Five Good Things & Five Bad Things : 2023 Toyota bZ4X All-Electric SUV

Toyota finally has its first All-Electric vehicle available nationally, and Jill was among the first to drive it. In this video, Jill lists five good things, and five bad things about the 2023 Toyota bZ4X, and amazingly that alphabet soup name didn't make the list. Jill also gives some brief driving impressions and learns new jokes from a crossover.
#toyotabz4x #toyota
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[@OmarAmroussy]

Great Reviews! in addition to your cons, for me I hate the very slow charging on a DC fast charger and the not too impressive range (worried about winter range), I also don't like the fact that there is no glove compartment. I think it is too pricey for what you get in comparison to the competition

[@shekharmoona544]

That's a horrible name for a car.

[@nobs.1794]

agreed brother

[@whynotstartusingyourbrain8726]

It's the perfect name for the car because it is horrible. Congratulations Toyota. You really pulled it off. With so many bad evs out there it wasn't easy to reach that goal. But man did you deliver. You actually managed to bring to the market the ev with the worst charging performance and it's not even close. Every customer will have a terrible charging experience for at least over 10 years. And this my friend is guaranteed. 87 kW max at a DC fast charger and 50kW above 50%. Toyota invented a brand new category. DC slow charging. It takes 4 hours to fully charge the car at a DC fast charger. It is breathtakingly bad

[@mikej238]

@@whynotstartusingyourbrain8726 and that's what they wanted. To sell hybrids.

[@kennethlau2034]

I don’t know what Toyota is thinking. The name is horrible. So hard to remember. If you want people to remember your EV brand, rename it.

[@johnnyplaysroblox2181]

BZ is beyond zero and they donr a good job the only thing your saying is because you never driven this car

[@allenmyers8568]

Add another con: no glove compartment. Toyota gave that up for the infra red knee-warmers. As to one pedal driving, if you don't have your foot on the brakes when at a complete stop, you risk a more serious injury if hit from behind at traffic signal. So, I think the lack of a complete stop in regeneration by Toyota and other manufactures is actually done for safety.

[@TonyTone84]

I'm with you on the cloth dash! If we ever get one at my dealership I'm going to just present it it as a cat scratching post.

[@cadacabezaesunmundo6496]

Car dashes usually collect dust, which I dislike because of my allergies. The clothe ones will collect more dust and will be more difficult to clean. Even if you vacuum it the suction tube will damage the fabric and it’s appearance.

[@XMG3]

missing the one pedal stop as you mentioned really is a big one considering they're already bad on range, the amount of charge missed by having to brake adds up a lot, hopefully toyota can do a software update and add that in later

[@barb572000]

I just bought this car and I really like it. Beyond Zero 4 X.....Kudos

[@rambotulip]

dont listen to nerds talking negative...great solid suv

[@creyes4182]

If they can get a version with fast charging and maybe a little more power I would definitely buy! Even without the extra power I would absolutely need fast charging before I buy an EV.

[@alexgeorgas334]

Nice review, Toyota really dropped the ball here though. $50k for top awd model? 228 mile range, which is really sub 200, and it takes way too long to charge. But it looks cool…😂

[@jywn]

expensive compared to which model with equivalent ride height?

Range and charging speed will be ok for my daily drive. I seldom drive more than 100 km a day and can charge at home.

[@rambotulip]

go away and buy your hyundai...great suv

[@crankyfrankie5872]

Is it a clear coat Black? What model are you driving? Are you in the USA?

[@benjaminsmith2287]

People need to drive or ride in this car before making any declarations about it. I ride in a fair amount of livery cars like Lyft or cabs and I've been in quite a few RAV 4s. Most have been the latest generation. I've ridden over bumpy stretches of road in some of them and in bad weather in some of them. They are unfailingly comfortable, tightly screwed together and sensibly proportioned. This car just looks like some variation of a RAV 4 to me and has an EV propulsion. I think range is overstated unless you take a bunch of road trips. The thing that bothers me most is the charging speed and that could be improved. And while some aspects of the interior isn't that wonderful, if it has the room and comfort of the RAV 4, plus a noise reduction in it, as that's the part of the car that isn't as nice as the rest of it, then this is a car many would love to have. It just flat our works. I don't even care for crossovers but the RAV 4 is an excellent vehicle and real car buyers who aren't into EV stats or make all decision based on just stats will buy this. It's up to Toyota to make enough of them.

