It's hard to grasp how much the world of electric vehicles has expanded in the last decade. From a handful of choices, it seems like almost every major auto manufacturer has at least one or two EVs on the books. Part of this is because of US Environmental Protection Agency regulations about overall fleet fuel efficiency, but a lot of drivers are excited about the performance, reliability, and eco-friendliness of battery powered cars and trucks.
It really is a splendid experience to drive past gas stations knowing that you'll never need to stop to refuel. Do EVs have charging challenges of their own? Of course, we don't yet have any completely self-contained vehicles yet - no Mr. Fusion! - so in some sense you're trading off one infrastructure for another, but we have lots of green ways to generate electricity that eclipse even the most environmentally friendly gasoline production.
But this piece isn't about EV versus internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles, it's about the 2025 Toyota bZ4X AWD Limited that the company loaned me for a week to drive and experience. What makes it interesting is that, like the Stellantis Fiat 500e [my review of the 500e], the bZ4X has a limited range of about 220 miles on a full charge.
At first glance, having to stop and wait for it to charge every 200 miles sounds ridiculous and would certainly slow down a cross-country road trip. But most of us don't take road trips. We commute and visit friends and family, go shopping, maybe head to the gym after work. A typical driver averages about 25-30 miles/day. AAA reported that in 2022 the average American driver covered 30.1 miles per day, and that in 2023 the number went down, to 29.1 miles/day. In that light, 220 miles of range sounds like a full week of driving and not particularly limiting after all.
Let's get to the vehicle itself. The bZ4X they loaned me was an eye-catching Supersonic Red with black details and it looked great:
One interesting design artifact was that the charging port cover ended up being two-tone, a surprisingly tricky bit of manufacturing that I haven't seen in other two-tone designs, even from Toyota (the Toyota Crown is a dual-color design, for example). You can see it here:
Critics have complained about the slow charging speed of the bZ4T, but I found it did just fine with my 110V charging option. When first plugged in, at about 62% charge, it did estimate it would take 31 hours to finish charging, but when I unplugged it the next morning (maybe 12 hrs of charge) it was back up to 100%.
Note: I'm sure you're wondering what I kept stumbling over; the name of this model. Turns out that it's essentially an internal Toyota vehicle code that somehow made it to customers: bZ = Beyond Zero (zero emissions), 4 = vehicle class size, 4 denoting it's a compact SUV, and X = all-wheel drive. I dunno, I'd rather a fancy ZEV-4 to tie into the RAV-4 model line or similar.
Moving into the vehicle, the dashboard is very much on point with modern Toyota vehicle design, though there are some spots where the controls are a bit tightly packed:
Most noticeable is that the main gauge display is pretty darn far back behind the steering wheel. This is similar to the Toyota Prius design and after decades of driving vehicles where the main gauges are just a few inches behind the wheel, it feels weirdly distant with this placement. My daughter commented that it seemed like it wasn't even important since it was so far away from the driver. Perhaps just as importantly, you can see just above the steering wheel the driver monitor sensor system (the dark bar just behind the steering wheel, atop the steering column). That housed the single most annoying part of the bZ4X: the driver alertness monitor.
The main gauge shows all sorts of useful information, but it also displays a warning that I got about every 10-15 minutes when I was driving this vehicle: "Driver's Face Not Detected" or "Driver Inattention". Basically, that sensor needs to have an unobstructed view of your face and it's then going to monitor your eyes and facial orientation during your entire drive. If I glanced out the side widow for more than a second or two, it would alert me. If I had my hand resting in the steering wheel at the 12-o'clock position (a common and comfortable position for me) it would complain it couldn't see my face. Endless beeps. Now, there's probably a way to disable this feature, but it highlighted that there's a fine line between smart safety tech and annoying nanny-tech that forces specific behaviors upon us humans.
Also note in the above image that the vehicle's at 96% charge and that's giving an estimated range of 192 miles. If I'm hitting that 30-mile average today, that's no worry at all, but if I wanted to visit a friend in Colorado Springs, CO from Boulder, CO, I'd be cutting it pretty close by the time I got back home. A visit to Cheyenne? It's not even 20 miles further, but the round trip is more than 192 miles, so that would be a problem.
