at apexes in a manner quite unbecoming a zero-emission family SUV. The steering is light both in terms of its weight and its actual feel and feedback, but it’s also unerringly accurate and quite fast, and that ‘hammerhead’ nose never missed an apex, no matter how tight the curve nor sudden the change of direction. It’s not as agile and engaging as a Ford Mustang Mach-E, but it’s not as far away as you might think. It’s really good fun.
Fun too when you take it off road. Toyota had set up a relatively gentle, but often slippery, off-road course for us to try the bZ4X on, and it again was more than up to the task. Four-wheel drive versions come with an X-Mode off-roading setting, co-developed with Toyota’s partners at Subaru (and indeed Subaru will make its own Solterra SUV based on the same chassis as the bZ4X). On steep and dusty trails, through a mud-strewn handling course, and through a 500mm water wading exercise, the bZ4X never missed a beat, and felt far more rugged than you might have expected. Few owners will ever push the car as much as we did, but it’s nice to know that the ability is there should you need it.
As far as range is concerned, Toyota fits all bZ4X models with the same 71.4kWh battery. There’s no option for a longer-range version, nor a cheaper version with a smaller battery. Toyota reckons that the battery pack is ‘right-sized’ for the market. Range for a front-wheel drive model will top out at about 285-miles, according to Toyota’s own estimates, while a four-wheel drive model will go for more like 250-miles on one charge. Those are conservative estimates, though, and the final WLTP figures may well be higher.
The battery charges at a maximum speed of 150kW, which is a bit of a disappointment, considering what’s on offer from Hyundai and Kia, but Toyota is going to offer an astonishing 600,000-mile warranty for the battery (with the caveat that it must be annually checked out by a Toyota dealer), ensuring that it retains at least 70 per cent of its original capacity by then. Much of the battery conservatism seen in the bZ4X is down to Toyota’s desire to make it as dependable as possible, and we won’t argue with that.
Verdict
Toyota might be a late arrival at the EV party, but given the company’s vast resources - and the car-nut sensibilities of its chairman, Akio Toyoda - there was little doubt that the bZ4X was going to be good, at the very least. Well, it’s better than good. Much better. It’s more fun to drive than most of its rivals, and more refined than many. Less practical? Yes, and also lacking a choice of battery capacity, but even so, we reckon that the bZ4X is one of the most impressive EVs yet.
Exterior Design
Interior Ambience
Passenger Space
Luggage Space
Safety
Comfort
Driving Dynamics
Powertrain
