Toyota entered the world of fully electric vehicles when they revealed the bZ4X mid-sized SUV, developed in partnership with Subaru and its Solterra. And while its name doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same way, it is spacious and comfortable.
Sure, the front is a bit plain, and yet it manages a slightly more aggressive appearance compared to the Subaru. The bZ4X instead features some eyelids over the headlights to echo the design language of other cars in the Toyota line-up.
Large swathes of black plastic sit over the wheel arches, but do a good job of hiding themselves on darker colours like the deep hue of our test vehicle, known as Dynamic Blue. You’ll also find a ‘twin spoiler’ over the rear glass, 20-inch wheels and ‘BEV’ badges.
Our car came with the optional black roof that is very subtle on the dark blue. You can drive away in a bZ4X from $71,641 for the two-wheel drive version, or from $80,986 for the all-wheel drive tested here. That’s around $3,000 less than the equivalent Solterra.
Inside, there’s an attempt at modern interior design that’s a departure from the familiar Toyota look. There’s a myriad of buttons across the dash, which can be a bit of overwhelming, but are a welcome sight in 2025.
It means the bZ4X functions are certainly easier to navigate than a lot of other modern cars and in particular, EV’s that love a touchscreen for absolutely everything. That said, drivers will need to get accustomed to where all the buttons are located.
Our bZ4X came with optional grey ‘softex’ synthetic leather, while standard black is also available. We quite liked the choice, which looks more cream/beige. It lifts the interior colour palette a bit and gives more character.
The material across the dash is interesting, and you’ll find a large screen and centre console with a unique gear selector, no glovebox and a Peugeot-inspired cockpit and steering wheel setup.
The bZ4X features a round steering wheel, with its top point intruding a bit on viewing the instrument screen. As a ground-up EV build, the interior space is quite good, front and back, with the forward pews scoring both heating and ventilation.
It feels larger than the exterior dimensions might suggest, particularly against its combustion contemporary in the form of the RAV4. This is most noticeable in the second row, with a flat floor for all three potential occupants.
There are three top tether and two ISOFIX points in the second row for car seats. In the back you’ll find 410-litres of boot space, with an additional 31-litres under the floor. This is on par with competitors like the Volvo XC40 Recharge.
It is down on the likes of the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Tesla Model Y, XPENG G6 and Deepal S07 though, and there’s no frunk either. For tunes, the bZ4X features a capable and crisp nine speaker JBL system.
Owners can also access convenience features like locking and unlocking the vehicle through the myToyota Connect app on their phones, while the bZ4X includes a wireless charging pad as well as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Under the skin is a 71.4kWh battery outputting power to each motor for a total of 160kW and 337Nm. There is no way to alter the regenerative braking mode and no power drive mode either (unlike the Subaru Solterra).
That aside, the drive is smooth and competent, with enough acceleration available for suburban and open road scenarios. Toyota quote a WLTP range of 411km, but our real-world figure seemed much closer to 370km for the 2055kg SUV.
It takes about half an hour to recharge with a 150kW DC fast charger to 80 per cent. There are 360-degree parking cameras included to assist, as well as a self-parking system that we found was a little more than limited.
Unlike some brands that can perform a reverse parallel park, the bZ4X can only detect the lines of a parking space at 90-degrees to the car. This can work in wide open areas but trying to park this vehicle in a covered carpark next to a concrete pillar proved too much.
We would never fully rely on such systems in any case, but when a feature like this can’t do the one job it’s designed for, it’s a bit of a disappointment. As you’d imagine for a Toyota, the bZ4X is quite the safe thing to drive around.
In addition to the usual features, there is a driver’s attention/eyesight monitor. While we don’t expect its inclusion to wow anyone, it’s one of the less intrusive implementations of the system that we’ve experienced.
The bZ4X is covered by Toyota’s standard 5-year unlimited kilometre warranty, with the battery covered for 10 years with retention guaranteed to no less than 70 per cent of its original capacity for the first 160,000km or 8-years.
Toyota have a reputation for building super reliable and near indestructible cars with combustion engines, so it’s interesting that their promotion of the bZ4X calls on this as a selling point, despite the brand being relatively new to battery electric vehicles.
This is a heavily contested market segment though and there are plenty of other compelling offerings in both the EV and combustion powered SUV space – some for considerably less of your hard earned moola too.
For those who have been waiting for a decent Japanese EV offering, there’s much to decide between the bZ4X and Solterra twins. The Subaru offers a few more features and free servicing for the first five years, while the bZ4X benefits from a lower price.
Both remain roomy and capable electric SUVs that have plenty to offer – albeit at a premium price point for the segment, and all with the onslaught of Chinese options flooding the market.
You can find out more on the Toyota Australia website, or by talking to you local dealership. To get a low rate finance quote, talk to Australia’s best reviewed car finance broker; Credit One. To see a great range of vehicles for sale, check out OnlyCars.com.au.
Our test vehicle was provided by Toyota Australia for independent review purposes.
