The Toyota bZ4X, the brand’s all-important mid-size electric SUV (or Tesla Model Y fighter, if you want to be confrontational) didn’t have the easiest start to life: delays, an early recall and then controversy over how big its battery actually was and how averse it was to cold weather.
Now it’s facelift time, and as that original car didn’t get the most rapturous reception, it’s a pretty comprehensive one. The front fascia has been revised with slimmer headlights and the wheel-arch trims, which were unpainted black, are now gloss black.
More significantly, it has had a range boost, thanks to both a bigger battery and improved efficiency. By reconfiguring the shape of the pack and the gubbins surrounding it, the engineers have shoehorned in eight extra cells, taking its capacity from 71.4kWh to 73.1kWh (69.0kWh of which is usable). There’s also a new version with a smaller battery (57.7/54.0kWh), but don't expect to see many of those in UK.
To make sure it lives up to Toyota's reputation of long-livedness, there's now a menu in the instrument cluster that shows the battery's state of health. It tells you what percentage of the battery's original capacity remains.
By using silicon-carbide inverters and polishing the teeth (dentists recommend both mornings and evenings) of the gearbox, the engineers have also made the drivetrain use less energy, despite a useful bump in power.
Tweaks to the front subframe and extra adhesive in the floor have increased chassis rigidity, while the springs, dampers and bushings have been retuned to make it feel more settled and improve the ride, particularly for the rear passengers.
The interior also came in for some criticism before, so that has had a makeover too. These changes have been partially successful. The old gloss black centre console with a hidden phone storage is swapped for a matt one with two wireless charging pads – much better.
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