[@Astrand1]

We should start a drinking contest for every time Jill says “vehicle” she loves that word. 😂😂

[@jillciminillo]

I figured it was better than calling at the car or saying bZ4X 🤷🏻‍♀️😬

[@Astrand1]

@@jillciminillo I know lol. Was just giving you a hard time. I do enjoy yours and Tim’s videos. 😁

[@jillciminillo]

@@Astrand1 does this mean we get to add another shot when Tim touches his chin?🤔😉

[@Astrand1]

@@jillciminillo yes!!! I like that idea. 😂

[@foxgood]

If the brake pedal is never used, the entire braking system ends up getting dirty and even rusting, for those who have a northern climate. A slight use of the pedal since the vehicle is almost at a standstill, helps keep the brake system in better condition.

[@adofoi30]

The brakes are always used to hold the car in place and when it gets down to a slow enough speed. Always

[@ElenaSanchezMora]

Government mandates that regen stops below five miles per hour. This is a safety feature so the you activate and hold the hydraulic brakes at traffic lights, etc.

[@waynewong4434]

I think most people complain the removal of glove box than the cloth like martial. For the wireless charging, could it be the Apple's iPhone problem, because it required magnet to position the charging coil.

[@Tigerex966]

I wish it was a hybrid or had a range extender option especially for cold climates and apartment dwellers.

[@cadacabezaesunmundo6496]

Toyota is a global company and they will be selling automobiles in the entire world for various types of circumstances, needs, and terrains. Toyota's vision and mission is global. They will continue making cars for the parts of the world that will allow gas/petro, hybrids, plug-in-hybrids, and electric. They know that the electric car is only a portion of their entire production. Toyota refrains from making electrifying promises that they cannot keep and prefer to gradually improve things. They are okay selling the first "short-range" electric cars to people who can use them for short distances and mainly city driving. They know that the number of people who make long trips is small. They take informed decisions based on sales history, market analysis and statistics. Many of us only daydream about having an electric car but will not buy one because: we don't have the money to buy one, we do not have a convenient place to charge it even if it is for ten minutes, many people fear that they will get electrocuted or will not know how to operate it. The electric car if embraced by the public and the various industries will transform our lives and our ways of doing things and most humans take five to ten years to embrace major changes. Even if Toyota could make a car with a range of 500 miles and charging time of 10 minutes there will be no charger to charge it that fast. Remember that one does not fit all. I will wait twenty years to buy an electric car.

[@wojciechmuras553]

But everyone else can already do that. Hyundai can make cars with 300+ mile range and sub-20 minute charging time. Kia can do that! Remember Kia from 20 years ago? Even Tesla, which didn't even exist 10 years ago, has mastered that. Mercedes is close behind, so is BMW and the VW group, with Ford and Nissan playing catch-up. Even GM, who actively fought EVs since the early 2000s, is coming around, albeit slowly. And then there's Toyota (along with most Japanese manufacturers). Lobbying, sabotaging their own products, spreading misinformation, and consistently opposing EVs with everything they have. Which, to me, is shocking, considering how much experience and technology they have from their hybrids. They could be leaders if they wanted, but they don't. I just don't understand why?

[@cadacabezaesunmundo6496]

@@wojciechmuras553 I am an average consumer and my circumstances and setting stop me from going full electric now. I want to go electric, but we need better infrastructure for electric cars and it does not exist in Michigan. In addition, I may even wait for flying cars because the deteriorating roads kill the joy of driving any automobile that rolls on the ground. I am voting for floating cars.

[@smrtguy77777]

The lack of one pedal driving is a real disappointment. Toyota cannot afford to be conservative anymore, EV competition is brutal right now.

Not everybody like one pedal driving. I still prefer to use the brake pedal for a full stop. It give me more control.

[@smrtguy77777]

@ You should be able to have that choice though. You don’t even have to change brake pads on a Tesla until after 100k because one pedal driving does almost all the work.

