Toyota bZ4X Touring/bZ Woodland EV revealed – rebadged Subaru Trailseeker, 380 PS, 418 km range

We knew that this was going to happen at some point – Toyota has rebadged the Subaru Trailseeker, giving us the bZ4X Touring (or the bZ Woodland, as it’s known in the US). It’s essentially the “wagon” version of the bZ4X/bZ electric SUV, and while Subaru was keen to distance its offering from the Solterra, here the familial resemblance is obvious.

The Touring features virtually the same front end as the bZ4X, retaining Toyota’s “Hammerhead” front end, C-shaped daytime running lights and separated main headlights – the latter being new on the facelifted model. The only change is the silver trim on the front spoiler.

Along the side is where you can clearly see the differences. The Touring retains the pre-facelifted bZ4X‘s controversial black plastic fenders (they’re finished in either gloss black or body colour on the facelifted car) and introduces a 140 mm longer rear end. The roofline also slopes 25 mm less towards the rear, providing a larger boot, which we’ll get to later.

The back with its full-width taillight bar and black bumper is identical to the Trailseeker’s, save for the chunky silver skid plate. The big roof rails are also new; they’re functional and are rated to hold up to 70 kg, perfect for carrying sports equipment or long loads as Toyota claims.

Inside, the biggest difference is cargo room, which has grown by 148 litres to a nice round 600 litres. Beyond that, the interior has been carried over from the facelifted bZ4X, sporting the same redesigned dashboard with a larger 14-inch touchscreen (with built-in physical temperature control knobs, à la Lexus) and twin 15-watt Qi wireless chargers.

The seats are upholstered in SofTex faux leather, available in City Moss brown. Optional features include a nine-speaker JBL Premium Audio sound system, a panoramic glass roof, a digital rearview mirror, ventilated front seats with driver’s side memory and even all-terrain tires befitting the car’s outdoorsy nature. The full Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite of driver assists, including adaptive cruise control and lane centring assist for Level 2 semi-autonomous driving, comes standard, of course.

Powering the Touring is the same 224 PS (165 kW) front motor as the standard bZ4X, but a more powerful rear motor on the all-wheel-drive model (standard in the US) bumps up the power output by 37 PS to 380 PS (280 kW), making it Toyota’s most powerful EV. The AWD version benefits from Subaru’s X-Mode off-road drive mode selector and Grip Control off-road cruise control, both claimed to offer additional traction on slippery surfaces. Towing capacity is rated at 1,500 kg.

Both front-wheel-drive and AWD variants feature the Trailseeker’s larger 74.7 kWh battery, and while WLTP range figures have not been released, the company’s US arm is targeting up to 260 miles (418 km) with AWD on the US’ more stringent EPA cycle. Expect the worldwide number to be much higher, nearing the bZ4X AWD’s 520 km. The Touring supports up to 150 kW of DC fast charging, topping up the battery from 10 to 80% charge in 30 minutes; it can also accept 11 kW or 22 kW of AC charging, depending on the variant.