2024 Toyota bZ4X BEV Australia Walkthrough Test Drive Range Efficiency

[@LudicrousFeed]

With thanks to our sponsors: Koba EV Insurance - Get a Quote today! www.kobainsurance.com.au/products/electric-vehicle-insurance CORRECTION: The Toyota bZ4X is equipped with NMC battery chemistry, not LFP as incorrectly stated in my video

[@sydjaguar]

Great review Tom but gee it’s such a bad car for the money. If it was $45K probably ok

[@LudicrousFeed]

@@sydjaguar Thank you and agreed, the price is not quite right

[@jamiehiggs5389]

you can tell they have been brought to the party kicking and screaming

[@LudicrousFeed]

We've arrived ...

[@Rabs73]

Toyota is like the guy who turns up late to the party and expects a round of applause. But good its not as bad as expected.

[@LudicrousFeed]

There's always one isn’t there 😆

[@joelkeane8740]

Absolutely! They turn up and don't even bring their own alcohol lol

[@skincareaddicted]

It’s nice. I received $17k rebate and lease is $217 a month for 36 months, so I’m pleased. I am planning to use locally for work and pick up my child from school. It’s a very nicely constructed car, made in Japan, and I actually love the way it looks. The range could be better but Toyota would rather sacrifice that for long lasting battery. As battery technology gets better, say in 5 years, I see Toyota making the best EVs for longevity and range.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Great to hear. For city driving it’ll definitely suffice but beware of the software locked 2-cycle DC charging limit for longer drives

[@Ovationhabs]

@@LudicrousFeed That limit has been raised to 3.8 cycles in Europe and North America. Still not great but does improve the road trip capability to a notable degree.

[@LudicrousFeed]

@@Ovationhabs I couldn’t see whether that update applied to Australia / NZ

[@jonathanfields4ever]

The battery having huge buffers wouldn’t be a problem if it were more efficient. A small battery and poor efficiency is a crazy combination. This car should never have been released.

[@THE_MASK_REAL_ONE]

WOW . Being a Toyota owner my entire life 40 + years i am so glad i just ordered a Tesla model Y .

[@LudicrousFeed]

You made the right choice on this occasion 👍

[@GeorgeWPritchard22]

Hey Tom! Another great video! I've noticed some people thinking this is Toyota's first EV, and I want to clarify that I'm not criticizing anyone, but this isn't Toyota's first venture into electric vehicles. If we go wayback in the late 90's; Toyota introduced the RAV4 EV. They had (2.) generations of the RAV4 EV. (1997 - 2003.) Generation 1. (2012 -2014.) Generation 2. Apparently the 2nd generation was developed by Tesla in conjunction with Toyota. Firstly we will talk about the (Generation 1.) RAV4 EV. It was only leased in California like the EV1. There was about 1,484 where leased/ sold. Which seems to be more than the EV1 and Honda EV Plus combined. Also the first-generation model of the RAV4 EV only had a range of 95 miles. I Interestingly, Toyota opted for Panasonic batteries for this model. What's even more intriguing is that the battery pack was larger than the 24 kWh battery found in the Leaf, boasting a capacity of 27.4 kWh. This is a video from Top Gear (UK.) about the RAV4 EV. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJevnYSQqNZ6fM0. And if you don't know what the 'Honda EV Plus.' is; Here is a video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5OUoYOpn9p5mbs. Or if you don't know what a 'EV1.' is; Here is a video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYXVqpuce7yheZo. But now if we fast forward to 2012, the Toyota RAV4 EV made a comeback after over a decade, this time equipped with newer technology. The Panasonic battery capacity increased significantly to 41.8 kWh. Interestingly, the prototype of this generation even incorporated parts from the Tesla Roadster. Remarkably, this RAV4 EV once again boasted a larger battery pack than the Nissan Leaf, at least until 2017! In that same year, Toyota sold its shares in Tesla. Additionally, it's worth noting that while Toyota is a Japanese company, they manufactured the RAV4 EV (Generation 2) in Canada. Generation 2 RAV4 EV Video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4aUe5p9gtujjZI Enjoy exploring the RAV4 EV. And hope you guys get something out of this... *Long.* story about a RAV4 EV.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Thanks for the history lesson!

