2024 Toyota BZ4X Review
Toyota has finally taken a seat at the EV table with BZ4X, which is also the twin under the skin to the Subaru Soltero, also launching in Australia.
But the Toyota, it’s actually bigger inside than a RAV4, about the same price as a Tesla Model Y, and according to its chief engineer, can even out shine the Land Cruiser Prado in some, some off-road situations.
Was the BZ4X a winning combination of all of them? Let’s go Let’s find out.
Pricing and features
Now, it’s a bit of a price shock for the Toyota, with the brand’s local executives having spent months, months, warning us that the BZ4X wouldn’t be cheap.
Starting at just $600 more than the entry-level Tesla Model Y is actually a fair bit cheaper than most as we were expecting.
The front-wheel drive BZ4X opens proceedings and is priced from 66 grand, but also available is a twin motor all-wheel drive variant, which is priced from 74,900.
Alternatively, the BZ4X is being offered with a three-year full service lease, which is offered through Toyota’s finance arm.
It includes scheduled servicing, repairs, tires, roadside assist, rego, and insurance.
But interestingly, Toyota retains full ownership of the vehicle, and at the end of the agreed period, the owner can either hand it back, lease it again, or jump into another Toyota.
You will be asked to pay around 1,700 bucks per month for the privilege, and it’s worth pointing out that at the end of the three-year lease agreement, you won’t actually own the car.
Toyota BZ4X Exterior
Anyway, the front-wheel drive BZ4X gets LED headlights, 20-inch alloy, heated side mirrors a powered tailgate, and privacy glass on all rear windows.
Inside, there’s fabric and faux leather trim, a powered driver’s seat, heated front seats, dual zone climate control, and keyless entry and start.
Interior
While on the tech front, you can expect a sizable 12.3-inch central touch screen with wireless phone mirroring and a Toyota virtual assistant.
The cloud-based nav will guide you to charging stations and over-the-air updates are available too.
Step up to the all-wheel drive model and you’ll find a more stylish exterior, including a roof spoiler, a glass roof, roof rails, and gloss-black trimmings.
Inside is a JBL Sound System, a 10-watt wireless charger, ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and a kick sensor for that powered tailgate.
Now, it’s also built as the off-road ready model, if you can believe it, with 212 millimeters of ground clearance and X-Mode drive modes, including snow, dirt, and deep snow mud to deliver what Toyota promises is the benchmark off-road ability among BEV SUVs.
Toyota BZ4X Design
So first things first, the BZ4X looks like a car and not like a spaceship, which in my opinion is always a good thing.
And given really the only thing that’s going to differentiate this from the Subaru is its design, it’s probably important that Toyota gets it right.
Now, both models ride on these 20-inch alloy, but this is the all-wheel drive version, which means it gets a slightly fancier exterior treatment with a glass roof, roof rails, and some gloss black highlights.
Now, there are a couple of quirks, though, and one of them is the fact that constant color changes make it feel a little bit like a jigsaw puzzle that’s been pieced together.
And there’s strip across the bonnet, which in this all-wheel drive version is gloss black, but in the front wheel drive version, it’s more of a matte gray and can look a little ordinary.
TouchScreen
Inside the BZ4x, and that car-like familiarity continues with Toyota going for a far more traditional car layout, unlike the Tesla Model Y, with the screen in front of you that has your speed, driving range, battery state, and all those kinds of things.
Now, in the center, the big touch screen has smartphone mirroring, of course, and it works a treat, but there’s also physical buttons for core functions, which I always appreciate. I do love some of the cabin materials.
That said, though, I’m not as convinced by the tunnel vision view of screen, which can get blocked by the steering wheel.
Also, there’s no glove box instead, your owner’s manuals.
Practicality
As I mentioned, it’s actually bigger in 2nd row than a Toyota RAV4, and it rides on roughly the same wheelbase as an LC300 because the wheels have been pushed to the furthest corners.
Predictably, that’s a bit of a boon for back seat riders.
In fact, plenty of space in all directions. There are some other practicality perks back here, too.
You get twin USB ports, you get air vents for back seat riders, You get twin cup holders in the pull down divider, and ISOfix attachment points in each window seat.
Now, that said, there are some quirks.
There’s no frunk, for example, which is pretty common in the world of EVs these days.
Instead, you’re left just with the boot space.
Engine & Performance
There’s no traditional power point, which you find in a lot of EVs, too, to keep things like laptops charged up when you’re on the move.
Front wheel drive models get the single motor delivering 150 kilowatts and 266 Newton meters, while all wheel drive models like this one get twin motors upping the grunt to 160 kilowatts and 337 Newton meters.
Efficiency
Both BZ4 X models are fitted with a 71.4 kilowatt hour lithium-ion battery, and both will deliver in excess of 400 kilometers in driving range on the WLTP cycle.
But of course, the dual motors range is a little bit lower than single motors range, which is often the case in the world of EVs.
Now, when it comes time to recharge, it’s set up for 150 kilowatt DC fast charging, while AC charging caps out at 11 kilowatts.
Safety In Toyota BZ4X
Both BZ4x models are fitted with what Toyota calls its latest safety sense, with highlights including AEB with motorbike, cyclist
Pedestrian detection, along with emergency steering assist, lane trace assist, active cruise, seven airbags, and speed sign recognition.
The BZ4X also carries a five-star NCAP safety rating.
Ownership
Toyota reckons it targeted 90% battery health after 10 years for the BZ4X, which would be plenty impressive, except they only actually guarantee 70% after eight years.
Elsewhere, Toyota’s five-year unlimited kilometer warranty applies with servicing required every 12 months or 15,000 Ks, kept at 180 bucks per visit for the first five years.
Final Word
It’s priced to compete with the Tesla Model Y, but the experiences are actually pretty different. One’s futuristic, the other, far more familiar.
If I’m being honest, there are There’s definitely ways in which I like this Toyota more. It might be the brand’s first EV, but it does paint a pretty rosy picture of its electrified future.