Toyota bZ4X (2026 – ) Electric review

Toyota will be breathing a sigh of relief at the chancellor raising the ’Expensive Car’ VED/’road tax’ threshold from £40,000 to £50,000, given all but top spec bZ4Xs are within that. What the taxman gives with one hand he takes with the other, though, and new pay-per-mile charges for electric vehicles will all but wipe out any savings on that score. At least the new bZ4X goes further on a charge than before, so you’ll be paying less to top up the battery, whether you do that at homeor on the public network. Beyond that it’s the usual story of cheaper Benefit In Kind for company drivers – for now, at least

The wheels almost – literally – came off the bZ4X at the start but a recall addressed this and you can rest assured it won’t be a problem on the new one. Or, indeed, any in the used market. More generally Toyota’s reputation for reliability remains solid, its faith in its technology meaning the battery is guaranteed to retain at least 70 per cent of its capacity after 650,000 miles, or 1,000,000km. Few owners are likely to test that theory, but if you commit to annual servicing at a Toyota dealership it will now extend the standard three-year warranty to up to 10 years.

Poor forward visibility is a common issue on many modern crossovers, so credit to Toyota for making the bodywork thin enough not to block your view at junctions and roundabouts, and for the raised corners to the bonnet to help you place it accurately in tight spots. Vision isn’t so good rearwards but you at least get a camera, sensors and automatic braking if the car thinks you’re backing out into the path of an unseen vehicle. We also like the fact useful stuff like blind-spot warnings are standard, where some rivals hide this on higher trim levels or in options packs. We were less keen on the intrusive driver attention alerts, which scold you for even daring to look at the screen for a moment. Well-intentioned in principle. But overly sensitive in practice. More appealing is the system introduced in the 2024 update that automatically flashes the hazard lights at any wannabe tailgaters rushing up to your back bumper. Bravo.

In typically fastidious fashion Toyota has gone through the bZ4X front to back to improve on the already impressive refinement, adding ‘acoustic’ glass to the front side windows and various sound-deadening materials to the body. This and the silent electric drive make it a very relaxing place to cover ground, the suspension also striking a good balance between bump-swallowing plushness and body control in the corners. OK, it’s no sports car. But … it’s not meant as one. And while the steering is on the heavy side for a family crossover keen drivers may in fact prefer this to the vague feel of many rivals. Most family owners will, of course, be more interested in practicality than handling and the bZ4X makes the most of its electric foundations to create a flat floor in the back and free up tons of leg-room. The boot is also a decent size, if a little shallow. There is a compartment under the floor for your charging cables at least, which is a good thing if they’re all wet and muddy.

Plenty of new features inside, including a new instrument cluster now standing proud of the dash rather than integrated into it as it was before. Which, we’d argue, looks cheaper and fails to address the issue that you can’t see it unless you have the wheel in your lap, an issue the bZ4X shares with similarly configured Peugeots. The central screen is bigger, though, and wireless charging pads for two phones now sit in front of the repositioned gear selector, the large storage space beneath (partly) making up for the lack of a conventional glovebox. A shame it’s still rather dark and monotone in here – a Skoda Enyaq looks and feels fresher, funkier and at least as good in quality terms. A revised three-step trim line-up is at least easier to get your head around, though watch out if you’re tempted to add the Premium Pack of JBL stereo, panoramic roof and twin-tone paint to the top-level Excel version. Appealing as it may seem it tips you over the threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement and hits you with additional tax for the first six years of ownership (see ‘Running Costs’). At least the dog-friendly Essential Protection Pack with rubber boot-lining and floor mats to protect carpets from muddy boots is a bit more reasonable.

The details of why the new bZ4X goes further and faster than the previous one will be lost on most drivers but – take it from us – Toyota’s engineers have been busy! The regular battery packs a bigger punch than before, and official range has increased to a best-case 352 miles on the front-wheel drive (FWD) version on the smaller wheel option, this also getting a little more power though still skewing to the steady rather than speedy side. If you want more the twin-motor AWD now has a more serious 343 horsepower. Range drops to a fraction under 300 miles by official figures as a result, which played out in the efficiency figures we scored on both versions. It does have an increased 1,500kg towing capacity and, with the optional X-Mode system, credible off-road performance for an electric crossover. Charging speeds have also improved, meaning less time plugged in. Going the other way if most of your driving is short-distance school runs or commuting at town speeds you may be better off with the new smaller battery option, which still does nearly 275 miles by official stats and saves a chunk off the asking price. It’s only available on the lowest of the three trim grades, though.