Toyota has been in the spotlight for some time now from environmentalists and critics alike because of its feet-dragging approach to ditching internal combustion engine vehicles altogether and going on an EV-only route forward.
The Japanese brand even produced scientific evidence to show people that it was right and other people were wrong, but that only poured more fuel on the fire that was already burning.
With this being said, however, Toyota does have one all-electric vehicle on sale today, the bZ4X crossover, with plans of making 10 new battery-powered models by 2026.
But it’s the bZ4X that’s the subject of the video embedded at the top of this page, published on the Out of Spec Reviews YouTube channel. In it, McKayla, who owns a Volkswagen ID.4, goes for a drive for the very first time in Toyota’s all-electric crossover and gives us some of her first impressions.
Gallery: 2023 Toyota bZ4X: Review
At this point, it’s worth mentioning that the bZ4X she was driving was a top trim model, with ventilated front seats, panoramic glass roof, and all the other bells and whistles that can be purchased.
Before getting in the Japanese EV, the first thing she noticed was that it didn’t automatically unlock the doors as she was approaching the car and that the door handle needs to be touched for this to happen. On her ID.4, the auto-unlocking feature is included.
After climbing in, the instrument cluster’s position immediately caught her attention, prompting McKayla to say that it looks weird so far from the steering wheel, but that she’d probably get used to it eventually. Another thing she noticed was that the overall quality of the interior felt lower than in the ID.4.
On the other hand, Toyota’s EV has something all modern cars have in common – except the ID.4, that is – four separate buttons for controlling the electric windows. In the electric Volkswagen, there are just two switches and an extra button labeled “Rear” that you have to press every single time you want to control the back windows.
On the road, a rather interesting opinion on the way the Toyota accelerates came up, with McKayla saying that it feels more like an ICE vehicle than the VW, in the sense that pressing the accelerator pedal is a bit jerky compared to the ID.4 which offers a smoother start off the line.
Cost-wise, both EVs had a similar MSRP of around $52,000, but the Toyota doesn’t qualify for the $7,500 IRA tax credit, whereas the ID.4 does. Plus, the VW can DC fast charge at over 170 kilowatts, while the Toyota can only accept up to 100 kW in the all-wheel drive version.
As always, we’d like to know what you think about this, so after watching the video, scroll down to the comments section to give us your thoughts.
