2023 Toyota bZ4X First Drive | Taking a Spin in Toyota's New Electric SUV | Price, Range & More

This is the 2022 BZ4X, and on the surface, it makes a really good impression. After all, I'm out here in beautiful Southern California, the sun is shining, and I'm not sending any tailpipe emissions into the air. So why does it feel a little bit off? I'm going to tell you all about that in just a second. But first, be sure to like and subscribe to see more videos like this one. And if you want to get a cash offer on your car right now, go to edmunds.com slash sell my car. But anyway, this is a big vehicle for Toyota. That's because it's their first fully ground up electric vehicle. You can get a single motor front wheel drive version or a dual motor all wheel drive version like this one. And you can even step on it and do this. That was actually more than I was expecting. So the BZ4X can be pretty peppy, too, thanks to that instantaneous torque from the battery pack and electric motors. This car was developed in tandem with Subaru, which is bringing out its version called the Solterra. That's going to put both the BZ4X and the Solterra in direct competition with other electric vehicles in the small SUV category, like the Hyundai IONIQ 5, the Kia EV6, the Volkswagen ID.4, and of course, the Tesla Model Y. But what is there here to really grab me to get my attention and then hold it? After all, dual motor versions top out at 228 miles of EPA estimated range and the single motor versions top out at 252, which is fine. And while I probably don't have to tell you that the BZ4X is comfortable, it's not exactly geared for fun. So let's spend the rest of this drive poking around the new car and seeing what it has to offer. There are two trim levels to the BZ4X, the XLE and then the Limited. No matter which version you get, every BZ4X gets some pretty cool features like panoramic moonroof and extensive set of advanced safety features. So on a version like the XLE, that gets you 18 inch wheels, dual zone climate control and LED lighting all the way around. If you move up to the Limited, that upgrades you in some pretty significant ways. For instance, front seats are power adjustable, heated and ventilated. Also, those 18 inch wheels get upgraded to 20s and as power liftgate too. Like I said, with either trim level, it starts with a single motor front wheel drive version and that's got 201 horsepower. You can also upgrade to a dual motor all wheel drive version that jumps up to 215 horsepower. That gets you a larger battery and an extra electric motor. Now, you may have noticed that's not exactly a significant bump in power, but it does seem like a good option if you are often driving in slippery or icy or snowy conditions. As you saw, when I stepped on the throttle in this dual motor version, it felt pretty punchy. Let's talk pricing. In terms of approximate pricing, you can expect for the XLE that starts around $42,000 and the Limited like this one starts around $47,000. If you want the dual motor all wheel drive version of either, add about two grand to that. One important note on pricing is that Toyota does have available federal rebates up to $7,500, but those will eventually run out. Toyota estimates around the fourth quarter of this year. After that, it will still be federal rebates, but they'll be in smaller and smaller numbers until the program eventually runs out completely. So if you are considering a BZ4X and pricing with those federal rebates is a significant factor, the time is right now. The BZ4X has a long list of electric competitors, and for a lot of buyers, the difference maker will be the estimated range of the battery. Now, the BZ4X may not have world beating numbers, but they are competitive with certain versions of the Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford Mustang Mach-E. Of course, as soon as we get the chance, we'll bring a BZ4X in for our testing procedure and put it on the Edmunds EV test loop to see if it can actually match those EPA ratings. Toyota is also offering one big benefit to BZ4X buyers. They'll get a free year of charging at EVgo public stations. So expect to get real familiar with the ones near you. There's a very familiar Toyota-like quality to the cabin. There are some soft surfaces, some hard plastics, but there's also a whole lot of piano glossy black. Now, in all, this comes off as like affordable, maybe borderline cheap, but with stuff like the piano black, they're just trying to class up the joint a little bit, especially for the price. It does look nicer than your typical plastic, but it also creates a lot of glare. While we were driving, the sun was hitting it just right, and it was straight into my eyeballs. That's not the best. But then there's also a little bit of funk to the styling. Like, for instance, there's a pass-through storage under here, and there's a nice flat surface there so you can store things, and it also creates a separation between the floor on the driver's side and the passenger's side, unlike the IONIQ 5. As I'm sitting here, I'm struggling to see the use case for it. I mean, first of all, you're not going to be loading a bunch of lumber up here. Looking at you. I like this a lot better. And then also, this cool fighter jet-style arrangement. For people familiar with Toyotas, this might seem