Toyota bZ4X 2024 Review

The 2024 Toyota bZ4X electric mid-size SUV comes to Australia as two models: the single-motor 2WD (two-wheel drive) and dual-motor AWD (all-wheel drive), priced from $66,000 and $74,900 respectively, plus on-road costs.

BZ stands for the Beyond Zero EV-only sub-brand, 4 designates the size and X means it can go off-road. You can expect a steady stream of Toyota EVs to follow this vehicle to Australia.

Still, with the shock of the new and all that, Toyota is also offering the bZ4X via a full-service lease, in which it retains ownership of the vehicle and most costs – including registration, insurance and maintenance – are bundled into a monthly fee.

At the end of the three-year term, the customer can hand the vehicle back with no extra payment, a move intended to allay concerns about living with an EV and second-hand values. But it’s not cheap, adding up to at least $20,000 per year or $60,000 over the lease – and no car at the end of it to re-sell.

Primary opposition for the bZ4X comes from the Tesla Model Y – Australia’s biggest-selling EV and one of the country’s most popular SUVs – as well as the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6, Polestar 2 and perhaps most intriguingly of all, the Toyota’s twin, the Subaru Solterra, which starts at $69,990 as an AWD.

Toyota is forecasting only 1500 sales in the bZ4X’s first year on sale in Australia, with the 2WD taking the larger share.

Along with the price and powertrain differences, the two 2024 Toyota bZ4X models are also separated by equipment levels.

While both models have the same fundamentally angular shape led by what Toyota calls a ‘hammerhead’ nose, stuff that gives the bZ4X AWD away externally include roof rails and a spoiler, a panoramic sunroof, memory side mirrors, a gloss black bonnet accent and a kick sensor for the power-operated tailgate that both cars get.

Internally, the bZ4X AWD exclusively includes premium synthetic leather seat trim that looks and feels like vinyl, a heated steering wheel, driver’s seat memory, front seat ventilation and a wireless smartphone charger.

Both cars share 20-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass for rear and rear-side windows, heat pump-controlled dual-zone climate control with rear vents, keyless entry and push-button start, heated and powered front seats including lumbar adjust for the driver, and leather accents for the steering wheel.

There are six colour choices – and also two-tone for the AWD – but only Ebony doesn’t incur a $600 charge. Nor is there a spare tyre, even though Toyota included an off-road component in the drive program to emphasise the AWD’s credentials.

The bZ4X is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty extending to seven years on motor and driveline with logbook services. The high-voltage battery is covered for up to 10 years with annual checks.

Battery performance is guaranteed to still be at 70 per cent of new after eight years, although Toyota says its target is 90 per cent after 10 years or 240,000km.

Toyota also offers capped-price servicing for the first five years/75,000km with each 12-month/15,000km service costing $180.

Both the 2024 Toyota bZ4X 2WD and AWD have been confirmed as five-star performers based on superseded 2022 protocols. That’s because the car was tested back then by ANCAP’s partner Euro NCAP, when it first went on sale in Europe.

The bZ4X AWD has some exclusive safety equipment including blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, driver monitoring, a panoramic view monitor (rather than the 2WD’s reversing camera) and self-steering intelligent park assist.

Safety systems the two cars share include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with vehicle, pedestrian, motorcycle and daylight cyclist detection and a left/right intersection function, active cruise control, lane keeping and centring, emergency stop and road sign detection.

There are also seven airbags, LED headlights with adaptive high beam and follow-me-home lighting, front and rear parking sensors, two rear ISOFIX and three top tether strap anchor points for child seats.

The bZ4X includes Toyota Connected Services (TCS) online features, including integration with the myToyota Connect smartphone app. Safety features include SOS emergency call and automatic collision notification and are complimentary.

But after 12 months you’ll have to pay $9.95 per month for stuff like stolen vehicle tracking and remote lock/unlock and $12.95 per month if you want to add in multimedia features such as connected navigation.

The 2024 Toyota bZ4X has a 12.3-inch infotainment screen sitting on the dashboard through which wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can be accessed, along with cloud navigation, AM, FM and DAB+ radio and voice assist.

The 2WD gets a six-speaker audio system and the AWD a nine-speaker JBL set-up. Over-the-air (OTA) software updates are available for the multimedia system.

It gets a bit funkier from there with a small 7.0-inch digital instrument panel set way back into the dashboard ahead of the driver. But it also sits quite low, which means it can be easily blocked by the steering wheel, depending on your seating position.

The racing car-style yoke steering wheel would make more sense with this, but there is apparently no plan for that to come to Australia in the bZ4X. It may be seen here in the Lexus RZ 450e, which is essentially a hotted-up bZ4X AWD.

The bZ4X includes three USB ports up front (two USB-Cs and one USB-A) and two USB-Cs in the rear.

The 2024 Toyota bZ4X 2WD is powered by a liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous e-motor mounted on the front axle, housed with a single-speed reduction gear and inverter. It makes 150kW and 266Nm and is claimed to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds.

The bZ4X AWD places an 80kW e-motor on each axle to add 10kW more than the 2WD and more usefully bumps torque to 337Nm. Its claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time is 7.5 seconds.

Electricity is delivered by a water and refrigerant-cooled 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack made up of 96 cells.

The bZ4X 2WD is claimed to consume electricity at a WLTP average of 16.89kWh/100km and the AWD 18.11kWh/100km.

The 2024 Toyota bZ4X 2WD claims a 436km range based on the WLTP standard, while the bZ4X AWD claims a 411km range.

These are not cutting-edge numbers; the IONIQ 5, Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y all claim better.

