The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Off-road capability
- Roomy back seat
- Versatile cargo area
- Quiet cabin
- Good efficiency
Dislikes
- Confining front seats
- Cluttered cabin
- No frunk
- Limited availability
- Dull exterior styling
Buying tip
features & specs
Though the 2024 Toyota bZ4X isn’t as flashy as rivals, it’s well-equipped and efficient.
What kind of car is the 2024 Toyota bZ4X? What does it compare to?
The Toyota bZ4X is a crossover EV that offers a range of up to 252 miles, five-passenger seating, optional all-wheel drive, and enough ground clearance for some all-terrain driving. The Subaru Solterra, which shares engineering and design, is the bZ4X’s closest competitor, along with the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Volkswagen ID.4.
Is the 2024 Toyota bZ4X a good car?
The Toyota bZ4X doesn’t lead the pack in terms of performance or technology, though it impresses in terms of its feature set and comfortable cabin. The bZ4X earns a TCC Rating of 7.2 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What’s new for the 2024 Toyota bZ4X?
Toyota adds a power tailgate and power driver’s seat on the base XLE, and it enhances some charging conveniences for 2024. The bX4X now includes a charging cord capable of accepting 120-volt and 240-volt connections, and the cluster now displays key charging info. The 2024 bZ4X will show the remaining state of charge, the estimated charge time to 80%, and the estimated range. Toyota says a new heat exchanger will improve DC-fast charge times in cold weather.
The bZ4X is Toyota’s first EV designed for the masses, engineered in partnership with Subaru on a dedicated electric platform. It’s available with the choice of single-motor front-wheel drive with a 71.4-kwh battery pack, rated for 201 hp and 196 lb-ft, or dual-motor all-wheel drive with a 72.8-kwh battery pack, making 214 hp and 248 lb-ft. The four-wheel independent suspension system with front struts provides a soft ride with precise handling.
The cabin combines Prius-like styling with crossover-like utility, though the front seat layout is confining and some ergonomics are awkward, such as the steering wheel’s tendency to obscure the instrument cluster. Otherwise, there’s good space for five passengers, the cargo area has a practical two-tier storage layout, and the 27.2 cubic feet of cargo space expands when the rear seats fold flat. There’s no front trunk, which is an odd and somewhat annoying omission.
Toyota backs the bZ4X with a 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty, a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty, and an 8-year/100,000-mile electric drive component warranty.
How much does the 2024 Toyota bZ4X cost?
The bZ4X starts at $44,420, which includes a $1,350 destination charge. That’s for the base XLE with the single-motor front-wheel-drive powertrain. The Limited with front-wheel drive costs $48,530. Both trims can be upgraded with dual-motor all-wheel drive for $2,080.
Where is the Toyota bZ4X made?
It’s built in Japan alongside the Subaru Solterra.
2024 Toyota BZ4X Styling
Toyota dresses the bZ4X’s incoherent exterior design in too much plastic cladding, though the cabin layout is good.
Is the bZ4X a good-looking car?
Not particularly, though it is distinctive. We subtract two points for the non-cohesive exterior styling, though we award one back for the cabin’s functional design. It’s a 4.
The exterior comes up short largely because Toyota’s design and Subaru’s accessorizing don’t play particularly well together. The front end is an exception, though, specifically where the hood’s crisp leading edge and the slender, sharp headlights come together. From there, big swaths of cladding flow back along the sides and pool along the front and rear wheel wells.
The cabin has an asymmetrical cockpit layout with an oddly recessed instrument display that’s hard to see while driving. There are a lot of physical controls, which is fine, and a lot of smudgy gloss black trim, which is less fine.
2024 Toyota BZ4X Performance
The 2024 Toyota bZ4X boasts torquey acceleration and all-terrain capability.
The Toyota bZ4X doesn’t live up to the EV crossover segment’s reputation for performance, but we give credit where it’s due. The bZ4X borrows Subaru’s X-Mode all-terrain system, worthy of a point for its ability to help the bZ4X go where few rivals can. Another point is awarded for the compliant handling and smooth ride. It’s a 7.
The bZ4X comes in two configurations. The base single-motor, front-wheel-drive version makes 201 hp and 196 lb-ft, and the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive option makes 214 hp and 248 lb-ft.
In single-motor configuration, the bZ4X gets a 71.4-kwh battery pack, which, oddly, charges faster than the 72.8-kwh battery pack in the dual-motor version.
The dual-motor all-wheel-drive version of the bZ4X weighs about 800 pounds more than the gas-powered RAV4 crossover, though the extra heft is well disguised by the torquey acceleration and the nimble handling from the low center of gravity. The bZ4X rides on a platform designed specifically for EVs, but otherwise is similar to other compact vehicles with its four-wheel independent suspension, front struts, electric power steering, and four-wheel disc brakes. Despite a wide turning radius, steering is precise, and ride and handling are comfortable and predictable.
The bZ4X features Normal, Eco, and regenerative boost modes, though it omits a Sport mode. The regen mode is as close as this EV gets to one-pedal driving, but requires braking to complete a full stop, with a Hold button to disable creeping at idle.
