Toyota bZ4X: Is the electric SUV a big success?

Although Toyota virtually invented the modern petrol/electric hybrid with the Prius, it’s been slower to build battery electric models, and the bZ4X is its first ‘clean sheet’ EV.

Why is it called ‘bZ4X?’ Apparently, this has something to do with ‘beyond zero,’ but get beyond the gnomic marketing stuff and the car itself is a large sports utility, which essentially means that the bZ4X is the sort of thing wealthier families might have bought with a diesel engine not so long ago.

The car’s styling is squared-off, chunky, and visually rather busy, with facets and creases in its panel work, but some car critics really like the shape, and such things are subjective.

Inside, there are a great deal of dark plastics and fabrics, making it a slightly sombre environment, and small children sitting in the back might find seeing the outside world a little impeded by a rather high window line. The same could be said about plenty of other cars.

The fit and finish is excellent however, and the bZ4X exudes solidity. It’s also a generally spacious vehicle with plenty of head and leg room in the back for a pair of adults. There’s room for a third grownup, if not quite as much room as some rivals. With the rear seats in place there’s a useful, if not class-leading 452 litres of boot space. By the way, there isn’t a front boot.

The car is controlled by the usual mix of touch screens and digital read-outs that were mostly functional and intuitive.

There are single-motor, front-drive and twin-motor 4x4 versions of the car, and we drove one of the latter variants.

Our exposure to it was limited to tarmac, but apparently the car has some traction and suspension settings that give it genuine off-road capability.

On the road, it’s nimbler than it looks, cornering with a commendable lack of rolling about, and going where you point it in a confidence-inspiring way, aided by light, accurate steering. In fact, the bZ4X merits the road tester’s cliché of feeling smaller than it is.

Ride quality is good too, and might be described as firm but comfortable. Some EVs have brakes that can feel rather artificial

and a little difficult to apply smoothly, but the bZ4X’s anchors were strong, progressive and confidence inspiring

The bZ4X lacks a couple of features that you’d expect to find in a 20-year-old Yaris, however. To wit: a passenger side glove box and a rear wiper. We presume the former is missing because this creates extra front knee room, and Toyota can claim myriad cubby holes and substantial door bins as substitutes, notably in the large centre console which also has a doored recess to store and charge your phone, but these spaces can’t be locked nor the stuff they contain hidden from view.

We can only put the Toyota’s wiperless rear end down to cussedness, but whatever the reason it’s an irritant in an otherwise well-equipped car costing over £50k.

Performance is brisk rather than demented, and Toyota’s electric sports utility would be an easy, pleasant companion in town. Charging-wise, a fast charge lasting 30 minutes will give up to 80 per cent replenishment.

On another positive note, the car is equipped with safe exit assistance technology, a boon at visually cluttered junctions, blind spot and driver monitoring kit and front and rear parking sensors, which are particularly useful when reversing, as the bZ4X’s hefty rear pillars create blind spots.

There’s also a suite of safety functions branded Toyota Safety Sense, including pre-collision technology, lane departure and centring and road sign recognition. Although some drivers might feel that such things turn a car into a beeping and buzzing nag, the safety payback is obvious.

The bZ4X isn’t the acme of advanced design or technical innovation, but it’s nice to drive and generally convenient to live with. As a car for the real world, it has a lot going for it.