Overview

TOYOTA Australia is determined to make a go of its first-ever electric vehicle – the bZ4X.

Less than two years (and barely 2000 sales) after the launch of the mediocre original, the Japanese powerhouse introduced a significantly enhanced and improved line-up (in December ’25).

And now six months’ later, we have this new Touring wagon version capping the range, bringing a bunch of interesting tweaks to accompany Toyota’s expectation of 5000 Australian bZ4X sales in calendar-year 2026.

As an aside, our bZ4X line-up will it be retaining its original model name following Toyota’s 2025 decision to axe the global roll-out of the bZ naming structure, as seen in China.

In North America and Ireland, the bZ4X became just ‘bZ’, and what we now know as the bZ4X Touring (like Europe, Japan and South Africa) is called bZ Woodland in North America. Or Subaru Trailseeker – the new Touring’s joint-venture sibling (though more on that shortly).

Mirroring the upgraded bZ4X SUV, the Touring scores a larger 74.7kWh lithium-ion battery, along with a 165kW/269Nm front electric motor. But it rises above the AWD SUV by fitting the same-output electric motor to the rear – a big lift from the SUV’s 87kW/169Nm motor.

The result is 280kW of total system power (instead of 252kW) and a 0-100km/h claim of 4.5sec (down 0.6sec) for a modest price premium of just $2000, though WLTP range drops from 517km to 488km in the wagon.

But that may be a small price to pay for what the bZ4X Touring brings in terms of luggage space and styling cohesion.

It adds an additional 140mm of handsome sheetmetal behind the rear axle (taking length to 4830mm) and boosts boot volume to a cavernous and highly useable 603 litres (an increase of 151 litres).

There’s also a unique front facia with a silver lower bash-plate detail, which is exaggerated in the adventure-flavoured rear bumper, boosting the Touring’s aesthetic cred.

While its restrained rear tail-light band treatment and cool new colours (Ice Silver metallic and Daylight Bronze) are essentially shared with its Subaru Trailseeker twin, the Toyota’s interior gets a no-cost option of quirky Khaki Green to embellish its dashboard trim strip, front armrest, door inserts and perforated-vinyl seat inserts.

Otherwise, the Touring’s interior is identical to the regular 2026 bZ4X AWD. That covers supportive eight-way heated/cooled electric front seats, a large 14.0-inch touchscreen with separate digital HVAC controls below it (ala Lexus), new dual wireless phone chargers, and a reasonably strong nine-speaker JBL stereo.

For its $69,990 + ORC asking price, the Touring also gets a panoramic glass roof with electric blind, loads of rear-seat legroom, outboard heating for the reasonably comfortable rear bench with adjustable 60:40-split backrest rake, and almost fold-flat ability to extend luggage space.

Driving Impressions

There’s much to commend the wagon-shaped bZ4X Touring over its shorter, less-handsome bZ4X SUV relative, though it shares the regular AWD’s decently wafty nature over Australia’s lumps and bumps.

Despite wearing dark-coloured 20-inch alloys with 235/50 tyres, the Touring somehow avoids the uncomfortably irritating abruptness that seems to blight so many EVs – hence the common ‘rides like an EV’ put-down.

While the new Touring is significantly better to drive than the bZ4X was at launch back in February 2024, the on-paper promise of its 280kW output and AWD traction are stymied by the limitations of its architecture to apportion some kind of torque/drive-split to either end.

Equalising the outputs of the Touring’s front and rear electric motors may reduce the effect of the SUV AWD’s inherent front-end bias, but this remains a predominantly front-biased EV that seems to have no intention of involving its rear axle to any degree on bitumen.

However, the bZ4X Touring does feel fluent, well-balanced and nicely grippy in faster flowing corners, once you become attuned to its steering.

With 2.8 turns lock-to-lock spanning an 11.2m turning circle, it’s nicely accurate and consistent in its weighting (unlike many electric rivals), though it doesn’t really communicate exactly what the front tyres are doing.

Yet the bZ4X Touring will confidently cover ground in relatively refined, easy-to-drive comfort, supported by the lurking talents of its overtaking acceleration.

The Touring’s favoured environment, however, is prancing about town.

Our launch drive covered the challenging road network and steep terrain between inner Brisbane and the ribbons of luscious blacktop threading over Mount Glorious, and the bZ4X Touring ate it up.

It was effortless to steer and handle, in combination with impressively calibrated accelerator response and smooth (adjustable) regenerative braking performance.

It also seemed quite effective at feeding energy back into the battery (71.0kWh useable), though the hills and mountains surrounding Brisbane weren’t kind to its energy consumption – clocking a 19.8kWh/100km average, which gave a worst-case real-world figure of 359km.

Official efficiency claims are 16.8kWh/100km and 488km of WLTP range.

The 2026 bZ4X now gets standard three-phase 22kW AC charging, meaning just 3.5 hours for a 10-100 percent charge in a suitably wired garage, or 28 minutes from 10-80 percent at a maximum of 150kW DC at a public fast-charger.

Service intervals are every 12 months/15,000km – capped at $190 per service for the first five years or 75,000km – which is more frequent than some rival EVs, though a five-year cost of just $950 is hard to argue with.

The bZ4X Touring also offers 211mm of ground clearance, plus Snow/Dirt and Deep Snow/Mud settings for its AWD system to make modest off-roading or ski adventures possible.

And it has the functionality of ladder-style roof rails (with Toyota-approved attachments) that can take 80kg dynamic, or 317kg static – meaning a roof-top tent is doable once an aftermarket outfit (or Toyota itself) offers one.

It also has a three-pin plug outlet in the boot with a 220V/1500W inverter.

Thing is, there’s a joint-venture version of the bZ4X Touring called the Subaru Trailseeker, which marginally out-paced the Touring to market and offers an entry-level model (for $63,990) that wears plumper 18-inch wheels/tyres (which should improve its ride and off-roading) and offers 533km of WLTP range.

However, Toyota and Subaru buyers are loyal folk, and either way they’re getting a decent EV.

Providing its 4830mm length isn’t a turn-off, the wagon-flavoured bZ4X Touring is Toyota’s best EV up to this point.

It’s a capable all-rounder that would be a fine complement to a family’s demands, or a smart empty-nester option for a couple who don’t want the top-heavy flab of a real SUV or 4WD.