[@jillciminillo]

@ A lot of automakers will give you the choice of one pedal versus normal driving. I thought it was weird Toyota did not.

[@rambotulip]

its a car, use the brakes like a normal person

[@smrtguy77777]

@@rambotulip One pedal driving is a game changer, you’d have use it to understand, also enables brakes to easily last over a hundred thousand miles.

[@Phong7080]

Toyota one pedal driving actually makes sense. How many time you are stuck on traffic and crawling with the flow. With this setting, you just have to lift your foot off the brake to crawl along. It is just natural thing to do

[@wojciechmuras553]

Yes, that's why every other car includes a switch/button/paddle/knob/slider to change the car's stopping/creeping/holding behavior.

[@faisal-ca]

Great vehicle but sorry I am not paying any Premiums at this point. 50K in US would be around 75K in Canada. Dollar conversion plus everything is expensive in Canada due to small economy, Canadians being super polite, and Govt bodies not giving an F.

[@dwightwatson8185]

Same with my wife's 17 Camry wireless charger. She has to take the case off for it to work.

[@mowcowbell]

Never got the point of wireless chargers. They're slow and heat up the phone battery.

[@azspotfree]

What do you mean finally, you can't buy one yet?. It's probably years out, Toyota has really fought and continues to fight the electrification movement.

[@kennethjinkins8967]

good video ... no thanx on electric

[@georgeblackwell2306]

I have not used a one pedal system yet… Im guessing most have not… connecting the driving to the “normal” driving style reduces the shock of a change over…

[@ElenaSanchezMora]

One pedal driving takes about 10 minutes of city driving in order to adapt.

[@mikej238]

and that is why I bought a NX350h last week. Fossil fuels for a long time.

[@wojciechmuras553]

Or you could've just bought any number of electric luxury SUVs from reputable EV manufacturers... Maybe a Genesis GV60? 250 mile range, 18 minutes 10-80% charging time, 3.7 seconds 0-60, and all that in a luxury SUV smaller, but more spacious than the NX350h.

[@rambotulip]

got a new nx350h and bz4x limited and both have cons and pros

[@jkay3262]

I remember when vape was better than cigarettes for a moment. Mangle......strawberry flavor, until people started dying. Hope this EV exuberance will last a bit longer.

[@lancelemay6971]

The crappy wireless phone charging is a problem for all Toyota’s. The Panasonic brand unit is so finicky that it’s not worth using.

[@bigfan007]

Doesn't pressing the brake peddle result in regenerative braking, so are you really missing out by not having true 1 peddle driving?

[@adofoi30]

Regenerative braking is also when you press the brake but it is also happens when you take your foot off the accelerator in regenerative mode.

[@Kmar701]

Wow.

[@Optimismcounts]

Been driving Camry’s since 1999! Sooooo, decided that I’d buy a BZ 4X. Went to my local car dealer in Massachusetts, The Koch Group, that owns a bunch of Toyota dealerships here. Well, low and behold, I sat with a salesman who quoted me $10,000 OVER MSRP!! TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS OVER STICKER PRICE! Good bye Toyota, Hello competition…..

[@mikej238]

you won't get one from anyone for MSRP.....thats today's car market

[@crankyfrankie5872]

@@mikej238 Walk away a recession is coming and the dealers will beg you to buy!

[@mowcowbell]

Wait a year, and you'll see rebates and prices below MSRP.

[@rambotulip]

excellent suv

[@taetaetae848]

+ No glove box and Frunk

[@cybertrk]

They should have called it the Toyota Thunderbolt… or something that’s an actual name.

[@bobbbobb4663]

Toyota went lazy and picked something they could easily trademark.

I have no problem with bZ4x. But I often don’t like the actual names because they sound stupid. Many brands have only letters and numbers (C40, iX, EQS etc.) and the buyer don’t care.

[@rambotulip]

BZ is a line for all electric ones coming up. 10 electric cars coming in few years under bz name

[@wai324445]

outside, ok. inside, no space

[@keithmehrer86]

How did the horrible DC charging curve not make the cons list?

