Toyota joined the electric band wagon with the launch of the BZ4X. BZ stands for Beyond Zero, 4 mid-size & X crossover. Simples. After getting our hands on one at the start of 2023, is it an electric company car crossover challenger ? Read on to find out.
What is it ?
Size wise, the BZ4X is slightly longer & lower than a RAV4 . On the road competes with the Skoda Enyaq, VW.ID4, Nissan Ariya, Ford Mustang Mach E & Hyundai IONIQ 5, all of which are a similar size. In addition, it’s been co-developed with Subaru taking advantage of Subaru’s 4×4 expertise, making it claims Toyota, ‘more of an off-roader’ than rivals.
Outside
Toyota don’t do boring & the BZ4X features plenty of angular edges . We particularly liked the front end profile, the aggressive high wheel arches & the slim LED lights front & rear. The back end also highlights the cars aerodynamics, with a rear roof spoiler that’s split with a small wing on each side. There’s no rear wiper though.
Inside
As with the exterior, the interior contains some of Toyota’s quirky signatures. For starters, there isn’t a glove box & the dash front features a sofa-like cloth finish. More interestingly, the TFT panel & information display are set back , so as with Peugeots i-Cockpit, you have to look over the steering wheel to see the screen. It’s also surrounded by what looks like a running machine set-up, with two grab handles, one on each side. It’s certainly different !
Our test car featured a 12.3″ touchscreen that uses the latest Toyota Smart Connect infotainment system, allowing access to connected Apps, the air-con & DAB. With four USB’s, two up front, two in the rear, all passengers can connect their smart phones. Toyotas graphics & touch reaction speed is excellent & frankly, is light years ahead of where Toyota was just 12 months ago.
Below the touchscreen, is the centre console. Here you will find the gear selector, push down & twist right or left to engage, the electric hand brake, a covered phone charger, plus all of the main car function buttons, including those for Eco mode, the Camera & Brake Regeneration. Overall, the quality of the materials used in the cabin are high.
Practicality
BZ4X comes with a roomy, light & airy cabin. Up front, there’s good leg & head room whilst rear passengers won’t complain either. The two front door pockets are generous,although the small ones in the rear aren’t that useful. Up front you get two ‘C’ USB’s; one located on the lower dash & one within the covered phone charger, with two more in the rear. Centre twin cup holders, a lift up arm rest with space beneath & a hidden storage cubby under the gear selector in lieu of a glove box, means that the BZ4X offers plenty of storage solutions.
There’s also a generous 452-litre boot, 60/40 split rear seats & a lightweight luggage cover. The boot floor lifts up with room below to store two charging cables & it’s flat so for easy loading or unloading.
Model range
Three specs; Pure, Motion & Vision with a choice of a 2WD or an AWD model. The two-wheel drive model is powered by a single 204PS motor, while the AWD versions have a motor on each axle to producing up to 218PS.
Battery & charging
The charging port i son the front left hand side of the car The range features a 71kWh battery with on the 2WD version, with a WLTP range of up to 317 miles. This falls to 286 miles for AWD models. Both versions come with a 150kW DC on-board charger, which means fast charging to 80% in 30 minutes at a suitable charge point. All-new 2023 model’s also have an onboard 11kWh on-board AC charger. Road side charging is very expensive, so get yourself on a specialist EV electricity tariff, plug-in at home between 00.30 & 04.30 am for rates as low as 7.5p a kWh. We were adding 30kWh per night at a cost of £2.10 a pop.
On the road
We were testing the AWD model which features hill-descent control, low-speed crawl control & a 500mm wade depth. And despite a wet January week, we didn’t face anything more challenging other than a few flooded roads, which is most likely to be with any snowfall, all your BZ4X has to tackle.
Start up & the BZ4X is quiet & smooth from the get go. This is aided by thicker glass in the side windows & a wider gap between the external door mirrors & front three quarter panel, which reduces wind noise. The steering is well weighted & you don’t notice the cars heavy battery, a good thing. Acceleration is very good, with a 0-62mph time of 6.9 seconds. It feels quicker with 337Nm’s of torque on offer. The BZ’s low centre of gravity, coupled with it’s excellent suspension set up, make for very enjoyable driving.
On the motorway, the usual suite of ADAS aids including autonomous driving & cruise control encourage stress free progress. We found that travelling at 70mph in the wet the 18″ wheels & tyres did let some road noise in, otherwise it’s business as usual, with the large, heavy, BZ 4X handling broken road surfaces with aplomb.
Real world range
As most readers will know, real world electric range & claimed can often be as far apart as John O Groats & Lands End. And, in a cold January, the BZ4X is no different. When fully charged our test car the 160kW Motion AWD, offered us a range of 182 miles. We found that by turning the heating off, the car recalibrate’s this up to in our case, 238 miles a big difference. Turning off the climate is fine in April, but not so great in January.
A couple of 80 mile motorway round trips saw the battery range reduce by 100 miles each time, so from 182 to 82, about a 20% loss. Charging up at night on our Rolec Smart Charger was cheap enough – 30kWh per night cost just £2.1o- But, with inly a 182 mile range unless the heatings off, if I undertook any journeys of more than 150 miles, I would be nervous.
Overall we achieved 2.8miles a kWh, some way shy of the 4-4.4 miles claimed. As ever, if you want to get decent range in any electric car, drive under 70mph in Eco mode, utilise the regeneration where offered & be selective with the climate control.
Pros
Very different inside & out from it’s competitors. It’s electric so only 2% BIK. Comfortable & practical. Quick & great fun to drive.
Cons
Our AWD model would set you back £51,410, so far better to lease. Real world range in Winter is likely to be up to 20% lower than claimed. In torrential rain we missed having a rear wiper.
Conclusion
Forget about the BZ4X being electric, first & foremost it’s the best Toyota car yet ! Toyota has always lagged behind for infotainment but the system on board the BZ4X is up there with the best. The ride is excellent with handling that makes you smile & four adults get loads of room to relax within the spacious cabin. On the downside as with all BEV’s, real world range takes a Winter hit & the AWD versions are expensive. Better to look at an entry level 2WD which loses the large infotainment screen & AWD capabilities, but at £42,860 for the Pure model, is the cheapest way into the range. Is it a challenger ? We think so, especially when you add in Toyota’s famed reliability.
A great first electric car from Toyota 4.25/5
