New Toyota bZ4X facelift 2025 review: boosted range boosts appeal
The Toyota bZ4X is now a competitive offering in the family EV sector thanks to improved range and loads of standard kit
Verdict
Revisions to the Toyota bZ4X’s powertrain have added some all-important miles to its maximum range – so long as you choose the big battery version. It’s become a much more competitive offering as a result, and the interior quality still has the sturdiness you expect of a Toyota, with loads of standard kit thrown in. It’s not the most thrilling car to drive and we still have reservations about efficiency, but the bZ4X is now a solid option in the family EV sector.
Toyota has much more experience in battery-powered vehicles than most other brands, even if it mostly comes from hybrids such as the Prius. So it was something of a surprise that we were a little disappointed when the all-electric bZ4X arrived in 2022.
The main issue was range. The bZ4X was initially launched as a dual-motor model with 257 miles of range, then a few months later, a single-motor version bumped up this figure to 277 miles. But neither really cut it against a sea of rivals that could easily top 300 miles on a charge. Now the bZ4X has been given a mid-life refresh, and we’re happy to report that Toyota has improved its electric family SUV in this important area.
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There are now two battery options: a 57.7kWh unit, which is only available on the entry Icon trim, and a 73.1kWh pack that comes on the mid-range Design and top-spec Excel. While the 73.1kWh battery is only 1.6kWh larger than before, the cells have been more densely integrated. Couple this with the bZ4X’s reshaped, more aerodynamic front end, plus more efficient electric motors, and the maximum range has risen to a respectable 352 miles.
That’s for the front-wheel drive Design specification we’re testing here. The smaller battery in Icon guise reaches 274 miles and the large battery Excel with a dual-motor set-up tops out at 292 miles.
Pricing starts at a fiver under £40,000 for the Icon, meaning the bZ4X just slips under the luxury car tax threshold in its basic trim. However, Toyota thinks the most popular version will be the Design with the bigger battery at £45,795, while the Excel starts at £48,995, rising to £51,545 for the dual-motor variant.
Our driving route and the weather conditions were fairly harsh on the bZ4X. Single-digit temperatures, all of the heated functions in their warmest settings, biblical rain and plenty of twisty B-roads meant we were never going to see Toyota’s claimed efficiency of 4.4 miles per kWh (on 18-inch wheels; 20-inchers drop this to 4.0 miles per kWh). Instead, the bZ4X returned an average of 3.5 miles per kWh, which would give us a maximum range of 255 miles. As before, a heat pump is fitted as standard to every version.
Perhaps just as crucial as the range improvements are the charging upgrades. On Excel trim, you now get an AC 22kW on-board charger as standard, shrinking the 10 to 80 per cent top-up time to 2.2 hours from the 4.8 hours in other trim levels with the 11kW charger.
The maximum charge rate is still 150kW, with a 28-minute top-up for 10 to 80 per cent, but there’s a new pre-conditioning function to help provide that charge in colder temperatures, which can be manually set by the driver too.
There’s also a charging station recommendation integrated into the sat-nav, which suggests the best places to recharge and will update in real time depending on the bZ4X’s efficiency at that point. It’s not a cutting-edge bit of technology – the Tesla Model Y has had a similar feature for years – but it’s still useful.
We’ve always thought the driving experience was one of the finer aspects of the bZ4X, but Toyota has made a string of chassis changes to make it even better. The steering is light, and at first it feels at odds with the car’s size and weight (1,930kg in this trim). It’s not brimming with feedback, but suspension tweaks help deliver a more natural flow. The front end is surprisingly pointy, responding to steering inputs almost without delay, and coupled with the relatively small steering wheel, it’s not dissimilar to the Model Y in this area.
The key tweaks centre on tuning of the spring and damper rates, plus adjustment of the front lower arm bushes. The bZ4X is not something that revels in being chucked into corners, but the low-slung battery and overall stability mean it is calm and collected in the handling department. One aspect it excelled at was traversing standing water, the heavily electric-assisted steering probably helped by not tugging at the wheel.
The overall ride is very polished in the bZ4X. We thought the outgoing car was one of the more comfortable choices in its segment, and especially on the 18-inch wheels of our test car, the bZ4X remains unfussed at the sight of large potholes and broken-up roads.
Toyota has taken other measures to make the bZ4X quieter, too. It’s impressively hushed at higher speeds thanks to new acoustic glass added to the front side windows, extra insulation foam in the body and rear wing liners, plus a new silencing material within the floor.
While some family EVs offer sports car-like acceleration (the slowest version of the MG IM6 reaches 62mph in 5.4 seconds), Toyota hasn’t given the bZ4X masses of power. It’s a refreshing take, and few would call the single-motor’s 7.4-second 0-62mph time slow. The electric motors are new on the 73.1kWh single-motor model – here you have 224bhp and a surprisingly low torque figure (for an EV) of 268Nm. Power comes on stronger in Normal mode than it does in Eco, as you’d expect, underscoring that the bZ4X is not a sporty car. There’s no Sport mode, either.
We’re yet to try the dual-motor, which comes with a significant 338bhp and 5.1-second 0-62mph time. This version features a new torque distribution system to help promote agility, but also has an extra ‘X-Mode’, developed in partnership with Subaru for the Solterra sister car, to ensure extra off-road capability.
Toyota has made changes to the bZ4X’s cabin, although it remains well-built and has a clear focus on ergonomics, with style less of a priority. The seven-inch ‘combimeter’ in front of the driver remains in place, and now displays extra data such as real-time charging power and the battery’s state-of-health. However, it’s still in a slightly awkward position above the steering wheel.
The biggest change inside is the introduction of a 14-inch central touchscreen, replacing the old eight-inch and 12.3-inch units. It’s a marked improvement thanks to its crisp resolution and rather lovely climate control dials nabbed from more premium Lexus models. The repositioning of the gear selector to allow for dual smartphone chargers – standard on all cars now – is a good idea and the chargers themselves are sunken, so our phone didn’t come loose under cornering at any point.
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| Model: | Toyota bZ4X Design |
| Price: | £45,795 |
| Powertrain: | 73.1kWh battery, 1x electric motor |
| Power/torque: | 224bhp/268Nm |
| Transmission: | Single-speed automatic, front-wheel drive |
| 0-62mph: | 7.4 seconds |
| Top speed: | 99mph |
| Range: | 352 miles |
| Max charging: | 150kW (10-80% in 28 mins) |
| Size (L/W/H): | 4,690/1,860/1,650mm |
| On sale: | Now |
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