[@whynotstartusingyourbrain8726]

Congratulations Toyota. You really pulled it off. With so many bad evs out there it wasn't easy to reach that goal. But man did you deliver. You actually managed to bring to the market the ev with the worst charging performance and it's not even close. Every customer will have a terrible charging experience for at least over 10 years. And this my friend is guaranteed. 87 kW max at a DC fast charger and 50kW above 50%. Toyota invented a brand new category. DC slow charging. It takes 4 hours to fully charge the car at a DC fast charger. It is breathtakingly bad

[@pabi4710]

She said it takes 1hr to full charge or did I miss something?

[@whynotstartusingyourbrain8726]

@@pabi4710That's a straight up lie. Several charging tests have been made and it takes 4 hours to fully charge the car.

[@derrickmedina2449]

Do you know that they claim to have 90% available charging capacity after 10 years of use by reducing the charging speed? The closest anyone else can claim is 80% and no one has gotten there yet. I don't see much on YT about a 5 years ownership review on a Tesla.

[@whynotstartusingyourbrain8726]

@@derrickmedina2449 because it is utterly utterly irrelevant. Battery costs are declining every year and if you really want the lackluster battery from 10 years ago you can get it very cheap after 10 years because ten years are a lifetime in the battery world. Thus this warranty is utterly useless. What you will get from the very start is a terrible terrible charging experience. But that shows how peole like you and Toyota are stuck in the old world and have no idea about the new world of evs.

[@rambotulip]

if you have to charge it few times in a day then buy a hybrid

[@chanyuthsok4549]

I am rich buying BZ4X at once

[@twotone3426]

The gauge cluster for YOU is fine, but not for the rest of us... ALL reviews I've seen with average guys can't see the cluster properly. Utter fail by Toyota and I'm on the list to get one... The ONLY reason I'm getting it is for the government incentives in Canada before they disappear... $12,000 off plus $1200 for home charger installation. The voice command is a waste of time... takes too long and people are becoming more and more lazy to push buttons. And is another listening device to remove personal privacy.

[@kirkmartin4005]

No real wow factor, the dark fenders, look like crap, they remind me of someone who had a wreck , went to the wrecking yard and could only find them in black.

[@alanpeterson6768]

Road trip? Not in a BZ4. It's abysmal charging curve means it's a limited use town car.

[@SilverString56]

I have always purchased Toyota ICE cars, and I like the styling, but the black on white makes this one looks like a police car. Very average specs and terrible charging rates. Not a road trip car - out of spec motoring noted a below 50 kW charge rate at 50% SOC, so if you like sitting around at chargers this is your car. Home charging limited at 6kW? What? Not going to get a full charge, even overnight at home with that speed. OTA updates? WOW just 6 years late with that new technology. No thanks. This vid is nothing but an ad for Toyota.

[@rambotulip]

its a pleasure driving this car and you can get a dif color...can charge overnight in about 5 hours to 80+ percent, after that not recommended by toyota

[@mohammadadilhasanchowdhury8059]

2nd option that you dont like, I think its too much offensive and I dont think it would be helpful

[@adofoi30]

I agree with that cloth being cheap and scratchy and as 1980s Toyotas showed they get disgusting and ripped very fast

[@BH195829]

What about disliking: (1) its lack of charging network? (2) It’s lack of range (3) it’s slow charging (4) it’s lack of a glove box (5) It’s useless interface for managing power, battery and range. As I said before… a BS Review.

[@Pickuptrucktalk]

1. Charging network is coming. This review is about the vehicle, not the charging network. 2. Lack of range. Depends on your view. 3. Slow charging. Again depends on your view. 4. Lack of a glove box. Ok. Sure. 5. Useless interface for power management. Again, depends on your view. Sure sound like because our view doesn't match yours, this is your chief criticism.