[@GeorgeWPritchard22]

@@LudicrousFeed That's all good Tom! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@johngaffney1671]

They lost me the 10th time you said cheap or flimsy. What a poor effort by Toyota

[@LudicrousFeed]

I need to consult my thesaurus … gotta get me some more synonyms

[@zackwang9314]

$73000 for this? lol

[@LudicrousFeed]

IKR

[@jonbowly]

Fair review Tom. Price and interior quality would be a hard no for me. As you say priced less than a Model Y it would be a consideration.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Glad you agree. A lot can be forgiven if priced correctly 👍

[@ADGNet]

Reviews are getting better. We need the positives and negatives and specially compared to other EVs. Theres some who would just buy it because it's a Toyota but as you point out there's other compelling options at a similar price point that is difficult to ignore. An eminently fair review without positive bias is difficult to find. Obviously you're risking manufacturers not sending you anything but integrity should be more important and people notice that.

[@LudicrousFeed]

I’m hopeful my regular viewers can read between the lines and hear the tone of my voice 😆 You can tell when I’m genuinely happy with a car, just watch my recent Mustang Mach-E walkthrough 😃

[@tyronemcgillick]

Great video Tom, thank you. Toyota will need to improve that price, it costs more than the Tesla Model Y RWD.

[@LudicrousFeed]

And that is the truth. It’s not a bad car per se … it’s just priced incorrectly

[@kevinphillips9408]

Thanks Tom for this review. It’s not a car I want to drive or buy.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yes unfortunately it’s just not quite right …

[@JohnoEx]

Nice detailed video. I think FWD is widely believe to be safer in wet or in snow as compared to RWD even though you talked about not liking it. RWD cars can get quite tail happy. The instrument cluster is a flaw, I tried it out at the local dealer and I can't see the screen, steering gets in the way, can't believe Toyota made this mistake, do you know if this is a Toyota car or rebadged BYD?

[@LudicrousFeed]

Interesting … I always feel the car slipping when I turn a FWD vehicle in the wet when compared to the Seal or Model 3/Y … must be the way I drive then if I’m the anomaly 🤷‍♂️

[@JohnoEx]

@@LudicrousFeed No you are right about the torque steer, you don't get that in RWD but with FWD you get understeer when wheels slip which is easier to control for newbie drivers than a RWD oversteer. You see RWD newbies spin out in extreme conditions like snow.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yeah oversteer would be scary in the snow

[@robdavo1701]

Doesn't excite me at all, I'll wait for the BYD Sea Lion 07 or preferably the Song L. Or the Kia EV5, it's ugliness does put me off though!

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yes this is certainly becoming a populated segment of the market with more options coming in the near future. Good for consumers!

[@Darrenraitt]

It would be interesting to see the quality in the top spec vehicle...

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yeah, I suppose What do the mainstream journos say in their reviews?

[@strawwmann3131]

It will be interesting to see how the bZ4x goes with fleet (rather than private individual) buyers, particularly those who have internal targets to reduce fleet emissions. It looks quite well targeted at fleet customers (especially those with existing Toyota relationships and fleet discounts that some of the newer BEV brands might not be as good at yet).

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yes good point, particularly if it comes at a big discount then it may be of better value

[@stevo76]

I didn't realize it had a LFP battery. Do you know who supplies it?

[@LudicrousFeed]

Now you’ve got me wondering … ! - I originally saw that the bZ4X batteries were from CATL so I naturally assumed they were LFP but after doing some more reading, it appears that CATL also produce non-LFP prismatic cells. I have a feeling this car has a NCM chemistry - I’ll have to make some corrections to my video description Thanks for pointing this out!

[@JayavindaJayavinda]

Is it true that the bz4x can only do 2 fast charges in a day? If so forget it for road trips.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Hmm never heard of limitations like that in an EV … where did you read this?

[@geoffmathers3902]

​@@LudicrousFeed Need to do a bit of research Tommy. It was limited to 2 DC chargers, but I think a recent software update increased it to 3 or 4?

[@LudicrousFeed]

@@geoffmathers3902 Hmmm ok I just did some reading around the forums. Looks like it throttles the DC charging speed after the equivalent of 2 cycles to 80% … some users have reported as low as 10kW which from experience is lower than most charging curves I’ve seen at 80% The way I interpret it is that you CAN DC charge more than two sessions per day but the speed will be throttled after the equivalent of 2 charge cycles to 80% SoC As to software updates increasing this limit, I haven’t come across that yet however the Toyota AU website still states that it is two per day for now (May 2024)

[@geoffmathers3902]

@@LudicrousFeed Bjorn has a good video on it.

