As Toyota’s first all-electric mainstream model, the bZ4X has a lot riding on its shoulders.
Not only does it need to compete against popular models like the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, but it also has to shepherd the world’s biggest car brand into an all-new automotive era.
Already available in overseas markets, the bZ4X won’t arrive in Australia until early 2024.
The line-up currently starts at $55,990 for the BZ4X 2Wd and ranges through to $69,340 for the range-topping BZ4X Awd - Two Tone Roof.
The bZ4X's interior is now dominated by a larger 14.0-inch multimedia touchscreen. There's still a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster that you need to look over the steering wheel to view.
Another change is a revised centre console with two wireless chargers and a revised button layout. The puck-style gear selector remains.
Elsewhere around the cabin there are two cupholders and a small storage shelf under the centre console. There is still no proper glove box.
The bZ4X is available in 'Eclipse Black', 'Frosted White', 'Liquid Mercury', 'Feverish Red' and 'Saturn Blue' exterior paint colours. The AWD can come with a two-tone black roof with certain paint colours.
Inside the 2WD gets black synthetic leather and fabric upholstery, whereas the AWD gets either black or grey and white two-tone synthetic leather upholstery.
Thanks to a larger 74.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack, the bZ4X 2WD now offers 591km of WLTP-claimed range. In the AWD there's 510km of WLTP-claimed range.
Claimed energy consumption for the bZ4X 2WD is 13.8kWh/100km, whereas in the AWD it's 16kWh/100km.
The Toyota bZ4X has a five-seat configuration. Fabric and synthetic leather upholstery is standard in the 2WD, whereas the AWD gets synthetic leather upholstery.
The front seats in both trims have electric adjustment and heating, though the AWD also offers position memory and ventilation.
The second-row seats can recline and there's a 60/40 split-folding function. The outboard rear seats are also heated in the AWD.
The bZ4X 2WD has a boot capacity of 421L with the rear seats upright, whereas the AWD has a boot capacity of 410L with the rear seats upright.
There is a small storage section under the boot floor and there is no front boot across the line-up.
The Toyota bZ4X 2WD has a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 7.4 seconds, whereas the AWD is claimed to do it in 5.1 seconds.
Top speed for the entire line-up is capped at 160km/h.
The bZ4X 2WD has a single front-mounted electric motor which produces 165kW and 268Nm.
The bZ4X AWD has a dual-electric motor set-up with total system outputs of 252kW and 438Nm.
There are three ways of charging the Toyota bZ4X – two at home and one in public. The first is the cheapest albeit slowest method and uses a standard 240V powerpoint with the charging cable provided by Toyota. The 71.4 kWh battery with 64kWh of usable capacity takes 30 hours to charge from 10 per cent to 100 per cent, with average energy prices in Australia costing between 21 to 36 cents per kWh. Prices can depend on demand and which state you live in, though. Alternatively, owners can install an AC wall charger through a licensed electrician. On average, the cost of these ranges from anywhere between $800 and $2000, with additional charges to install. A 7kW unit will deliver 10 to 100 per cent charging in 10 hours, while an 11kW unit will deliver a 10 to 100 per cent charge in 6.5 hours. The cost to charge can be free if your unit is hooked up to solar power. Finally, a public DC charging station will deliver a charge of 10 to 100 per cent at the bZ4X’s maximum capacity of 150kW in approximately 45 minutes. Charges depend on demand and time of day, but as a general rule you should never pay more than $40.
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With this update there’s now a larger 14.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system, two wireless phone chargers, vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, plus a hands-free power tailgate and heated steering wheel standard across the line-up.
This is above and beyond the standard LED headlights, roof rails, dual-zone climate control and heated front seats with electric adjustment in the 2WD.
The AWD brings larger 20-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic glass sunroof, nine-speaker JBL sound system, digital rear-view mirror and ventilated front seats.