{"id":2150591,"date":"2026-09-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2150591"},"modified":"2026-09-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T21:00:00","slug":"toyota-bz4x-touring-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2150591","title":{"rendered":"Toyota bZ4X Touring review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s the estate version of Toyota\u2019s mid-sized SUV, the\u00a0bZ4X<\/a>. That car was notable for being the Japanese carmaker\u2019s first go at an EV, but, er, not much beyond that. Competent enough, just no real USP.<\/p>\n

Of course, everyone knows that estate cars are cooler than SUVs \u2013 that\u2019s simply a fact \u2013 so this bZ4X Touring<\/em> already has that going for it. It\u2019s also closely related to the\u00a0Subaru E-Outback<\/a>, itself a wagon version of the\u00a0Solterra<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So how exactly does this differ to the bZ4X?<\/h2>\n

Well, it\u2019s 140mm longer and 25mm higher overall. Minor differences really, and given it sits on the same eTNGA platform, no real surprise either.<\/p>\n

The biggest improvement is in the boot space, which increases by almost 50 per cent to 669 litres. It\u2019s also a more conventional shape \u2013 none of this coupe SUV nonsense \u2013 with a more practical (bigger) load opening too.<\/p>\n

Are the powertrains the same?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s available in 221bhp front- or 376bhp all-wheel drive variants (whereas the Subaru E-Outback is AWD only) mated to a 71kWh (usable) battery. That makes it slightly cheaper, and in turn, more accessible.<\/p>\n

Weirdly, the battery in the Touring is marginally bigger than the one in the bZ4X. Toyota says that’s \u201cdue to using different battery suppliers to balance global supply\u201d. So now you know. You\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Anyway, driving range is up to 366 miles (FWD) \u2013 14 more than the regular bZ4X \u2013 or 297 miles (AWD).\u00a0Expect around half an hour to charge from 10 to 80 per cent on a 150kW DC charger.<\/p>\n

Interesting. What’s it like to drive?<\/h2>\n

A bit like Michael Carrick back in his playing days. Which is a roundabout way of saying pretty good, but it won’t get you off your seat. It feels fit for purpose and entirely dependable, but not enthralling.<\/p>\n

Performance is adequate (0-62mph is seen off in 7.3s in FWD, 4.5s in AWD), while it steers and rides tidily. This isn\u2019t some low slung estate remember, and the mid-sized SUV underpinnings do shine through.<\/p>\n

Not necessarily a bad thing on our terrible roads, mind. And if you do live out in the sticks it\u2019ll comfortably deal with anything you throw at it, with various off-road modes and a wading depth of half a metre. This thing will handle flash floods better than most.<\/p>\n

Any other electric estates worth my time?<\/h2>\n

There aren’t many, actually. At least not affordable ones. There’s an estate version of the Peugeot E-308<\/a> and Vauxhall Astra Electric<\/a>, and in 2028 we’ll see an electric Skoda Octavia<\/a>. But beyond those, your estate options are limited to petrols and hybrids.<\/p>\n

Will it leave a big hole in my bank account?<\/h2>\n

It’s \u00a344,495 OTR for front-wheel drive, which includes a discount of \u00a31.5k courtesy of the UK’s Electric Car Grant<\/a>. It’s actually less expensive<\/em> than the SUV, unless you opt for the smaller battery that this Touring doesn’t get.<\/p>\n

If you want all-wheel drive, you’ll need to cough up in excess of \u00a350,000. Feels pretty steep, but then so does everything these days. Head over to the Buying tab for the full lowdown.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Like the bZ4X? Then you\u2019ll like this, because it\u2019s exactly the same. Only bigger booted. And rangier. And cheaper like-for-like. Making it a no-brainer, right?<\/p>\n

Much like the coupe SUV, it\u2019s also decent to drive, very roomy inside, and impressively efficient. It\u2019ll fit so effortlessly into family life that you probably won’t notice it.<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s not perfect \u2013 the cabin and touchscreen feel a little tired already, and rivals offer more convenience by charging faster. But overall, a pretty solid effort from Toyota in a segment that’s been roundly ignored by almost everyone else.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the estate version of Toyota\u2019s mid-sized SUV, the\u00a0bZ4X. That car was notable for being the Japanese carmaker\u2019s first go at an EV, but, er, not much beyond that. Competent enough, just no real USP. Of course, everyone knows that estate cars are cooler than SUVs \u2013 that\u2019s simply a fact \u2013 so this bZ4X […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2150591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2150591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2150591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2150591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2150591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}