Toyota BZ4X Review FWD
The new electric medium SUV from Toyota, the BZ4X. But you may be thinking, this looks awfully similar to that Subaru Soltero, you’d be right because they’re essentially twins, and they share electrical underpinning, some tech, and even internal styling.
But unlike its counterpart, Toyota is offering its base model as a front wheel drive. The BZ4X also competes against rivals like the Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y.
But how does the first EV from Toyota stack up under family use.
Toyota BZ4X Pricing and features
There are two variants for the BZ4X, and the base model is a front wheel drive and only sports a single motor.
It’s priced from $66,000 before on-road costs, and compared to its single motor rivals, that places it right in the middle with its price tag.
For a base model, you get some pretty solid features. Like heated front seats, satellite navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto.
The upholstery also features synthetic leather trim rather than just plain cloth.
Toyota BZ4X Design
There’s not much that separates the BZ4X from its Subaru Twin outside of the obvious badging, and some very slight differences in the front and rear facias.
The rear lights are sharply defined, and there’s a lot of plastic molding going around the base of the car, but all in all, it looks sporty and fun.
The dashboard, doors, and seats are finished in a gray knit-like fabric, which makes it feel quite warm and inviting inside. Toyota BZ4X Review FWD
The cabin is also elevated by a black synthetic leather trim that’s found throughout the car.
Overall, the cabin is actually quite pleasant, but wouldn’t be out of place on a more affordable car.
Interior Looks
Despite looking a little bit cozy because of the wide center console, you have plenty of head and leg room up front. Toyota BZ4X Review FWD
I also like how well cushioned and comfortable the front seats are and that the driver’s side has powered lumbar support.
Both seats, like I mentioned, are heated as well, which adds to the comfort.
Individual storage is a little bit less than you’d expect for the class because you don’t get a glove box, but you still have enough storage It looks for some items, and there’s a shelf underneath that would fit a small handbag if needed.
Charging Port
The charging options are very good throughout the car, with each row getting two USB-C ports.
The front also gets a USB-A port and a 12 volts socket. But unfortunately, at this grade level, you do miss out on a wireless charging pad and vehicle to load capability. Toyota BZ4X Review FWD
Touch Screen
The 12.3-inch touch screen multimedia system looks great and is super easy to use.
I like that the touch screen is very responsive and that you get built-in satellite navigation and a Toyota services app.
The biggest difference in the cabin is the steering wheel because this features a more traditional round shape than the squared off shape of its twin.
I actually prefer the feel and use of this one, but it cuts into your vision of the digital instrument cluster, which is set a fair way back on the dash and feels a little bit disjointed from the rest of the tech, but you do get used to it.
Back Seat
At the back seat there is enough space for 168 centimeter height.
The 182 millimeter ground clearance also makes this a very easy car to get in and out of. the amenities back here, like the directional air vents, a fold-down armrest with two cup holders as well as a device holder.
There are ISOFIX child seat amounts on the outboard seats plus three top tethers, two seats will fit best. Toyota BZ4X Review FWD
Boot Space In Toyota BZ4X
For the boot, you get a tire puncture repair kit, a level loading space, and 421 liters of boot capacity.
Now, that is a little It’s a bit lower than some of its rivals. I always like it when you get a power tailgate.
Toyota BZ4X Engine Specs
The BZ4X base variant is a front wheel drive and has a single motor that produces outputs of 150 kilowatts and 256 newton meters of torque, which sounds a bit schlumpy, but actually has great pickup, and you don’t feel like it’s underpowered when you hit the open road.
You don’t actually notice that this is a front wheel drive most of the time. It’s only if you accelerate a little bit too quickly from a standstill and lose traction in the wheels that you notice it. Toyota BZ4X Review FWD
Other than that, power is delivered very smoothly. While you don’t get a tummy-sucking sensation when you put your foot down, the power is enough to satisfy for even open road driving.
The steering feels a little bit too light, in my opinion. visibility is excellent in this car. Besides from a few little things like the steering, I actually think that this is a very uncomplicated car to drive.
The BZ4X is pretty easy to park because of its smallish size. It does have a very clear reversing camera, which is good, but it would have benefited from a 360-degree view camera system, which the top model does get.
BZ4X Efficiency
The official energy consumption figure is 16.9 kilowatt hour per 100 kilometers, The official driving range from the large 71.4 Kilowatt hour lithium-ion battery is up to 436 kilometers, which is a little bit low compared to its rivals by a good portion.
The BZ4X has a Type 2 CCS charging port, which means that you can benefit from faster DC charging speeds. Toyota BZ4X Review FWD
It accepts up to 150 kilowatts on DC power, and on a 150 kilowatt DC power system, you can go from 0 to 80 in around 40 minutes.
On a 7 kilowatt AC power charger, you can go from 10 to 100% in nine and a half hours, but that drops to seven hours on an 11 kilowatt system.
All of those figures are a little bit slow, but not totally unreasonable to be inconvenient.
Toyota BZ4X Safety
The BZ4X gets some great standard safety features, but misses out on some items that the top model gets, like blind spot monitoring, safe exit assist, and recross traffic alert, all of which are pretty big ticket items and available on much more affordable Toyotas. Toyota BZ4X Review FWD
That being said, the BZ4X did achieve a maximum five-star N-CAP safety rating from testing done in 2022. It has seven airbags, including a front-center airbag.
Ownership
The BZ4x comes with a five-year or unlimited kilometer warranty, and the battery is covered by an eight-year or up to 160,000 kilometer warranty, which are both usual terms for the class.
You can have a five-year or up to 75,000 kilometer cap price servicing program, and servicing costs just $180, which is very competitive for the class.
However, servicing intervals are more in line with a fuel-based car at every 12 months or 15,000 kilometers, whichever occurs first. Toyota BZ4X Review FWD