[@avdp9095]

@@JayavindaJayavinda no, it is 4x a day.....for 2023 model year and 2024 model years

[@TheMrverma]

Would be nice to see your review of the Lexus.

[@LudicrousFeed]

I’ve reached out in the past … I guess I’ll try again!

[@alastairhatt360]

The ergonomics of the dash and steering wheel are so wrong. Being different is ok, Tesla have proved that but I have seen a few reviews now and all have mentioned the dash is an issue visually when set to there preferences. Why could they have not placed the dash closer ? Not for me but good review all the same.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Thank you but yes I feel the dash screen was probably unnecessarily different … it was ok for me but I can see how it would be problematic for others

[@JasonChristian]

This is a polite review I would say. Not my cup of tea at this price-point.

[@LudicrousFeed]

You can probably tell I had my reservations … 😏

[@diycave5144]

😅over-priced and under almost everything else. What’s the point Toyota?. It’s amazing how Toyota can go from a RAV4 hybrid to this? So much promise by so disappointing

[@LudicrousFeed]

They’ve reluctantly been brought to the BEV party

[@jws14]

Very obvious they put minimal effort here

[@LudicrousFeed]

@@jws14 At best. At worst, deliberate sabotage

[@johnlambert1744]

I think if the AWD version was priced around the $60k to $65k mark I believe it would definitely sell well. Like you said, this is competing with the Tesla MY and other EVs in similar size and spec, so only the die hard Toyota "fans" would probably buy one. Good for Toyota to finally dip their feet into the BEV world, but for them to succeed in this field they need to be competitive. I guess since their hybrids and fleet vehicles sell so well they don't care?

[@LudicrousFeed]

I think that’s the key, in that they’re not too fussed with bZ4X sales numbers at this stage. If they really wanted to move them, they’d have to reprice them Peugeot style with their e-2008 (May 2024)

[@justinkingdev]

After buying a Volvo C40 twin recharge two weeks ago I definitely feel I got my moneys worth and glad I didn’t wait to drive this. Looks cheap and nasty inside

[@LudicrousFeed]

You made the right choice, the C40 is a good car 👍

[@avdp9095]

The Bz4x is not a bad car at all, in the Netherlands this car has a very competitive base price, also its sibling the Lexus RZ300E. Despute this, both cars sell badly except in Norway, nr1 EV market of Europe, bestsellers. This car imago has been ruined by the biased press. We have 2, bz4x, in our businessfleet alongside Tesla's model Y and 3 and Etrons etc. The Bz4x is almost as efficiënt as the Tesla's, build quality is better, range less, but only marginal. Positive is also the 10 years warranty for the batteries. So yes, interior is dull but if you choose the white semi leather upholstery, panoramic roof and nice alu wheels, you have a very capable, good car. 8 points out of 10.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Glad you’re enjoying the car 👍

[@global_southerner]

Great, more EVs on the road means more chargers will be built.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Gosh I hope so

[@Paradoxical124]

Seen one of these in real life and it totally put me off it. Looks way better on a screen.

[@LudicrousFeed]

This camera makes most things look good 🤓

[@fatdoi003]

hope BYD will bring Sealion 7 here soon..... level of finish is not even comparable to this Toyota

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yeah the BYD finish is much better

[@ellWayify]

It's way too much money for this car given how cheap and plastic it is and also compared to rivals. It feels like it's Toyota saying look we are green we have a BEV. Toyota also have said they aren't dropping the price to match the recent EV price drops. I can't see how they are going to sell many of these

[@LudicrousFeed]

Maybe not these ones ... but looking forward to seeing if they bring the BZ3X to Australia

[@AndyM...]

Yes, I think I'll keep my Kia EV6, you could have done better Toyota !!!

[@LudicrousFeed]

The EV6 is far more refined

[@brent_in_aussie]

Great review as usual Tom , gotta say I’m disappointed as a Toyota fan , cheap and nasty ..for the price .. It will be reliable and do what is says on the label …. Hopefully

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yes at least reliability should be a major selling point at least given it’s a Toyota

[@pmgkerr]

I like the styling… I think this will be popular in Australia.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Hmm ... even with the price?

[@mashoook]

18:03 Was curious who TOMORROW X TOGETHER was, good to see you're also a kpop fan!

[@LudicrousFeed]

The music is sometimes influenced by certain teenage members of my family … 😁❤️

[@whatupyo7260]

Wow 😮 that’s a lot of money for not much This is why the likes of BYD and other Chinese brands will corner the market

[@LudicrousFeed]

Although to be fair, the Toyota BZ3 is a collab with BYD so that could be quite interesting ...

