Toyota's bZ4X impresses in every way

The car with the unusual name bZ4X is Toyota’s first purpose-designed battery electric vehicle (BEV) and the first model in the carmaker’s new bZ sub-brand. It has been co-developed by Toyota and Subaru. bZ stands for Below Zero regarding the car’s zero emissions.

This is a comfortable and spacious crossover/SUV available with 2WD and a new AWD system that provides what Toyota call class-leading off-road handling and performanceе, with separate electric motors on each axle. The claimed range for the 2WD version is around 500km, while the AWD version offers less at 461kms.

The car’s clean, sleek exterior design reflects its SUV status and the long wheelbase provides really good accommodation for five occupants as well as a generous load capacity. The front look avoids unnecessary decorations but has a new ‘hammerhead’ shape with slim signature headlights and a strong stance. Wheels can be up to 20 inches in diameter in the top grades. The rear emphasises the corners with a distinctive taillight bridging the width of the car, and there’s a split roof spoiler.

The cabin is comfortable, spacious, and has good quality materials. The sleek look continues inside with slender front pillars. My car had quite a dark interior but nicely patterned grey trim and some silverware helped ease the dark look.

The driver’s seat has power adjustments and lumbar support, the other front seat has manual settings. The seats in my car were in a mix of cloth and partial synthetic leather. Front seats can be heated, ditto for the steering wheel.

The dash includes a large 12.3-inch multimedia display with embedded satellite navigation. This screen is colourful, clear, and easy to use. The seven-inch driving information display shows speed and the remaining range. Thankfully, there are physical buttons for temperature controls.

The wide front armrest conceals a cavern of space below. There is no glovebox but a big open storage area below the central console provides a lot more storage space than a glovebox would. There’s also a 12v power socket, USB ports and a wireless phone charger.

Those in the rear enjoy excellent legroom and plenty of headroom. The boot is a decent 452 litres with all seats in use and there’s a compartment below the floor for the charging cables. The floor is high so you won’t hurt your back lifting heavy items in or out.

The bZ4X offers advanced technology features including a third generation Toyota Safety Sense suite with new and improved active safety and driver assistance systems. These include a Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian (Day and Night), cyclist and motorbike (Day) detection; Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control, and rearview camera. But alas, only the top-specced car gets a Blind Spot Monitor.

Trims are Advance, Sport, and Premier Edition. The Sport grade adds the availability of AWD along with privacy glass, rear spoiler, front and rear parking sensors with automatic braking (objects), driver seat power 8-way adjust, five USB ports (one Type A, and four smaller Type Cs).

The top-spec adds 20-inch alloys, full synthetic leather upholstery, bi-tone body colour with a black roof, a panoramic glass roof, a Blind Spot Monitor, a panoramic view monitor, and a driver seat memory function.

Power is from a 204hp electric motor and energy consumption is around 15kWh/100km for the 2WD car. The battery is 71.4kWh. Toyota provides an EV health check alongside annual vehicle services which includes extended battery care. This enables them to provide a 10-year battery warranty.

The charging port is located on the front passenger side of the car so you just drive straight up to the charging meter. Using a DC fast charger, you can charge up to 80pc in around 45 minutes.

The car was really impressive on the road with how it handled and accelerated and I also found it easy to manoeuvre into parking slots.

PRICE: The bZ4X is priced from €50,075; the Sport from €51,180.