Toyota bZ4X Electric

I believe a review is due as I'm one the first outside of Toyota staff to see this 2026 car in Singapore and possibly the first one to purchase it so I guess you can surmise the conclusion of this review. The interior of the modern car is a mile away from my decade old car. Soft touch surfaces abound with many of the new cars covered in leather or leatherette with foam padding underneath. Bright colors, literally bells and whistles surround you and work in concert with AI to create a cocoon of personality and preference. However perhaps you are still what some might call a conservative person, maybe a boomer even? Do you still wear an analogue watch and prefer dials, buttons and switches to touchscreens and captive buttons ? The piece de resistance is the central console and the prominent touchscreen that now dominates it. This is the hive of the car and some instances you can only control it with the screen or voice commands. Or like Bruce Willis in Die Hard - "Timex in a digital age" Maybe you are someone who likes stability and reliability but also wants to embrace the new technology, in a more transitional and progressive fashion? Or perhaps the typical Porsche Cayenne lookalike bubbly look is not your cup of tea? Is there any way to get with the times but keep some of the old? Enter the Toyota bz4x aka bz in USA. For 2026 it's undergone a facelift and many under the surface improvements that go deeper than just the hammerhead front. It is as unChinese an EV as you can get. Even so it has the BYD sealion 7 firmly in its sights. Internally it's got new softer touch materials and a new touchscreen that's basically lifted off the Lexus and higher end Toyotas such as the Alphard. Beyond that, the most important improvement lies in the heart of the car. The battery is larger and so more efficient resulting in longer range and more power.... Read More