Toyota bZ4X review: UK price, range and off-road capability of Toyota’s first battery electric vehicle

Toyota was a pioneer of electrification with the Prius hybrid 25 years ago and, later, the Mirai Hydrogen fuel cell EV, but the manufacturer is only just now getting around to the launch of its first battery electric vehicle, the bZ4X, making it a relative latecomer to the sector.

The reason is, simply, market demand. With desire for electric vehicles surging and infrastructure improving all the time Toyota hopes 2022/23 is the perfect time to launch its first foray into the sector.

The all-electric compact SUV has been jointly developed with Subaru on the new eTNGA modular platform which will underpin Toyota’s full range of all-electric models to follow in the bZ4X’s wake. Those models, as yet unannounced, will also bear the bZ moniker, which stands for Beyond Zero.

All-wheel drive capability

The partnership with Subaru has allowed Toyota to benefit from the fellow Japanese manufacturer’s experience in all-wheel drive engineering, although quite why the company behind the Landcruiser and Hilux felt it needed support in that area is something of a head scratcher.

Nonetheless, the result is a genuinely capable off-road vehicle. Toyota has fully waterproofed the batteries which, despite them being integrated with the vehicle structure beneath the driving compartment, means the bZ4X has a wade depth of 50cm.

During our test run, we were challenged to put the SUV through its paces on an obstacle course that saw us experience the hill descent and ascent control as well as the aforementioned wade capability and the X-Mode all-wheel drive system.

Perhaps the conditions were stacked in the Toyota’s favour - the course was set up in the car park of a Copenhagen Biomass plant without a speck of mud or snow in sight - but it’s clear from the performance that the AWD badge adorning the car is there for more than school run bragging rights. The hill descent and ascent functions are easy to activate, with a menu popping up on the driver display upon pushing of the X-Mode button next to the drive selector. It’s a real-life button as well, so you ought to be able to get everything set up in a pair of gloves come winter time.

Our all-wheel drive test vehicle produced up to 215bhp and 249lb ft of torque through front and rear 80kW motors. A front-wheel drive version of the car - which Toyota expects will make up the majority of the UK sales - is also available with a front-mounted 150kW axle motor producing 201bhp and 196lb ft maximum torque.