TOUR GUIDE (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_toyotabz4xtouring_2026

By Jonathan Crouch

Want a more interesting kind of Toyota bZ4X EV? Try this more SUV-like Touring version. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 30

The bZ4X Touring is a more interesting, outdoorsy kind of mid-sized Toyota EV crossover. Though this estate's design owes much to Subaru, it's delivered with typically Toyota attention to detail.

Backgroundword count: 141

Things are not always what they seem. Take the car we're looking at here, Toyota's bZ4X Touring. On the face of things, it's just an estate version of the Japanese maker's rather unloved bZ4X mid-sized EV crossover. That's one way of looking at it. The other is to acknowledge that this is Toyota's version of a quite different car, the Subaru E-Outback. If you've been following Toyota's rather tentative steps into the EV market, you'll know that the brand is rather keen on joint ventures. With Stellantis to create its electric vans. With Suzuki to create its Urban Cruiser small EV. And with Subaru to create the bZ4X. Subaru decided it needed to create an SUV-style estate version of the Solterra, it's bZ4X clone. The E-Outback was the result. And Toyota has used the E-Outback design to create this bZ4X Touring.

Driving Experienceword count: 449

Unlike its Subaru counterpart, the bZ4X Touring comes in two distinct flavours. Unique to Toyota is the front-driven single motor 221bhp drivetrain of the base 'Design' model, which offers 366 miles of range from the 74.7kWh battery that all Touring models share, a pack that's slightly bigger than the one in the hatch model. Also different to what you get in the hatch model is the alternative dual motor powertrain fitted to the plusher AWD 'Excel' model we're trying here, which puts out 376bhp (38bhp more than the AWD hatch), making this top Touring variant the most powerful EV Toyota has yet made. But of course range falls in tandem with that - to 297 miles. That figure might be less than you were hoping for if you were planning to try and replicate the kind of extreme country rough-roading lifestyle Toyota likes to think potential Touring owners might want. To that end, this dual motor AWD model gets a Subaru-developed X-MODE system for slippery conditions, with bespoke 'Snow/Dirt' or 'Deep Snow/Mud' drive settings that give this estate an unusual level of EV capability on the slippery stuff. The X-MODE settings work at under 12mph and in tougher offroad conditions (at under 6mph) a built-in Grip Control set-up effectively takes over, allowing the driver to concentrate on accurate steering while the system controls vehicle speed, whether travelling downhill, uphill or on level ground. On downhill slopes, the driver can also use the car's Downhill Assist Control for a similar level of assistance. Of probably more interest to most likely owners is that this Toyota can tow properly - at up to 1,500kg, though that figure only applies to the dual motor version (it's just 750kg with the single motor model). None of this of course, will be available to you if you've pocketed considerable price, tax, range and insurance savings and gone with the front-driven model. Though even this variant gets a 'Snow' mode for slippery surfaces (to add to the more usual 'Eco' and 'Normal' settings). Both versions of course feature selectable brake regen settings, which can be operated by steering wheel paddleshifters. The front-driven variant goes as quickly as you'll need to go, 62mph taking 7.3s en route to 99mph, figures the AWD model improves on substantially - to 4.5s and 112mph. At speed in either version on twistier roads, the steering feels quite direct and well-weighted, but there's not that much in terms of feel. But the car feels quite agile and is helped by the 20-30kg weight saving this Touring model's slightly lighter battery pack gives it over the bZ4X hatch. Cruising refinement's acceptable and ride quality is fine, though gets unsettled by poorer surfaces.

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