[@johnt34aus]

I own the Lexus equivalent RZ450e and the real range kinda sucks. Best is around 18.7 KW/100Km, Highway is 20-21KW. I'm amazed that the Toyota can do 16.3 KW/100Km average even in RWD form, they are not that efficient. In actual use you tend to charge around 200km even on roadtrips and then the car is totally adequate. Tesla opening up their supercharger network is a game changer. With the dual motors it goes surprising well and the price if you can get a fleet deal is not much more than a Toyota dual motor. I'd look there instead. Interior finish, Lexus encore, free home charger etc is much better deal IMHO.

[@LudicrousFeed]

I was hoping the finish of the bZ4X would be closer to that of a Lexus but alas I was mistaken 😔 Is your Lexus powertrain also arbitrarily limited by the built in limit of the equivalent of 2 DC charge cycles the same way the bZ4X is?

[@johnt34aus]

@@LudicrousFeed Can't be 100% sure but on a recent trip to Berry, NSW I charged in the morning and then in the afternoon I charged again same day, it worked then it stopped after about 10mminutes for some reason, then I moved to a different stall and charged again and it worked again. So technically it charged 3 times right? The dealer never informed me that it was limited to 2 fast charges a day. Lexus is hopeless on software updates and I still don't have wireless Android Auto. They already have wireless Apple Carplay on launch - In USA they already have wireless Android Auto I believe. The jump in range w/o A/C is ridiculous. It bumps it up by around 90km! (From the instrument panel info). The A/C is really good on a hot day but not so effective on a cold day, I suppose that's why they include seat warmers. Appreciate the info you put out on Ev's! Thank you!

[@TassieEV]

No glove box same as Subaru. But that clunky gear selector is ridiculous and then the piano black...ugh. Let's not talk about charging times they are ridiculous for 0-100% as tested by US KZbinr. That interior is poor at best reminds me of George Orwell's 1984 considering other options and for the price. Unfortunate and unacceptable from Toyota. The one thing I do like is the charge port with the flaps rather than the butt-plugs that are usually there. The drink holders in the doors love to know what size bottle they can take suspect small, 750ml, bottles vs larger 900ml+ bottles. Can have a short chat on the Live Stream tonight. The safeword...hehehe...love it...welcome to Toyota...oh what a feeling.

[@LudicrousFeed]

I only tested the 750mL and smaller reusable water bottles 💧

[@joelkeane8740]

Don't know why Toyota bothered to be honest 🤦‍♂️

[@LudicrousFeed]

To make their hybrids seem better value? Not a bad strat from their pov

[@joelkeane8740]

@LudicrousFeed spot on! They definitely need to take a hard look at what they are offering though. Chinese brands are destroying they with tech and prices.

[@MarksElectricLife]

Oh, what a disappointment! I hope you checked the wheel nuts before you drove it Tom 😉

[@LudicrousFeed]

😅Admittedly I didn’t but a few hundred kilometres later it seemed ok!

[@DannChewie]

Thats a $hit load of piano black and cheap scratchy plastics... for a $71k base model drive away.... nice try Toyota but I think you have a stinker of a car right there and do hope it flops as this is pretty poor.. same as the Solterra. Even the keyfob looks cheap... lol

[@LudicrousFeed]

I'll have to try to find a PR contact at Subaru to do a comparison ...

[@sop1311]

I'm surprised they didn't just gut one of their existing cars and chucked in an EV system. Instead they made this...

[@LudicrousFeed]

There’s promise of better battery tech for their next generation BEVs so we shall watch with bated breath …

[@nushydude]

@@LudicrousFeed It's not the battery that's the abomination. I would have really called this a Yaris EV.

[@LudicrousFeed]

@@nushydude 😆

[@OTPulse]

Test drove one a while back when my car was in service. My impression was pretty much the same. The car does what it needs to do, but nothing more. Was very forgettable. Not bad, not great, not worth the price tag.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yup same energy 👍

[@Peter-vn8ue]

Maybe they made the interior cheap and nasty so it doesn't sell, and it proves Toyota's reasoning that people prefer hybrids and not pure Ev's. Definitely overpriced, the Soltera I believe only comes in all wheel drive, I think, so that would be a better buy in base model trim over this Toyota. Better choices out there than this Toyota BZ4X.

