A little more ground clearance and a lot more cargo room make the bZ compelling.
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Looks a lot like an electric station wagon: the 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland
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Oh dear, I don’t want that feature. It’s so hard to get the car close enough to the NFC scanner at the checkout register.
But seriously, this sounds great. I’m on my 3rd Outback and this is the best Toyota option for me.
How did they get this at only 4,500 pounds? Our Niro EV is smaller in size and battery, yet weighs 5,000?
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That's an impressive package at that price. I didn't see it listed in the article - what kind of charging port are they using? I know everyone is onboard with NACS now, but just curious because I know some manufactures are dragging their feet.
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It has a NACS port. Surprised they limited it to 150kW charging though. Looks like a nice option for the EV market, but for some reason the Toyota naming scheme just gets to me for their EVs.
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Dear god can we stop this trend of unpainted plastic wheel arches? It's like they say Subaru and said "you think that's bad? Hold my beer!"
At least the price isn't bad.
E: I guess Subaru might be to blame since they're making their EVs together. The regular bz4X looks just as bad. I guess Subaru is responsible for the body?
At least the price isn't bad.
E: I guess Subaru might be to blame since they're making their EVs together. The regular bz4X looks just as bad. I guess Subaru is responsible for the body?
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There's an error in the conversion from mph to kph. 60 mph is 97 kph, not 87 kph (km/h).
So 4.4 seconds to 97 kph.
So 4.4 seconds to 97 kph.
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I wonder how the seats are. I rented a RAV4 hybrid last year in New Zealand that felt ok at first, but after an hour or two, they started getting very uncomfortable.
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This is definitely an electric I'd look to get -- living in Montana requires frequent off-road-like travel (and I like to kayak, so the standard roof rack is good too.)
Still can't afford that starter price, so used it should be.
I don't recall if you said -- how's this size compare to the RAV4? That's the one I was thinking of getting if nothing else smaller (but still able to handle snow and occasional off-road) appeared?
Still can't afford that starter price, so used it should be.
I don't recall if you said -- how's this size compare to the RAV4? That's the one I was thinking of getting if nothing else smaller (but still able to handle snow and occasional off-road) appeared?
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Ok, so, thanks for the California test drive: now drive it in a Canadian winter or a north east US winter and let us know how it handles
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Man, you're not kidding. As a pretty happy owner of a 2020 Outback, that 2026 is...aesthetically challenged. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I rather like driving a modern station wagon, even though I know it's really just an SUV in sheep's clothing.
Probably would still buy another Outback if, God forfend, we had to replace it for some reason.
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Shhhhh!.... don't say that out loud! Marketing!! It's a "crossover"!
I mean yeah, it's just a station wagon, but soccer moms that want to be cool don't want to think they're driving around in the same category of vehicle their grandmothers drove. Same with SUVs... want to stop the incessant drive towards ever larger SUVs in America? Stop calling them sport utility vehicles and call them what they actually are: glorified station wagons. Cuz you just know almost no one driving those things ever actually takes them off road and they usually don't even have all-terrain tires. After all, no one wants to be seen driving a minivan if they can help it. Not because it's not a useful vehicle form, but because it's a minivan. It's uncool.
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90% of winter handling is on the driver, not the car. I've spent many a winter in New England driving a Corolla past pickup trucks and SUVs stuck in snowbanks because the drivers assumed that "4x4/AWD = drives the same in snow".Ok, so, thanks for the California test drive: now drive it in a Canadian winter or a north east US winter and let us know how it handles
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Other way around. SUVs are just station wagons writ large.
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Why would they use an FLA for an EV?!? That 12V battery should be an AGM, when the factory battery died that would definitely be what I'd switch it out for.
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This looks very interesting! NACS charge port is a must-have and it’s good to see these trickling out into the US market. 150kW charging isn’t terrible, a lot of where I drive is limited to 150kW Tesla chargers and the main problem with those is that they’re often 75kW because they share when filling up. 150kW is do-able, and this car looks very interesting in terms of 18” wheels not the usual bigger ones, and this means good tire options. And not terribly expensive when you look at comparable hybrids and of course that Subie.
These aren’t available near me yet but when they are I will test drive for sure.
These aren’t available near me yet but when they are I will test drive for sure.
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Nice. 2026 might be the year other Japanese car manufacturer besides Nissan go full in on EVs. Toyota is a welcome brand in that space.
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What problem do you think those regions would give it?Ok, so, thanks for the California test drive: now drive it in a Canadian winter or a north east US winter and let us know how it handles
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This is a complaint I often hear, and I’ve always wondered why the traditional mounting is preferred. It seems much worse to have to take your eyes off the road and look down through the steering wheel into the instrument cluster to be able to see even the basics like speed. Having a display directly below the road where you can focus on the road ahead and see speed in your peripheral vision thanks to the mirror trick for depth they use seems like a way better option, second only to the heads up display that’s becoming more common.
