As Toyota has been the leading brand when it comes to Hybrids for many years, and with the RAV4 PHEV being one of the best plug-ins on the market, you may be surprised that its taken Toyota until 2022 to offer their first fully electric vehicle. The Toyota bZ4X has been co-developed with Subaru, who sells the vehicle as the Solterra. So can these compact-SUVs tow? Well, yes, but all models are limited to a towing capacity of 750kg.
Table of Contents
Key bZ4X & Solterra Specs
- Official Towing Capacity – 750 kg (all models)
- Availability – Now
- Price – Starting £43,780 (bZ4X FWD) > £50,180 (bZ4X AWD)
- Range (EV Database) – 220 miles (AWD) to 230 miles (FWD)
- Estimated Towing Range (50%) – 115 miles
- Maximum DC Charge Rate – 150kW
- Rapid Charge 10% to 80% – 40 min
- Check Used bZ4X & Solterra Specs
bZ4X & Solterra HP & Torque
- bZ4X FWD: 201 HP and 195 lb-ft of torque
- bZ4X AWD: 215 HP and 248 lb-ft of torque
- Solterra AWD: 215 HP and 248 lb-ft of torque
bZ4X & Solterra Towing Capabilties
Toyota is offering the bZ4X with the option of either front-wheel-drive (FWD) or all-wheel-drive (AWD) where as the Subaru Solterra is only being offered with AWD. What you will note is that the power increase from the FWD to an AWD setup is an increase of only 14HP, which is very odd.
What is also odd is the very limited towing capacity of all versions of the bZ4X and Solterra at only 750kg. However, in saying that, I initially thought they weren’t going to get any official towing capacity at all, as Toyota/Subaru only announced the towing capacity just before the vehicles went on sale.
Unfortunately, a 750kg towing capacity limits these electric cars to towing small cargo trailers and small teardrop caravans/camping trailers etc. They are not legally capable of towing a full-sized touring caravan.
Struggling To Stand Out
As I stated in the intro, Toyota/Subaru are late players to the fully electric EV game and their first attempt is a compact crossover/compact SUV which is the most competitive segment in the entire car market.
When it comes to the towing capacity, the 750kg limit is disappointing, though these are not the first EVs in this segment with such a limited capacity. The Ford Mustang Mach-E, BMW iX3 and even a premium option such as the Jaguar I-Pace can do no better.
At this £43K to £50K price point, there are now lots of options which are much more capable when it comes to towing. The Skoda Enyaq (1,200kg), the VW ID.4 (1,200kg) and Nissan Ariya (1,500kg) are all much more capable.
You then have examples of the current best electric tow cars for this price point, such as the Hyundai IONIQ 5 (1,600kg) and the KIA EV6 (1,600kg).
But let’s presume for a second that a 750kg towing capacity would meet your needs. Does the bZ4X & Solterra stand out on range, charging speeds or power? No, not really
Toyota bZ4X Review
Subaru Solterra Walkaround
My Thoughts On The Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra
I’ve personally owned both a Subura and a Toyota, and I’ve been happy with both vehicles. However, I do feel that Toyota and Subaru are not really offering competitive products with the bZ4X and Solterra.
That’s especially true when it comes to electric tow cars, but I also think its true for an electric car that doesn’t tow. The range, charging speed and power figures just don’t stand out at this price point compared to the existing competition.
Add in the fact that Toyota had to issue a global recall due to concerns the wheels could come off the bZ4X, which will obviously put a dent in the usually rock-solid consumer confidence that Toyota builds quality vehicles which the data does indeed show.
The issue may be due to manufacturing of the bZ4X being carried out by GAC Toyota in China instead of by Toyota in Japan, but at this point, its still not clear what the issue is. Either way, I would personally find it hard to choose a bZ4X or Solterra over what the competition is offering.