[@LudicrousFeed]

As others have said it might be worth it for fleets if they get a substantial discount

[@karlwolf2]

Tesla model y is way getter value for the money. Tbey vanr even grt dc fast chargging right

[@LudicrousFeed]

Between the two, definitely get the Model Y! Unless you REALLY hate Tesla or Elon Musk … which some people do I suppose

[@karlwolf2]

Which is silly. Tesla technology is above everyone else, and very good value for what you get

[@carlishiggins]

85% ice drivers don't believe in EV's

[@LudicrousFeed]

Maybe if you keep your eyes closed we’ll all eventually disappear

[@foxtrot762]

So what

[@Peter-vn8ue]

@carlishiggins. That might be true, but if the price of petrol keeps going up, that will change, imagine petrol costing $10 a litre in the future and over $500 or more each week to fill your petrol tank. As an Ev owner, people can drive whatever vehicle they choose to and I don't give a stuff what other's think about Ev's, I'm living the dream, no electricity bills as my home solar system powers my house during the day including charging my Ev and my home battery powers my home at night. It will take approximately 8 years to recoup my outlay at current electricity, natural gas, and petrol prices, but we all know they all are only going to go up and cost more, not down and cost less. After the system has paid for itself, it's all profit in my pocket forever, and I'm the master of my own electricity generation, not the fossil fuel industry. So if you love giving your hard earnt dollars to the fossil fuel industry and oil companies and contributing to their profits at the prices they decide you must pay for electricity, petrol and natural gas, go on you, keep driving an ice vehicle for as long as you can and bury your head in the sand and avoid change at all costs.

[@paulsimpson8990]

They have had years to copy the model y….and this is the best they could do….poor Toyota

[@LudicrousFeed]

They keep promising the next gen battery etc … we’ll see

[@peterburdett8131]

What a pile of garbage. It’s worth $30K. The only time you might enjoy owning one would be when you sell it like all Toyotas

[@Dreamer10888]

lol.. Toyotas are actually well loved in Australia.

[@lol-ge9bh]

30k is good

[@lol-ge9bh]

Its good that its bad because its gonna be more affordable

[@petepetrass]

I just cannot believe that even a Toyota-phobe would actually pay that much for this craptastic POS. Super cheap plastics, no glovebox, tiny screens,poor tech standard..............and this is the same car Toyota could not literally stop the wheels falling off. You could not pay me to have one of these. And even worse people are actually paying a lot more than the price of this car to buy the Lexus version. There is just so much stupid out there these days, like all the morons who would just buy one cause Toyota........as if that actually means something. This is an absolute half-hearted effort from a company that is putting all its eggs (and heading for monumental failure and company destruction) into the hydrogen basket. Back in the day Toyota used to make really good and incredibly reliable cars, but those hanging on to that old reputation these days do so at their own peril.

[@LudicrousFeed]

It is scary that people will buy this car just because it's a Toyota without further examining the finer details ...

[@jasoncarmichael4540]

Definitely overpriced, I like the overall look of the car though

[@LudicrousFeed]

If I look past the plastic patches it’s not bad actually

[@carlishiggins]

Demand for electric cars has dried up. It’s time for a rethink The electric car is not popular today. The early adopters have all bought theirs so now the car giants are having to persuade “normal punters” of the merits of going electric. And they are having none of it.

[@LudicrousFeed]

Oh no it’s you again

[@foxtrot762]

Id rather get that peugeot thing than this. Toyota will die like Kodak

[@LudicrousFeed]

Yeah Peugeot e-2008 was good value at the reduced price but it’s now sold out unsurprisingly

[@Nicholas.T]

Look, I get it - this is a supremely poor effort from Toyota for an EV. But to suggest that Toyota, the largest car manufacturer on the planet (11 million cars a year!), is going to die…. Is totally delusional!! Toyota, will easily survive… Why? They make the best hybrids in the business, which are constantly growing in popularity, both here and overseas. People just love the versatility of having a hybrid with the (relative) fuel economy approaching a FULL BEV, without the hassle of having worry about where to charge, particularly on a road trip, or as an apartment dweller. Every Toyota hybrid model in Australia has a 6-12 month waiting list - they can’t make enough them !!

[@LudicrousFeed]

@@Nicholas.T RAV4 Hybrid is a far better option than the BZ4X sadly

[@foxtrot762]

Nasty car

[@LudicrousFeed]

Tbh, it’s not inherently too bad … it’s just too expensive for what it is