The 2023 Toyota bZ4X is one of Toyota’s latest offerings, and it’s a promising innovation. If you haven’t had a chance to learn more about this Toyota introduction, we’ll take you through the latest details you need to know. You might conclude that it’s worth the wait. Or you could be like the team over at Consumer Reports, who suggests it might be hard to get past a name like the Toyota bZ4X.

What Consumer Reports says about the Toyota bZ4X

Consumer Reports say that the 2023 Toyota bZ4X proves to be impressive at every level. Even though overall value propositions will boil down to the price points. But then there’s the name. Consumer Reports is quoted as saying, “It’s really hard to get past the name, especially having to type it repeatedly for this article. bZ4X just sounds like it should belong to one of Elon Musk’s children.” Despite being an innovative new Toyota family addition, all the bZ model names will likely confuse shoppers unfamiliar with all the variations.

What EV consumers can expect from this new Toyota

The 2023 Toyota bZ4X looks futuristic and fun, with its sleek design and solid grille. It’s the automaker’s first long-range electric vehicle, as described by Edmunds. Developed as a joint effort with Subaru, the Toyota bZ4X is a compact SUV with dimensions suggesting it’s slightly longer than the RAV4.

This new EV will be front-wheel-drive and powered exclusively by a single electric motor mounted in the front. Toyota says consumers can expect 150 kW, which is about 201 hp. Buried under the floor is the lithium-ion battery bundle that should allow the bZ4X to cruise for 250 miles on a full charge. An all-wheel drive variation is expected, although no word yet on specs for those.

The inside will be impressive with a clean cabin feel and focal point center stack. The infotainment system is much like the Toyota Tundra. Some of the other tech questions, including speakers and screen size, are still unanswered. But you can also expect Toyota’s full suite of advanced driver aids to be onboard. There’s also a solar roof to provide up to 1,000 miles of range annually.

According to Car and Driver, the 2023 Toyota bZ4X will hit the showroom floors mid-year this year. Official pricing is not yet available, but these EV SUVs will likely fall into the $30,000 to $40,000 range, with anticipated trims to follow suit in the Toyota family, like an LE, XLE, or Limited. 

Not into the Toyota? Test drive one of these instead

While the 2023 Toyota bZ4X is expected to be a crowd-pleaser, not everyone will have the same opinion. If Toyota isn’t your jam, you certainly have plenty of other EV SUVs to choose from. Other comparable models might suit your needs and budget better, like the Chevrolet Bolt EUV with its cool hands-free driving feature or the Hyundai Ioniq 5. 

Consumers are big fans of other models, including the Kia EV6 and the Subaru Solterra. The Nissan Ariya, with its 300 miles on a charge, and the Volkswagen ID.4, with its better performance and acceleration metrics, also deserve a look since they might present advantages over this new Toyota.

If you don’t mind the name, you might want to consider the 2023 Toyota bZ4X when it comes out later this year. You can start practicing pronunciation now to tell all your friends about it when you bring it home. It may be the only flaw this new Toyota has.