For a company that’s almost synonymous with hybrids and their equivalent efficiency, Toyota has had a surprisingly light portfolio of vehicles featuring electric plugs. Then again, that might be exactly why Toyota hasn’t really danced with the lithium-ion battery in the pale moonlight very much; they’ve spent decades convincing people that what they really need is the ease and simplicity of a mild hybrid system that helps their car’s mpg eke more m out of each g.
And in all honesty, they’ve had a point. For the vast majority of average automotive buyers in America, hybrids – both plug-in and the more traditional plugless variety — have been the best choice for many years, combining efficiency with convenience in a way neither pure internal-combustion nor battery power alone can match.
Here in 2022, however, that tide is finally starting to turn. With brands like Tesla proving the value (for both customers and shareholders) of EVs, and countries pushing hard to do away with new gas-powered cars within not just our lifetimes, but even a dog’s, even Toyota has no choice but to give the world — including America — a chance to choose a car powered by electrons alone. Which is where the bZ4X comes in.
What makes the Toyota bZ4X special?
Will Sabel CourtneyAs mentioned, it’s Toyota’s first true electric vehicle meant for mass consumption. Like the Toyota GR 86 — and perhaps the only way in which it’s like that gas-powered, rear-wheel-drive, manual gearbox-equipped sports car — it’s been co-developed with Subaru, which sells a near-identical car as the Solterra.
The design is extroverted and outgoing, with a rakish rear hatch that almost seems more suited to a sedan than an SUV, sides that exaggerate their wheel openings through black paint and a front that makes little secret about its lack of need for a grille. It seemed almost too weird for a traditionally conservative carmaker like Toyota, at least to me…until I caught a glimpse of a new RAV4 driving by, wearing the same colorway (white body with black fender flares). In a vacuum, it looks pretty much just as odd as the bZ4x, albeit with a slightly more conventional roofline.
That said, the name is odd enough to make up for everything else. According to Toyota: the bZ stands for “beyond zero,” the cutesy phrase for the company’s future of zero-emissions vehicles; the 4 stands for its size, the same as the RAV4; and the X stands for SUV. But it all just comes across as an alphanumeric salad sure to leave some wondering if a product planner fell asleep on their keyboard. I’m sure Toyota salesfolks will soon be spending their lunch breaks swapping stories about customers’ mangled attempts to pronounce it. (“Bizzy-forks”? “Buzz-Forex”? “Bee-Zeforks”?)