The bZ4X has a maximum AC charging rate of 11kW – which means you need three-phase power at home to achieve that, otherwise it’s about 7.4kW.

The maximum DC fast-charging rate via a CCS2 plug is 150kW – which theoretically delivers a 10-80 per cent charge in 30 minutes (although, of course, charging rate slows as the battery fills up).

Since the bZ4X launched overseas, Toyota has worked on software and hardware changes to improve charging times in cold weather and better manage available charge. The latest iterations are part of the Aussie spec.

A ‘regeneration boost’ button on the centre console is the only way to uprate energy return to the battery under deceleration. There are no Hyundai/Kia-style flappy paddles to adjust regen more incrementally. It’s not quite single-pedal driving; it will slow rather than stop the car.

Unlike some other EVs including the Hyundai IONIQ 5, the bZ4X doesn’t offer any V2L (vehicle-to-load) function, which means external device such as laptops cannot be charged. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) is also something for the future.

The 2024 Toyota bZ4X is based on an almost bespoke EV architecture dubbed e-TNGA (it has some relation to ICE TNGA platforms).

It has a long wheelbase similar to a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series to fit the battery pack under the floor, but its overall 4690mm length is roughly similar to a Toyota RAV4. It weighs in at a claimed 1960kg as a 2WD and 2055kg as an AWD.

All that will probably be generating the impression the bZ4X is a bit clumsy and ponderous to drive. But that’s actually not the case.

Armed with a low centre of gravity courtesy of the battery pack, MacPherson strut front suspension, a multi-link rear-end and electric-assist rack and pinion steering, both the bZ4X 2WD and AWD handle with a confidence we’ve become familiar with from more recent Toyotas.

Around town they are easy to manoeuvre and on the open road they sit securely in fast or slow corners.

On our launch drive, there were some weird weighting pulses through the steering when lock was cranked on in tight corners, but more noticeable more often was a busy ride on the 20-inch wheels and 235/50R20 rubber. That input was especially prominent at lower speeds.

Thankfully that was the major complaint when it came to the wheels – none fell off!

The AWD does deliver a bit more oomph thanks to its superior torque, but that always-on attribute of e-motors means the 2WD doesn’t feel lacking either.

Both are also quiet to travel in and easy to operate with a shift-by-wire dial-type drive selector and electric park brake.

Really, it’s hard to imagine most people needing anything more than the 2WD in most driving scenarios.

Alright, so this is the scenario where the 2024 Toyota bZ4X AWD makes a bit more sense.

With all-paw traction, more ground clearance (212mm versus 182mm for the 2WD), the addition of Subaru-developed X-Mode off-road drive modes (Snow/Dirt and Deep Snow/Mud) and downhill assist and a crawl function, the bZ4X AWD can clamber up and down moderately challenging rocky tracks.

We did just that in the Brindabella Ranges at the launch and the car did all that was asked of it without issue.

Mind you, the bZ4X 2WD had happily navigated kilometres of gravel road before reaching the ‘off-road’ section.

The 2024 Toyota bZ4X is a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to the cabin and storage.

Fundamental space is excellent for passengers in the front and rear. The front seats are generously comfortable and the rear backrest can recline.

However, the boot is small at only 421 litres in the 2WD and 411 litres in the AWD – about 130L less than a RAV4 and about half a Model Y – and misses out on niceties like bins and nets.

The rear seats do split-fold to generate more space (Toyota doesn’t offer a number).

There’s no frunk because of the e-motor up front and there’s not even a glove box because a radiant heater takes up the space.

There is some storage on offer including a bridge-type centre console with a lower storage area, a large centre double-lidded bin with a sliding arm rest and door bins.

There are also door bins in the rear, two map pockets and a fold-down arm rest with cup holders and a storage slot.

As already mentioned, the other weirdness is the instrument panel location. The steering wheel does adjust for reach and rake and is quite small, so in combination with the seat adjustment there is the chance to come up with a compromise position.

The touch-screen has high-resolution graphics, but happily some hard buttons are retained to operate basic functions like air-con and audio.

Trim materials vary from an unusual textured fabric on the dashboard to the popular piano black. Touch points are usually soft.

In the rear, the floor is basically flat as per usual EV design, which means a middle-seat passenger will be more comfortable. But two passengers back there works much better.

The 2024 Toyota bZ4X is not the most exciting or sexy new vehicle to launch in Australia this year.

Assessed as presented here it’s a competent drive with a moderate range, mediocre storage and – by mid-size electric SUV standards – competitive pricing.

It’s disappointing the bZ4X 2WD loses some safety gear compared to the AWD, but unless you want to go moderately off-roading that’s the only concrete reason to prefer the more expensive model.

On the positive side, the bZ4X feels nicer to sit in than the rather austere market-leading Tesla Model Y, but so do most EVs. On the flipside, the Tesla easily outdoes the bZ4X on critical stuff like range and charging.

So the bZ4X is no standard-setter. For that, we’ll have to wait for the next generation of Toyota EVs to arrive from 2026.

But overlaying all that is the Toyota badge. No brand has more influence or followers in Australia and as the brand’s first local EV, the bZ4X is tremendously important.

It will make a lot of people think about buying an electric car for the first time.

And those people who do take the next step and test drive the bZ4X will find nothing especially intimidating or overwhelming about the first Beyond Zero model. Just a Toyota.

2024 Toyota bZ4X 2WD at a glance:
Price: $66,000 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Single front-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 150kW/266Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 71.4kWh lithium-ion
Range: 436km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 16.9kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)

2024 Toyota bZ4X AWD at a glance:
Price: $74,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Two permanent magnet synchronous motors
Output: 160kW/337Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 71.4kWh lithium-ion
Range: 411km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 18.1kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)