Ask most people, and they're already convinced that Toyota leads the way on electric vehicles. Unfortunately, this perception has been pretty far from reality.
Toyota's electric vehicle offerings have been limited and middling at best. Here in the U.S., as competitors far and wide have expanded their EV lineups, it has made do with just the Toyota bZ4X for a long time—and everything that comes with that, from limited range to slow charging speeds and unimpressive software. But it must have done something right. The Japanese automaker sold more than 18,570 units of the bZ4X in the U.S. last year, nearly doubling its year-over-year sales.
Now, Toyota is giving the bZ4X a much-needed glow-up.
That starts with a name that doesn’t sound like a Wi-Fi password. The bZ4X is now just the bZ. It gets major upgrades to performance, range, charging and amenities inside. After driving it near Toyota's Plano, Texas headquarters last week, I found that this is the most enjoyable version of the vehicle yet. And it might even be the most fun Toyota without a Gazoo Racing badge on it.
More importantly, though, Toyota finally has a serious contender in the hotly competitive electric crossover market. And at a time when EVs are facing the worst political and economic headwinds, the bZ—and the broader EV line-up Toyota has in the pipeline—could play an important role in keeping America's market alive. Here’s why.
(Full Disclosure: Toyota flew me to Texas last week to drive the 2026 bZ. The company paid for food and accommodations.)
2026 Toyota bZ Specifications
2026 Toyota bZ Range and NACS Charging
The current bZ4X is far from perfect. Its driving range maxes out at 252 miles on the EPA testing cycle. It also misses out on a key EV feature: its navigation system cannot locate charging stations along your route. As we noted in an InsideEVs test last year, it never got close to its maximum charging speed of 150 kilowatts.
For many buyers, these limitations can be dealbreakers, but the 2026 bZ addresses most of the prevailing concerns.
Toyota is now offering two battery options: 57.7 kilowatt-hours and 74.7 kWh. The smaller battery is only available on the entry-level XLE front-wheel-drive trim and delivers 236 miles of Toyota-estimated range.
Both FWD and AWD versions I drove in Texas had the larger 74.7 kWh pack. The maximum manufacturer-estimated range on the FWD is now 314 miles, which puts it in the same league as the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Chevy Equinox EV. The all-wheel-drive version isn’t far behind at 288 miles. That's all good company to be in.
While the peak charging speed is still capped at 150 kW, the improvements to the overall charging experience are substantial.
The bZ now gets the Tesla-style North American Charging Standard connector right from the factory, opening up access to tens of thousands of Superchargers across the U.S. It won’t charge at every Supercharger, but most will be compatible and the Toyota app will guide drivers to the ones that are available.
Current Toyota and Lexus EV owners won’t be left behind either as the whole company moves to NACS plugs for new models. Existing customers will be able to purchase an official adapter later this year. Meanwhile, the updated bZ, C-HR, bZ Woodland as well as the Lexus RZ and ES will ship with their own adapters, giving drivers flexibility to charge at stations like Electrify America, EVGo and ChargePoint as well as the expansive Tesla network.
Toyota has also added battery preconditioning as standard across all trims. That’s a must-have for efficient fast charging in colder climates. It can be activated manually or automatically via the onboard navigation. The carmaker says it’s also improved the charging curve, allowing the battery to hold peak speeds for a longer duration.
The result is a 10-80% charge in 30 minutes. This isn’t segment-leading, but it isn’t bad, either. A Toyota engineer told InsideEVs in an interview that the company doesn’t expect most drivers to spend 30 minutes at public DC fast charging stations; they’re more likely to do quicker top-ups, and that’s where the bZ is now theoretically better.
I didn’t get a chance to test the range or charging speed during my limited time with the bZ, as is common with First Drive tests, but we’ve got that on our to-do list.
2026 Toyota bZ Performance
Electrification is making new levels of performance more accessible to a wider audience. The 2026 bZ is the latest beneficiary of this trend. Toyota is now using upgraded electric motors with silicon carbide semiconductors which are both compact and lightweight.
The FWD trims now have an output of 221 horsepower (up from 201 hp). The all-wheel-drive models get a 50% power bump, with the net output increasing to 338 hp (up from 214 hp). Toyota hasn’t disclosed torque figures yet.
I drove both the FWD and AWD trims in Texas. The FWD version delivered power in a smooth, gradual way. Flooring the throttle gave me that familiar EV surge—for a moment—but that punchy acceleration I was hoping for was just not there. With a curb weight ranging from 4,057 to 4,453 pounds, the bZ is kind of heavy and its 221 horsepower won’t light your hair on fire. Still, it’s perfectly adequate for daily driving, highway merges or quick overtakes.
The AWD version is a different animal altogether. With 338 horsepower, Toyota claims it can sprint from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 4.9 seconds. That means this electric family crossover will dust the GR86 in a straight line and it’s now within a second of the GR Supra. It’s also now more powerful than the Land Cruiser and among the most powerful Toyotas—only the Supra, Tundra and Sequoia with their turbocharged six-cylinder engines are more powerful. The bZ is also only about three tenths slower than the AWD Model Y.
On the road, the AWD bZ feels every bit as quick. The throttle is sharply tuned, delivering an instant jolt of acceleration that makes it tempting to turn city streets into traffic-light grand prix. I really had to exercise self-restraint here.
