Toyota bZ4X Touring review

All very tidy. This is the thing with Toyotas these days: they won’t blow your socks off, but they’ll do everything with absolute competence. No change here. The steering is nicely weighted, the power delivery smooth, the brakes nicely judged.

Two versions remember: 221bhp FWD, or 376bhp AWD. The latter sees off 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds, which is bona fide hot hatch territory. We've tested the FWD version, and while acceleration is merely average by EV standards, it’s perfectly adequate for a family people carrier.

Regen is also nicely handled, with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel allowing you to choose between four levels. There’s a noticeable difference between strongest and weakest too – in the former you can effectively drive it with one pedal.

Will it actually go off-road?

In theory yes – the front-wheel drive bZ4X Touring gets a snow mode, but the all-drive version goes one step further thanks to its X-Mode system, which adjusts the power, torque and braking to suit mud or snow, and, erm, deep mud or deep snow. There’s also a Grip Control mode, and it’ll wade to a depth of 500mm.

A full home security setup worth of cameras (including underneath) helps you navigate any particularly difficult terrain, plus incline, pitch and roll infotainment displays. Planning on never heading off the beaten track? You can use the same cameras to help you navigate the local supermarket car park. Phew.

As ever there’s the full suite of driver assist tech – every Toyota gets the carmaker’s Safety Sense package, including emergency steering, pre-collision, lane keep, and speed limit warning (which is easy to turn off), but also genuinely useful systems such as safe exit that’ll warn you if you're about to open your door into a vehicle or cyclist. Though the incessant beeping will get on your nerves.

How far will it go on a charge?

Officially, the FWD model will go 366 miles WLTP (4.44 mi/kWh), and the AWD one 297 miles (3.74 mi/kWh). Those figures are obviously under lab conditions – on our test we achieved a very respectable 4.0 mi/kWh, equating to 285 miles of actual range.

A 10 to 80 per cent charge takes 28 minutes, with DC charging up to 150kW supported. That’s pretty average these days. Base Design models get a 11kW onboard charger and Excel models double it to 22kW, meaning either seven or 3.5 hours to fully charge at home (if you've got adequate supply, that is).

Oh, and one other thing to note – if you’re planning on towing, the bZ4 Touring supports up 750kg in FWD versions, and 1,500kg in AWD form.