Bigger 280kW Toyota bZ4X Touring revealed

The Toyota bZ4X family is set to grow with a bigger, more powerful range-topping model aimed at stretching the sub-brand with a high-powered EV shock.

Rather than an all-new model, the new bZ4X Touring ushers in a redesigned body with more luggage space and superior back seat headroom.

With 280kW of power from two electric motors it’s also set to become the most powerful SUV ever to wear a Toyota badge when it arrives in Australia in the first half of 2026.

The bZ4X Touring is the Toyota version of the Subaru Trailseeker unveiled last month, and likewise the smaller Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra are essentially the same car with different badges.

However, where Subaru chose a different name to further separate the car from the Solterra/bZ4X it shares so much with, Toyota has decided to make the link more obvious with the Touring.

An extra 140mm behind the back wheels also delivers a circa-30-per-cent boost to luggage space for 521 litres of cargo capacity.

Despite the bigger body, seating is still limited to five people, albeit with a lot more space in the Touring for those in the back seat.

The bigger body adds to the flexibility of an electric SUV that already delivered on practicality, even if sales have been running at a trickle.

The new Toyota bZ4X Touring will be powered by a dual motor system making a combined 280kW and it will be powered by the upgraded 74.7kWh battery that boosts the driving range of the regular bZ4X that also arrives next year.

“Along with its additional amenity, the bZ4X Touring will also appeal to customers with its uprated all-wheel-drive powertrain delivering the performance and battery range they desire for long-distance touring,” said Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations.

Pricing and other details haven’t been confirmed, but the bZ4X Touring will be positioned above the regular bZ4X model, which currently tops out at $74,900 plus on-road costs for the AWD model.

However, Hanley hinted that value may be sharpened for the freshened bZ4X and upcoming bZ4X Touring when they hit dealerships in 2026.

“I see this as a great opportunity for us to start to move volume up a little bit,” he said of bZ4X sales.

“I don’t think you should assume that prices should go up all the time,” he added. “You’ve got to price it to a point where customers can afford it.”

The bZ4X Touring shares much of its front half with the regular bZ4X, but with a very different look at the rear.

There are hints of traditional wagon to its aesthetic, albeit with a higher ride height that means it will be pitched as an SUV.

There are also subtle design touches aimed to broaden its appeal in an electric SUV market that’s heating up; while the just-updated Tesla Model Y dominates, in recent months there has been a plethora of new arrivals, including the Kia EV5, BYD Sealion 7, Leapmotor C10, Geely EX5 and Volkswagen ID.4.

Toyota was slow to the EV market and has so far made a minimal impact with its bZ4X that went on sale in 2024. Toyota has previously promised to expand the bZ4X family to five models.

The RAV4-sized SUV has been a relative minnow in Toyota showrooms and accounted for just 1057 sales in its first 12 months.

That makes it one of the slowest selling models for the brand that is a dominant force in utes, four-wheel drives and SUVs.

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