Toyota bZ4X

Toyota is poised to take on the likes of the Kia EV6 and Skoda Enyaq iV with this all-new large electric SUV On sale June Price from £41,950

- Neil Winn

BELIEVE IT OR not, this is Toyota’s first modern battery electric vehicle (BEV). It’s surprising because the Japanese manufacturer was a trailblazer for electrification in the late 1990s, when its first-generation Prius hybrid helped push the entire automotive industry towards an electrified future. Its only other recent fully electric car, the Mirai, gets its energy from a hydrogen fuel cell rather than a battery.

Still, Toyota is throwing itself into battery-powered motoring with gusto with the bZ4X. Similar in size to the conventionally powered RAV4 large SUV, it’s the first car from the brand to use new underpinnings (shared with Subaru) that are designed specifically for BEVs. At least six more bZ-branded EVs are on the way.

Two versions are available: a front-wheel drive, single-motor model with 201bhp and a 0-62mph time of 7.7sec, or a dual-motor, four-wheel-drive (AWD) variant that ups power to 215bhp and trims the 0-62mph time to 6.9sec.

The sole battery option has a 71.4kWh usable capacity, from which Toyota estimates a range of around 280 miles in the front-wheel-drive bZ4X and 255 miles in the AWD model. Those figures are respectable but hardly earthshattering; for context, the entry-level Skoda Enyaq iV has a 256-mile official range, while the Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y promise more than 300 miles between charges.

Kia EV6

Lacks the off-road capability of the bZ4X but has a longer range and is more fun to drive.

Skoda Enyaq