Toyota bZ4X review: boot space, seating & practicality

The bZ4X has all the packaging benefits of a car designed from the word go to be an EV and only an EV. This being the case, there’s more room inside than you’d expect to find in an equivalent petrol or diesel-engined SUV, with a flat floor and no bulky transmission tunnel restricting foot space. The Toyota isn’t radically more spacious than any of its electric SUV rivals, though.

Toyota bZ4X interior space, storage & comfort

The bZ4X is longer and lower than its combustion-engined equivalent the Toyota RAV4, and offers its occupants a bit more interior space, too, thanks to a long wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels) and short overhangs. Toyota claims rear passengers enjoy as much legroom as in a luxury saloon like the Mercedes EQE, and there’s certainly plenty of it in the back, but you may feel like you’re sitting too low with your knees too high due to the batteries under the floor.

One glaring omission you might notice straight away is the lack of a glovebox. Toyota tried to slim down the bZ4X’s dashboard to give a greater sense of space inside, losing the glovebox in the process. Clever use of space between the front seats is supposed to make up for that, but rivals have managed the same trick while still keeping the glovebox. Elsewhere, there’s a lidded box for your smartphone with wireless charging (on mid-spec cars and above), some cupholders and a bin with an armrest, plus large door bins front and back.

Boot space

The bZ4X doesn’t feature a ‘frunk’ or any extra storage under the bonnet, although the same is true for a lot of electric family SUVs including the VW ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq. However, they at least offer more than 500 litres of boot space, compared to the 452 litres in the bZ4X, which is similar to what you’d get in the smaller Kia Niro EV. At least the bZ4X has a flat loading lip and space underneath the boot floor for cables, though the rear seats don’t fold completely flat due to the location of the batteries.