If you've ever wondered why Toyota has been so slow in embracing purely electric car development (despite a plethora of global competitors, it still only produces one fully electric car), you will need to understand the logic of the man who led Toyota until two years ago.
Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder, has consistently maintained that EVs are only part of the challenge of car pollution and argued only last year that battery EVs would never account for more than 30% of global vehicle sales, "no matter how much progress BVs make".
Although Toyoda remains chairman of the company, his successor, Koji Sato, is clearly prepared to put a lot more chips on the EV table. As companies such as BYD, Tesla, Hyundai and Kia power ahead with their EV programme, Toyota is aiming to catch up. Within the next seven years, it plans to introduce 30 EVs across its range.
It’s even planning to introduce a fully electric version of its popular utility truck, the Hilux, with a towing capacity of up to 1,600 kgs. I certainly didn’t see that coming.
Interestingly, however, and in keeping with Akio Toyoda’s logic, it is also planning to introduce hydrogen fuel cell technology in the next two years. It is currently running a fleet of 25 taxis in the German city of Elbe that require no charging and produce only water from their tailpipes, while delivering a range of up to 650 kilometres. Watch that space.
In the meantime, we have the second generation of that only and lonely EV in the Toyota lineup - the bz - being introduced to the Irish market. Thankfully, the almost ridiculously confusing name bz4X has been dropped and the simpler bz (beyond zero) adapted.
It’s not that radically different from the first generation launched in 2021, but it does have subtle changes - things like the Toyota family "hammerhead" front, wrap-around LEDs, gloss-painted wheel arches and a slightly reduced drag coefficient for more economy.
The emphasis with the new car has been on economy, range and performance, with Toyota claiming the new BZ has 23% better consumption than the older model.
There’s only one battery choice - a 69kWh unit (up 7kWh in capacity) with a claimed range of 567 kilometres. The usual caveat applies to claimed ranges until we see how the car performs in real-world conditions. However, Toyota insists that even in temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius, the battery will deliver between 70% and 80% of its claimed range.
It’s a chunky enough car, with a height of 1.6 metres, a length of 4.6 metres and a width of 1.8 metres.
There are two versions for the Irish market, the Sport and the Premier. The Sport price starts at €42,260, which is reasonably competitive for a car of this size and the Premier at €51,087. It’s quite a price jump from one to the other just to have the Premier’s extras, such as bigger wheels and panoramic sunroof, and taking into account the Premier’s slightly lower claimed range (510 kilometres) as a result.
Inside, the BZ is spacious, comfortable and quiet. The front doors, for example, have acoustic glass to add to that quietness, and the benefits were clear during a recent introductory test drive. And the seats are very comfortable front and rear, although the middle rear seat is just about serviceable for a not-too-tall child. There are two ISOFIX child seat anchor points for the outer two seats.
The 14" horizontal screen for infotainment has been taken from Lexus, and it’s a big improvement on recent Toyota screens, with clear graphics, an embedded sat nav system that works really well and voice activation. It’s big enough to be easy to read and compact enough not to dominate the interior, as with other bigger EVs.
Thankfully, there are physical buttons for functions like temperature and audio control, but there is still a bit of digging into onscreen menus for other functions. It may be the way almost every car company has gone, but I’m still not a fan, as it’s far too distracting.
Something else I’m not a fan of is the absence here of a good old-fashioned glove compartment to squirrel things away (too many electronics behind the dash, apparently), although there is good front storage space for bits and pieces.
The steering is well balanced, but while driving on slightly rougher surfaces, the ride seemed just a bit too firm for a family car that is comfortable in almost every way.
The car doesn’t have a heads-up display (one that reflects driver information onto the windscreen) but has a binnacle with the relevant information that sits atop the dashboard. This is a bit of a problem for taller drivers as, when you adjust the height of the steering wheel, it nearly has to drop into your lap in order to have a clear view of the binnacle. It’s oddly irritating, and I found it an uncomfortable compromise.
Another compromise is the decision not to have a rear wiper.
I was also struck by the waves of plastic that have gone into the now slimmed-down dashboard, especially given that the car’s interior can be relatively dark. Even budget brands like Citroen have managed to use synthetic cloth materials to address this issue and brighten their interiors in the process.
The boot space is adequate rather than generous, with a 452 litre capacity and the rear seats did not fold fully flat when trying to attempt to increase the load space.
The warranty covers three years or 100,000 kilometres, and the battery cover is for eight years. If you agree to regular servicing through a Toyota main dealer, then you can have a warranty of up to one million kilometres. That’s quite a statement, as is the pledge that the battery will retain 80 per cent of its efficiency for ten years.
The bz looks more modern and has more road presence than its VW ID4 competitor, but lacks the sharpness of a Skoda Enyaq. However, its entry-level price and the extensive suite of safety equipment should be enough to give it a strong start, especially among existing Toyota owners.
Any of the Dublin taxi drivers I’ve spoken to, who are contentedly driving the current BZ, say they can cover a full shift on one charge from a home charger. Now they can drive for even longer.
