Toyota BZ4X Touring Review & Prices

The Toyota bZ4X Touring is a funky blend of rugged off-roader, spacious estate car and sensible family SUV. It’s based on the regular, electric bZ4X but with a far longer roof and rear end giving it a bigger boot and more room inside. It’s a shame the top-spec model is so expensive, though.

It’s a bit like buying a house with a loft conversion on a road full of two-storey units. There’s no denying the extra space is useful, but boy do you pay a premium compared to the smaller option - that’s much the same in every other aspect.

Sitting in this niche bodystyle means there aren’t many direct alternatives to consider, bar the mechanically-identical Subaru e-Outback. The Polestar 4 SUV is another car masquerading as an estate. Otherwise you might consider the BMW iX3, Tesla Model Y, Xpeng G6 or MG IM6, all of which are more certain in their body shapes.

Nonetheless, the bZ4X Touring has an added dose of rugged charm that only the Polestar can match, on account of their chunky body cladding and long roof rails. The Toyota is pretty much the same as the regular version from the back wheels forward, but its matte black wheel arch trims and more substantial derriere mean it looks properly tough.

The interior is nigh-on the same as in the regular bZ4X too - but that’s no bad thing. The simple, low-set dashboard is made up of a ruler-straight section spanning the width of the cabin, while the upper part sweeps around onto the door cards.

Toyota bZ4X Touring: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 300 - 366 miles
Efficiency: 3.7 - 4.4 mi/kWh
Battery size: 74.7kWh
Max charge speed: 150kW
Charge time AC: 11 hrs 30 mins, 7.4kW
Charge time DC: 28 mins, 150kW
Charge port location: Left side, front
Power outputs: 224hp, 280hp

Granted you’ll find it a little dark and dreary - Toyota seems colour-averse these days - but with this many soft touch, expensive-feeling materials around you that’s easily forgiven. It’s all very well put together, too.

The dashboard is dominated by a large, 14.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with physical, easy-to-use dials for the temperature and volume controls. The fan speed slider is easy to use, too, even if it’s built into the display. There are some fiddly menus and submenus to navigate, which is a shame - especially to deactivate the irritating driver assistance settings.

You’re pretty cosy and cocooned in the bZ4X Touring’s cabin, with a fairly wide centre console featuring two wireless phone charging pads, padded armrests on the doors and a high-set instrument display perched above the steering wheel. If you set too low, however, the steering wheel can get in the way. Peugeot’s i-Cockpit is a bit more sensible here.

The seats themselves are massively comfortable, and thanks to the taller roofline there’s a bit more space in the back of a Touring than in the already-generous bZ4X. A RAV4 offers more room still, but the tradeoff is that it isn’t as posh inside.

Where the Touring really stands out is with its gigantic 669-litre boot, which comes resplendent with under-floor storage space for the charging cables, a brace of shopping hooks and four tie-down points to stop loads from rolling around. There’s even a three-pin plug alongside the typical 12V fare, though the regular bZ4X Touring features the same.

You can have the bZ4X Touring with front-wheel drive and up to 366 miles of range, while the posher all-wheel drive model reduces that to just 300 miles on account of its dual motors and less aerodynamic 20-inch wheels (compared to the Design’s 18-inch fare). We got pretty close to matching Toyota’s claimed range during our testing of a dual-motor car.

Both versions have the same 74.7kWh battery under the floor, with 150kW DC fast charging for a 10-80% charge in around 28 minutes, while AC charging at 7.4kW will take around 11 hours and 30 mins. The Polestar 4 SUV is a touch more expensive than the top-spec Touring, but has a more impressive 371-mile range and charges at a more powerful rate of 200kW, too.

The Toyota is a lovely thing to drive. Yes, the four-wheel drive version is capable of a degree of off-roading, but otherwise the bZ4X Touring doesn’t drive like a big 4x4 at all. It’s quiet, comfortable and painless to manoeuvre around town - even if the larger wheels tend to thud through potholes. The excellent forward visibility means you’ll see them coming, though, and it’s an easy car to drive smoothly.

Wind and road noise are kept at bay at motorway speeds, and the dual-motor version is comically fast - though even the single-motor is no slouch when you really step on it. Where the car really surprises is on a country lane, because it feels remarkably surefooted and darty on a twisty road. It may not be much fun, but the sharp brakes and darty steering fill you with confidence through bends.

Verdict

The Toyota bZ4X Touring in many ways is the family car the bZ4X should have been in the first place. It’s just as quiet, comfortable and easy to live with as its smaller sibling, but with even more practicality and a nice enough cabin to tempt you away from a Skoda Enyaq or a Nissan Ariya. Shame it’s so much more expensive than the regular car.

Check out the latest Toyota BZ4X Touring deals and leasing offers, as well as used BZ4X Touring models and other used Toyotas for sale through our trusted dealer network. You can also sell your current car through Carwow, when it’s time to make a change.

The Touring is noticeably pricier than the bZ4X, starting at around £4,000 more than its respective smaller counterpart. A Peugeot E-5008 is cheaper at around £41,000, though it’s not as well-equipped as standard, while a Skoda Enyaq costs less with the small battery, and around the same price at the Touring with the rangier, larger battery.

The Toyota is very well equipped, however, with ambient lighting, 18-inch wheels, heated seats and steering wheel, adaptive cruise control and a heat pump coming as standard on the entry-level Excel model.

The pricier Design version adds 20-inch alloy wheels, 22kW DC charging capability and seat cooling in the front, as well as heated backs seats.