The needle climbs effortlessly and even the absurd 80 mph highway speed limits in Texas felt easy to breach behind the wheel of the bZ. The extra oomph does drive down the range, but 288 miles isn’t all that far behind rivals such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
One welcome addition are the paddles behind the steering wheel that let you toggle between four levels of regenerative braking. All four settings offer relatively mild regen but none will bring the car to a full stop. If you’re used to true one-pedal driving, you’ll notice its absence. Hopefully, Toyota can patch that in later with an over-the-air (OTA) update.
2026 Toyota bZ Ride and Handling
It’s worth noting that these were pre-production prototypes, so Toyota may still be finalizing the ride and handling calibration. I think they could use some fine-tuning in the handling department.
The ride quality on the FWD version was overly soft. While the springs soaked up bumps well enough, the dampers struggled to rein in the rebound. Every road imperfection seemed to sneak into the cabin, giving the ride a floaty, unsettled feel. The AWD version, by contrast, felt far more dialed in with tighter body control, more confidence at speed and a noticeably more composed ride.
Still, both trims skew toward comfort in their suspension tuning, which isn’t surprising for buyers of this segment, many of whom are fleet operators and cabbies. The bZ requires more rotation of the wheel to make even small turns, which can feel a bit disconnected and sluggish, especially during quick maneuvers. Then again, I don’t expect bZ owners to be canyon carvers.
Still, I wish there were a GR Sport trim. With 338 horsepower on tap, the bZ has the power, now it needs the handling to match. A firmer suspension, sharper steering and more connected dynamics could transform this into a genuinely fun-to-drive EV. Toyota, if you’re reading this: If the new RAV4 can wear the GR Sport badge, there’s no reason the bZ shouldn’t.
Then again, the C-HR that's expected to launch in early 2026 may end up the athlete in the electric family.
2026 Toyota bZ Interior and Technology
The basic interior layout is similar to the old bZ4X, but it has now been festooned with soft-touch materials, a larger touchscreen, a more streamlined center console and a 64-color ambient lighting that give it a more upscale and minimalist look.
The touchscreen itself has grown from 12.3 inches to 14 inches. In my limited time with the car, the screen looked crisp, bright and felt responsive, but wasn’t nearly as snappy and lag-free as some other systems out there.
On the plus side, it supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. One notable difference I found in Google and Apple’s in-car systems is how they handle the initial connection. Android Auto requires an irritating number of steps to get going wirelessly. CarPlay pairs in seconds. My iPhone-toting colleagues were up and running while I was still fumbling through authentication prompts on my Pixel 9 Pro.
This may not be unique to Toyota, I’ve noticed it before, but it was more apparent this time because I drove different Toyotas back-to-back and had to reconnect my phone multiple times. Once set up, Android Auto worked flawlessly and a wired connection sped things up, but CarPlay still has the edge in pairing simplicity and speed.
That said, the screen comes with a complimentary three-year trial of Toyota’s voice assistant, cloud navigation and destination assist. A “Hey Toyota” command can help you search for directions, adjust audio controls, and change the cabin temperature. The cloud navigation feature can provide the latest available traffic and routing data.
Most importantly, Toyota says the smartphone app now supports route planning—meaning you can look for charging stations along your route. In my limited time testing, it wasn’t immediately clear if owners can send that route planning data from the app directly onto the vehicle’s screen.
As for the interior, Toyota has mostly nailed the balance between minimalism and usability. The previously physical climate buttons have been integrated into the touchscreen, but thankfully, the temperature and volume knobs are still there. The gear selector and drive mode buttons are still physical too, though now relocated to the rear of the center console.
That frees up some real estate up front for two generously sized wireless charging pads. The pads lack any grip or securing mechanism, so the moment you get throttle-happy, your phone will go flying and end up wedged somewhere under the seat.
The bZ’s gauge cluster has a new design, but the top of the steering wheel still blocks the view. I experimented with several seat and wheel positions, but no matter what, some part of the display was always obscured.
Taller drivers might have better luck, but my 5'7" frame always ends up in a relatively more tucked-in driving posture, so I had to crane my neck to look at key info like speed and remaining range. It’s a frustrating flaw in an otherwise neatly designed cabin.
2026 Toyota bZ: Early Verdict
Deliveries of bZ will begin in the U.S. in the fall, and prices will be revealed closer to launch.
No car is perfect and the new bZ is no exception. But its flaws pale in comparison to the massive improvements Toyota has made where it truly matters. The 2026 bZ is now a bona fide road-tripper with better charging capabilities, more than 300 miles of range, improved comfort and plenty of zip to get around fast.
It may not beat its rivals on every spec, but it doesn’t have to. It wears a Toyota badge; that alone should make rivals nervous. If the world's largest car company by volume is really taking EVs seriously, nobody else gets a pass anymore if they don't.
The bZ4X sold reasonably well despite its limitations. If Toyota prices this refresh right, it could unlock a much larger pool of buyers. The company has already put millions of buyers into its hybrids and plug-in hybrids. For customers who were on the fence with the bZ4X—or who have been waiting for the company behind the Prius to offer a real zero-emission option—this updated bZ could be their natural next step.
And that’s what makes this moment so important. Looking at what else Toyota has in the EV pipeline—the C-HR, bZ Woodland, Lexus ES and even a three-row electric SUV that’s rumored to go into production at some point soon—it’s clear the company is finally taking this shift seriously.
If it delivers on those promises, Toyota could become a kind of unexpected savior of the EV market. With federal incentives in jeopardy, emissions rules under attack and tariffs already causing chaos, the industry is staring down a perfect storm. But few players have the scale and brand trust that Toyota does. If it keeps building EVs as capable and convincing as this one, it might be able to weather the chaos better than others.
Have a tip? Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com