Many rivals charge faster than the all-wheel-drive bZ4X’s rate of 100 kw, but Toyota makes up for it with good regenerative braking, overall refinement, and pleasant ride quality, as well as its trail-driving capability.
Is the bZ4X 4WD?
The dual-motor version of the bZ4X includes all-wheel drive with Subaru's X-Mode all-terrain system, on loan through the development partnership that created the bZ4X and related Solterra. This system enables torque distribution calibrated for snow, dirt, and mud driving scenarios, and it works as advertised. This system is the bZ4X and Solterra’s main advantage over more efficient rivals.
How fast is the Toyota bZ4X?
Toyota says the single-motor bZ4X is good for a 7.1-second 0-60-mph run, and the dual-motor version goes to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds. Many rival EVs are quicker, but the bZ4X is quicker than gas competitors, and quieter, as well.
2024 Toyota BZ4X Comfort & Quality
Toyota lost the plot when designing the bZ4X’s cabin layout.
Despite some quibbles with the bZ4X’s layout and ergonomics, it’s an 8 for quality, earning points for spacious and supportive back seats, versatile cargo space, and great fit and finish.
Competitors like the VW ID.4 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 go for an airy, open layout, but Toyota smashes a center console between the driver and front passenger, which results in a confining feel. It puts controls and storage close at hand, but doesn’t showcase an EV’s flexibility.
With a few minutes of acclimation, you’ll come to appreciate the bZ4X’s supportive front seats and good rear legroom, as well as the two-tiered cargo area’s total 27.2 cubic feet of space. The fold-flat rear row opens up space for bigger items, too, though most rivals also have a frunk.
The 7.0-inch instrument display is recessed into the dash, and it’s hard to see since the steering wheel obstructs it in almost any setting. Another inexplicable ergonomic choice is the twist-and-press shifter that adds complexity without adding functionality.
The bZ4X is Lexus-quiet inside, with great insulation from road and wind noise.
2024 Toyota BZ4X Safety
Crash testing is incomplete, but Toyota supplies the bZ4X with good safety tech.
How safe is the Toyota bZ4X?
The 2024 bZ4X fares well in the IIHS and the NHTSA crash evaluations that have been completed so far. The bZ4X comes standard with Toyota Safety System 3.0, which includes the most advanced versions of key safety functions. It’s a 7 so far, pending more tests.
The bZ4X has undergone four of the IIHS’ six typical tests, and earned top “Good” marks in all. In NHTSA testing, the bZ4X earned a five-star overall rating, with four stars in the rollover test.
The TSS 3.0 system upgrades Toyota’s standard safety package with new cameras and a wider detection range. It includes automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, active lane control, and safe exit assist, which alerts passengers of traffic or obstructions approaching the exit door’s path. Limited models also get a surround-view camera system with a bird’s-eye view. We recommend it, since the bZ4X’s rear pillars can block the view over the shoulder.
2024 Toyota BZ4X Features
The Toyota bZ4X covers the bases with its feature set, even if it doesn’t particularly impress.
The 2024 bZ4X earns points for its technology and overall value, for a 7. Keep in mind as you’re pricing out a bZ4X that there aren’t many extra-cost options.
The bZ4X has a 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty, a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty and an 8-year/100,000-mile electric drive component warranty, not enough to earn a point here.
The 2024 bZ4X features a 7.0-inch instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and Amazon Alexa. The infotainment system has a complicated menu layout, however. The center console has a smartphone-sized storage compartment with wireless charging and a USB-A port, while there are two USB-C ports in each of the front and rear rows.
Which Toyota bZ4X should I buy?
The 2024 bZ4X starts at $44,420, including a $1,350 destination charge, for the XLE with front-wheel drive. A $500 Weather Package adds a heated steering wheel and heated front seats. This is the bZ4X at its best value and its most efficient.
How much is a fully loaded Toyota bZ4X?
In Limited trim with all-wheel drive, the bZ4X costs $50,610. Options here include two-tone paint, a contrasting black roof, and a Limited Weather Package with radiant heat and JBL audio, all of which add about $2,000 more.
2024 Toyota BZ4X Fuel Economy
The 2024 Toyota bZ4X offers off-road capability in an efficient package.
Among the most efficient electric crossover SUVs on the market with a range of up to 252 miles, the 2024 Toyota bZ4X rates a perfect 10 on our scale.
The EPA rates the base front-wheel-drive bZ4X at 119 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe), and the front-wheel-drive Limited, which is heavier, at 114 MPGe. In dual-motor all-wheel-drive configuration, the XLE and Limited rate 104 and 102 MPGe, respectively. That translates to 3.57 miles per kwh.
That’s an estimated 252 and 242 miles of range for the front-drive XLE and Limited, and 228 and 222 miles for all-wheel-drive versions.
Front-drive bZ4X models get a 71.4-kwh battery pack capable of fast-charging at up to 150 kw, while all-wheel-drive versions get a 72.8-kwh battery that can charge at up to 100 kw. Toyota says about 30 minutes of charging will add about 90 miles of range. Both versions feature an 6.6-kw onboard charger that enables the bZ4X to charge to full in about 9 hours on a 240-volt Level 2 home charger.
