After focusing on hybrid and hydrogen for a long time, Toyota is also going for the ax. The Toyota bZ4x marked a change in the company’s vision, which is reflected in the name. The somewhat difficult ‘bZ’ stands for Beyond Zero, with which the manufacturer indicates that it ultimately wants to be climate positive. A nice ambition, but a bit difficult for us to measure. So we now simply look at the range of Toyota’s first EV.
The offering of the bZ4x is relatively clear. You can choose between front and four-wheel drive, with the 2WD variant delivering 204 hp compared to 218 for the 4WD. In all cases, the battery pack measures 71.4 kWh gross, of which 64 net kWh is at your disposal. It should provide a maximum range of 461 (4WD) to 516 (2WD) kilometers.
Average range Toyota bZ4x
To get straight to the point: none of the riders who left a user review on this site achieve that. We also did not get that far in our own double test, in which the bZ4x was pitted against a Volkswagen ID4. We achieved a consumption of 16.1 kWh/100 km and a corresponding range of 397 kilometers. “With pleasant outside temperatures and almost no 130 km/h, you get decent figures. The Toyota does not have to be ashamed of this consumption and achieves an acceptable range,” was the conclusion. With all-wheel drive and other test conditions, consumption rises to 19.8 kWh/100 km and the range drops to 323 kilometers, as twin brother Subaru Solterra proved in another double test.
If we combine these values with numbers reported by users, we see an average range of 354 kilometers and a corresponding consumption of 18.1 kWh/100 km. A driver around the average says: “The range is between 350 and 400 km, which is reasonable considering the average ambient temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius. My consumption now varies between 16 and 18 kWh/100 km, with 100 km of highway daily.” Another rider put it to the test in the spring: “I once discharged the battery to an SoC of 6 percent and then drove 410 km. In other words: we hope that we will make further progress with a higher outside temperature.” A quick calculation shows that the maximum range in this case would have been 436 kilometers. Other drivers report no more than this.
Driving range in winter
This driver says the following about his winter range. “In the cold weeks of January, the range with a 100 percent SoC was 320 km, but when driving with the heating on, it dropped a little further. This did raise some questions. However, with the passage of time and a higher outside temperature, the range increased quite quickly again.”
An owner who maintains an AutoWeek Consumption Monitor for the bZ4x achieves a consumption of 20.55 kWh/100 km during the winter months. Due to the detailed information about the amount of power consumed, we expect that charging losses, usually around 15 percent, are included. It gives a good indication of the expected charging costs, but also ensures that we cannot convert this into a driving range.