daring, even a little futuristic. This does feel like Toyota is trying to push the envelope a little bit. As for this touchscreen, and it is a touchscreen only, so you will have to be poking at it. It's 12.3 inches, and that is the same across all BZ4X trims. So every car gets it, which is great. It's the same updated Toyota system that I also tested in the recent Tundra, and liked it quite a bit. I also like the different menus, which are really easy to navigate and pretty responsive. And the maps are cool, too. They've got their own unique vibe, and it's really easy to move around on. Also standard on all grades is wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto. And under here, there's an available wireless charger, too. Getting into the backseat. Floor is actually pretty high, which means you gotta step up and then duck down a little bit. I think it's the same height as I was in the front, but I just didn't notice it in front for whatever reason. But once I'm back here, headroom is limited but nice. Legroom is a definite strong point. I can stretch out pretty far, and I've got long legs. Doors also don't open super wide, so if you gotta load big bulky things in here, maybe give that a try before you buy. And then there's also a pull-down area for your drinks. There's two USB-C ports. This is the limited model, so you get heated seat options in the back. Very cool. So, comfortable place. A lot of glossy piano black once again. But these materials are nice and soft, so I can spend quite a bit of time back here. How about it? When it comes to cargo space, maximum capacity for the BZ4X is 27.7 cubic feet. Now, that's less than a lot of EV competitors, but slightly more than the IONIQ 5. The load floor is at a nice and convenient height. If you're loading heavy objects inside. And there's also an underfloor compartment if you want to keep wet or smelly clothes out of the way. Plus, you can slide the floor to give you a little bit extra space. Under the hood of the BZ4X is a lot of electrical components, but no frunk. Now, I harped on the Solterra for this. The Solterra doesn't have a frunk. Even in something like the IONIQ 5, which has a puny little thing that has a plastic cover over it. It's a frunk, kind of. To ease the pain of having no frunk just a little bit, you can option roof rails on the BZ4X. I can get behind that. Let's talk about what the BZ4X is like to drive. Here's what I expected. I saw on the spec sheet that the BZ4X has 201 horsepower. Dual motor versions get 215. I thought that sounds like an EV Prius. And what I got instead, relatively, is a rocket ship. This thing pulls a lot harder than I expected. That's pretty impressive. And it's also consistent whether you're going low speeds on the street or on the highway. In terms of how the rest of the car feels to drive, steering can be a little bit vague and sloppy, but altogether, not too bad. Pretty responsive. The brake pedal, I like quite a bit. It's easy to come down to a smooth stop and modulate the pedal. There's a little bit of that bricky feel that you get from some electric vehicles pretty often. But it's not too difficult to feel your way through it. There is no one pedal driving. EV buyers, at least in my experience and the research that I've seen, want that one pedal driving experience. I know some automakers disagree. I think that's a missed opportunity here. I think it's something Toyota should have focused on. A lot of people consider that a benefit of EV ownership. Earlier, I also mentioned the advanced safety features that you get with the car. A lot of Toyotas these days come with TSS 2.0, which has a whole array of different features. This comes with 3.0. What that means, there's not really additional features, but everything's been enhanced with upgraded cameras and sensors throughout the car. Especially in particular, lane tracing assist, which basically helps you stay in between lanes, provides you a little bit of steering assist. But other than that, there's not a whole lot to talk about in terms of driving. There's nothing complicated that you have to learn. It feels a lot like jumping into some of the early Priuses, where hybrid technology can feel intimidating to a lot of people, but then you get in it and realize, oh, you just drive it very easily like a regular car. The last thing to mention about driving is that you have an Eco Mode button for more efficient driving and Subaru's X Mode for extra traction settings, which is a pretty neat benefit to buying a Toyota, of all things. The BZ4X does appear to capture that classic Toyota appeal in terms of everyday easy use. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the best car out there for you. There are a lot of electric vehicles that offer more personality, more performance, or more range, or all three. So take a long look at the BZ4X before you decide to settle on it. And of course, stay tuned to Edmunds.com to see when we're able to get in a BZ4X for our full slate of tests so that we can give it a rating score and see how it stacks up against the rest of the EV class. In the meantime, leave us a comment below and let us know what kind of impression it left with you. Thanks for watching. Now I'm going to take a minute and enjoy this ocean that we're all saving by driving EVs. 10 out of 10. I recommend.