There's something slightly curious going on with the new estate version of Toyota's mid-sized EV: the Toyota bZ4X Touring. This higher-riding, rugged-looking wagon derivative can now be considered 'even more crossover' than the normal car, I suppose. It's part hatchback, part SUV; part off-roader, part urban sprawler; part jacked-up hatchback, part estate car. Part Toyota, part Subaru…
This is, of course, Toyota's sister car for the Subaru E-Outback. It effectively broadens out the bZ4X offering by being the only derivative (in the UK showroom range, at least) that can be had with twin-motor four-wheel drive. But, unlike in the Subaru, you can have it with simpler, cheaper, single-motor front wheel drive instead if you prefer; which gets you a more efficient car with a WLTP Combined lab-test range of 229 miles - the longest of any bZ4X you can buy.
View Price on AmazonThe bZ4X Touring's a little over a foot longer than a regular Toyota bZ4X, stretched entirely within the rear overhang to the improvement of boot space. It's got the conventional square rear end of an estate, and almost 50 per cent more cargo volume than its sister model, according to Toyota. It also grants 4.3 inches of additional ground clearance versus a base bZ4X - or 5.9 inches if you go for the twin-motor model (available exclusively in the Touring bodystyle) on account of bigger alloy wheels as standard.
The Design version comes with 18in wheels, and glossy plastic hubcaps that don't look especially plasticky or cheap; but which you can change when, inevitably, you scuff or kerb them.
The interesting technical differentiator for the Touring seems to be the slightly larger-capacity drive battery that it uses compared with the normal BZ4X. Dive deep enough on Toyota's online tech spec comparison tool and you'll find evidence of it for yourself. Maybe the twin-motor version needed the extra capacity to supply enough current; or maybe CATL's pouch cells had a model-year update shortly after the updated 2025 bZ4X hatchback went into production.
Toyota isn't explaining, so we can only guess why it should be this way; and yet it isn't secretive about the facts, either. "Usable capacity in a regular BZ4X FWD: 69kWh. In the Touring FWD: 71kWh". The thing is, that battery pack must also be lighter than the one in the regular car, as well as more energy dense. Because this estate - more than a foot longer than the car on which it's based, remember, which is plenty of sheet steel, rubber and glass - is somehow between 44-66 pounds lighter, like for like, than a BZ4X 'hatchback'.
It's also rated for a WLTP Combined electric range of 229 miles, compared with the regular version's 218 miles.
You're not really aware of sitting any higher, when you slide onboard the Touring, than you do in the regular bZ4X; although you do still sit fairly high. The steering wheel's a little small and low-sprouting on the fascia; and the digital instruments are set high ahead of you, right at the base of the windscreen.
Because you sit at that raised hip point, however, you can see over the steering rim to the gauges just fine. Visibility is good to all sides, and plenty of passenger space is left for adult travellers in the second row.
There's a chunky, conventional, solid feel to the car's secondary controls, of which there's a full compliment; so no need to go looking for wiper, mirror and headlight controls on the touchscreen display.
There are also physical buttons that you could find at a glance for the car's drive modes, stability control, heating and ventilation, audio system, and more.
Source: autocar.co.uk