[@wojciechmuras553]

Charging network exists, and it's growing ever faster. It's still a far cry from Tesla's, at least in the US (not an issue at all for European buyers), but it's bearable at this point for an occasional roadtrip. Low range is debatable. Sure, it's not an industry leader, but it ain't half bad. Audi e-tron gets less for example, so does Model Y SR, Jaguar i-Pace, Mercedes EQB, Hyundai Ioniq 5 SR, Kia EV6 SR... All cars in a similar or higher price bracket. bZ4X isn't amazing, but it's alright. Slow charging is undeniable. It's horrible, both AC and DC, and it's by far the biggest problem of this car. AC of 6.6 kW is bad, especially for Europe where we use 3 phase power. But DC of 87 kW? Over 3 times slower 10-80% than the best cars, over 2 times slower than the industry standard. This shouldn't even be called DC fast charging! This is the reason why the bZ4X is entirely uncompetitive. The charging system is inexcusable. Lack of glovebox is unfortunate, but it frees up space for an infrared heater, so alright, it's justifiable. And fully agree on the interface. The car communicates just about nothing about what is happening to its powertrain, especially during charging. It's frustrating. In my opinion, the review focuses too much on minor annoyances, or things the reviewer personally prefers. It makes some good points, like the missing one pedal mode, but focusing on minor details like the cloth dashboard, when the car has so many big problems, seems like an odd choice. (Also, for me, the lack of a frunk is a major annoyance)

[@rambotulip]

your charging network is at home or work, otherwise get a gas car

[@metman3]

Don't care for this move away from rear window wipers on EV's like this. Also, is it true there is no power passenger seat or memory seat position in this car, at any option level? A couple of big misses for me.

[@D1craigRob]

Every review of this car seems to take place in the same car park...

[@Pickuptrucktalk]

Likely only spot to do video on this trip.

[@pearlhorse2652]

Since this is electric car, can we do car wash like normal car thks

[@Pickuptrucktalk]

Yes.

[@mikej238]

no, and you can't drive in the 😆

[@paradab6543]

Frankly speaking!

[@ericzacharyryder6453]

The Bolt EUV is far better. Far far far better. And much less expensive.

[@rambotulip]

terrible

[@naveenthemachine]

Like literally there’s nothing good about it. Not one. Nada. Zip. None Go ahead try to find pros. You’ll quickly fail at that daunting task 😆 The Korean evs are already better in every way before this or even the soltera or rz450e even go on sale. That’s not bad the Toyota Lexus evs are. They are a fail before they go on sale

[@billwaterhouse5894]

Thanks Jill. Up-charge for a basic standard exterior color (not an anniversary color, special model, pearl etc.), ridiculous. Those are the things that push someone like myself to another brand just based on principal. Helping my daughter selecting her 1st new car...Toyota has been very disappointing on many levels as of late.

[@paulo3564]

So disappointing.

[@noniespam]

Hey Toyota, tell me a joke…. What’s is called when an Italian has one shorter arm than the other?? A. A speech impediment …. I grew up in the U.P. In an Italian settlement, there were a ton of Italian / Finlander jokes..

[@cybertrk]

Wow… my 7 year old Tesla charges faster than that thing.. it’s like they’re trying to fail.

[@ALMX5DP]

Sure, but for most people it's not going to be a big issue as most charging is done at home.

[@cybertrk]

@@ALMX5DP true, I think this would make a nice commuter car or a stay at home parent car.

[@wimschoenmakers5463]

This is for sure the best build EV around with a battery that last forever. Stop compare it with a Tesla.

[@nicklopes1000]

A Karens “do not like” list 😂

[@jayrichards3672]

Well played on the "home" address. To be honest, I'd give ya more credence if you referred to your partner in a better way, Just saying...

[@jillciminillo]

How do you mean?

[@georgearber2452]

The frontal aspect is plain ugly. Come on Toyota you can do better.

[@vipsavior]

D.O.A. Dead on arrival. Slow DC charging is horrible.

[@derrickmedina2449]

The "one pedal" system; this is why Toyota builds cars and you don't. Yes other manufacturers of electric cars have that feature and maybe that's why some people expect it. What happens when you are no longer accustomed to braking with a brake pedal and you have to brake harder that you expected? Are you going to expect the car to do that for you? Or will you find yourself in a fender bender. Secondly and this is more plausible why Toyota did not feature the single pedal is this; Toyota easily sells a million cars a year. There are not that many people ready and willing to change and adjust overnight. Other manufacturers including Tesla will not have 1 million buyers in a year. They can afford to satisfy only the few. I think we will always require a brake pedal...until the car can totally drive itself without any of our input. On the engineering side, they've found that there is more re-gen possible without the one pedal system.