The tiny foot on the pedal icon on the top indicates that I've enabled Boost Mode, often called one-pedal driving mode in other EVs. The idea is that the vehicle works more like a go-kart where simply lifting your foot off the gas will engage regenerative braking. Ideally, you never need the b brake pedal, and you extract power from the braking process. Toyota's implementation of Boost Mode doesn't include the vehicle coming to a full stop, so I found it annoying; I wanted to lift my foot up and have the car gradually slow down to a stop. Most EVs work that way and it's great fun to drive with this single pedal mode.
There are a lot of controls jammed onto the steering wheel, as you can see. In fact, it took me a while to find the volume control on the steering wheel (lower left up/down toggle). This might be too many controls but there are buttons everywhere on the bZ4X, as you can also see when you look at the center console:
Notice the USB-C port hidden in the lower portion. Smart design, though the center compartment offers USB-A and a Qi wireless charging area. It's a great design because, coupled with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, you can easily put your phone on the device to charge, close the lid, and just use it via the infotainment system. Neatly out of sight, and much less temptation to help keep you safe on the road.
The center console also has a button specifically to turn on the camera system that helps with pinpoint parking. Much appreciated; too many cars have reverse cameras, etc, but only display them when you're in reverse, which doesn't help if you're pulling nose-in to a parking spot. Then again, it was yet another weird gear shift: The big knob let you move from gear to gear. Functional, but I like my gearshift.
The area behind the center console is dominated by the big 12.3" infotainment screen:
Notice immediately below the screen is the infotainment power and volume up and down buttons. They were hard to use safely while driving, so you'll find yourself relying on the volume control on the steering wheel. Climate controls were easy to understand and use, and I found the vehicle quite comfortable in both hot and cooler weather. Props to Toyota for having the steering wheel heater button adjacent to the driver's seat heater button too, rather than an all-too-common location on the steering wheel itself.
Rear seat passengers aren't left out either, with rear seat heaters and charging options on the back of the center console:
The cargo area was typical for a compact SUV, enough for an enthusiastic Costco run, but nowhere near enough for a bicycle or skis:
Yes, that's a typical 60/40 rear seat with baby seat mounting points. In fact, this would be a good family car even with rear-facing car seats. There's better than average legroom for both front and rear passengers and enough space for a folded-up stroller and all the other accoutrements that go along with having a baby in our modern world. From this vantage point, notice how small the rear-view mirror is. Not sure why Toyota didn't put in a slightly larger mirror for greater rear visibility, but that's easily remedied with an aftermarket mirror if it's your preference.
Niggling criticisms aside, I was impressed by the Toyota bZ4X AWD Limited. It looked sporty and drove great. In fact, in my usual empty-road-let's-push-this-thing test, it had enough acceleration that we felt a bit queasy, with a 0-60 that clocked in at about 7 seconds. More importantly, the actual drive experience was really good, with solid handling, good feel on curves, and plenty of oomph to keep up with aggressive highway traffic at 80mph. It's comfortable, has a nice sound system, and plenty of room for a family of four. That 220-mile range? Well, that's something you'll want to manage, but if it fits in with your driving patterns, this is a bit of a sleeper EV option (even compared to the popular Toyota RAV-4).
2025 Toyota bZ4X AWD Limited, full electric vehicle powered by dual 80kW electric motors. BASE PRICE: $49,260. Options Included: Limited Weather Package, JBL Premium Audio, Special Color, Split Roof Rear Spoiler, Two-Tone Paint (yes, the charge separate for the special color and the two-tone paint), Illuminated Cargo Sill, Illuminated Door Sills, Cargo Net, Carpet Floor Mats. AS DRIVEN: $53,883.00.
Disclaimer: Toyota loaned me the bZ4X for a week in return for this candid write-up. This article originally appeared at PlanetDave.com with the title The Comfy, but Limited 2024 Toyota bZ4X AWD Electric Vehicle.
