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We typically don’t post much about the Toyota bZ4X, Toyota’s all-electric compact SUV. Most reports say it hasn’t sold that well, perhaps due to average range and charging speed.
The name bZ4X doesn’t really have that sound or feeling of a known vehicle; it’s obscure, is it not? It certainly does not fit the Toyota naming convention: Camry, Corolla, Tacoma, Highlander, Tundra, and so on. Why not give it a recognizable and memorable name?
Toyota has reduced the oddly-named EV’s cost by up to $6000 for 2025 to just under $39,000, so maybe it’s more attractive at that price point. Toyota certainly has a huge customer base and some of them are brand loyal. Maybe some of the Toyota stalwarts will buy a bZ4X soon.
Kelley Blue Book summed up the bZ4X in this way: “For commuting and normal everyday duties, an all-electric SUV built by Toyota sounds ideal. And yes, there are many upsides, such as the comprehensive array of safety equipment, the roomy and noise-insulated cabin, and optional features like a self-parking function. The bZ4X is also quite new, having debuted just last year. Toyota is a huge company with incredible resources and smart engineers. Which might have resulted in high expectations for the bZ4X. So we wonder why the company didn’t install batteries with bigger capacities to enable better ranges. Or a system that could charge faster. A joint project with Subaru (the Solterra is the other side of this coin), the bZ4X is a good first attempt from Toyota, but far from the class best.”
The thing is, for about $43,000, before incentives, you could get a new Tesla Model 3, the updated one, which has greater range, faster charging speed, access to the Tesla charger network, and it is a proven electric vehicle.
A better comparison might be the Nissan Ariya. In its base form, the price is just a shade under $40,000 and the range is about 216 miles. The Toyota bZ4X base model has a range of about 250 miles, and it’s not all-wheel drive. The AWD version has about 220 miles of range. The bZ4X base model wins on range versus the base Ariya.
The next-gen Chevy Bolts, another potential competitor, might be priced less than the bZ4X, but no one knows exactly what that amount will be. Currently, the Chevy Equinox EV is priced comparably and looks to be a better vehicle than the Toyota bZ4X.
The bZ4X has a 71 to 72 kWh lithium-ion battery. The MPGe is 119 – 112 for the two front-wheel drive models, and less for the AWD version.
There has been speculation online that Toyota wants to hang on to the success of its gas and hybrid models such as the Prius, Corolla, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, etc. much more than venturing into full electrification. Hence the bZ4X with its unimpressive metrics, because it is not threatening to the huge auto manufacturer’s fossil-fuel and fossil fuel-hybrid vehicle lineup.
Even with the price cut, bZ4X sales may not increase much. If they do not, will there be another decrease? Maybe a name change would help too. Or bring back the RAV4 EV?
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