Granted, I’ve been driving a Prius so long that it’s normal to me now, while the rental cars that don’t have that same speedometer setup feel old and clunky, so I have some degree of bias, but I’ve always wanted to hear what the argument is for the through-the-wheel approach.
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And havin' a four-bye means you don't need to get winter tires, dontcha know?
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I personally can't justify that price with that range, and I'm surprised to see a number of commenters that are. I have a sub 300 mile EV in the household, and it becomes an issue in the winter. It's not a big issue, but if it's > $40k of MY money, it's not going to something with those range numbers
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I have the same complaints coming from a long-range Mach-E. I’m ready for my next EV to have much faster DC charging. 300 miles of range needs to be table stakes in America, land of road trips and bad infrastructure. My car often shows closer to 200 miles of range fully charged because of cold weather and highway driving. Of course I don’t need 300 miles every day but I’d like to be able to go skiing in the mountains or to drive through benighted Wyoming to Yellowstone.
Although, I do appreciate the high clearance here that Ford didn’t bother putting in their own supposed dirt machine Mach-E Rally. And the many knobs and buttons. And the actual real physical door handles.
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Damnit this checks a lot of boxes but the range is concerning. Got some family land on the north side of the state we regularly visit and it's about 210 miles. Add in some traffic and snow and such and I would be expecting to need to charge this somewhere along the trip and that's going to make an obnoxious trip with kids and dogs even more obnoxious.
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SUVs were originally passenger vehicles built on truck frames, whereas station wagons were sedans with an enlarged greenhouse. They may be much more similar in architecture today, but I would argue that there's still a distinction.
"My" car is a WRX, and before we had the Outback, we had a Forester. The Forester was very "compact SUV"; you sat up high and looked down. The Outback, by contrast, is much more "sedan with enlarged greenhouse"; you sit down in it and look out. Despite technically being an SUV, it feels more like my WRX than how I remember the Forester (albeit inarguably more comfortable than both).
The thing I'm curious about with the new Outback is whether it feels more like the old Outback or the Forester to inhabit and drive. I'm more likely to overlook the questionable aesthetics if it feels good to sit in it and look out. I'm certainly not looking to replace our current baby anytime soon, though.
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I don't know a lot of Toyota folks looking for this car, but I know a lot of Subaru folks have been waiting for this.
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While I agree in general, local terrain is also a compelling factor.
I owned a Camry when we bought our first house which sat at the top of a hill...the 2nd highest point in Boston. There was no approach that did not include at least 1/4 mile of steepness. We made it through that first snowy winter then purchased our first Subaru.
We've managed as a 1 car household for the last 8 years, but if a 2nd car ever made it from a want to a need this Toyota would be a prime candidate.
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RE: tires
Notwithstanding our fave auto author's supercar in the snow article - where did you test this car in the snow and what tires were the old girl shod with?
Notwithstanding our fave auto author's supercar in the snow article - where did you test this car in the snow and what tires were the old girl shod with?
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Not sure why I was downvoted above because those are all valid points when you spend that much money on a car and it will give buyers are really bad impression of EV's, never mind that Toyota actively lobbied against EV's in the US
I tested the Mach-E and thought it was a nice car, did not care for the cruise control or the screen controls, but its an overall well made car
Swapped out my MY for the new Juniper which is way better in comfort and I really did not want to remove the Tesla wall charger & wire in yet another one
My cold weather destinations are Mammoth/Tahoe etc so Supercharger access is important to me & pretty much a years worth of freebies kept me in the same eco-system
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The steering wheel is in the way of the speedometer and other indicators. It's like they designed it for a batman style wheel. I've had a Bz for almost 2 years, and it's the single most annoying feature. (We had a Prius loaner for 2 months and it was the same.)
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When you get stuck in traffic, EV range actually goes up, assuming you mean stuck on the highway.
With dogs (and I would assume kids), a 200 mile trip for me usually means I'm going to stop once to let them out anyway. Hell, I usually need a stop to piss on a 3+ hour trip, especially when I'm consuming liquid caffeine to keep me going. Plug the car in while you go take a leak and you're good to go.
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Does it have a glove compartment? (I truly hate that I have to ask that question.)
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I really don't understand the companies fucking around with things that worked fine for forever.
Almost to justify something but I'm not sure what.
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ConnertheCat
Ars Centurion
It's using the new NACS plug (all Toyota/Subaru models from 2026 on are doing so).
The Tesla is not a competitor for most people these days due to the incredibly toxic brand.
Rivian is interesting; I have an R2 reservation but the lack of a close service center (my closest is over an hour away) and no CarPlay would make it a very tough sell. I haven't decided one way or the other yet on it (I have a '22 Lexus NX PHEV that I'm quite fond of); but the fact that Rivian may not exist in 7 years is enough to give one pause.
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