Toyota’s New bZ: Less Spreadsheet, More Soul?

In a move that suggests someone in Toyota's boardroom finally got bored of data tables, the bZ4X—previously named like a Wi-Fi password—has shed some characters and is now simply called bZ. Just two letters. A minimalist badge for a car that desperately needed a personality injection.

Set to debut in 2026, the facelifted bZ doesn’t just come with a shorter name, but a longer list of reasons to care. The once slab-sided crossover now promises to be less Excel chart, more actual car. A 14-inch touchscreen headlines the new interior, backed by mood lighting with an absurd 64-color palette—because apparently, it takes that many shades to make blue feel more... blue.

Underneath the glow-up, Toyota has added some muscle. The base single-motor version now delivers 224 horsepower (up from 204), enough to make it feel less like a rolling apology. But it’s the dual-motor variant that brings the thunder—343 horses worth. Finally, a bZ that won’t automatically yield to every Tesla at a stoplight.

Design tweaks include sharper headlights and tasteful splashes of color, hinting that someone in Toyota’s design studio might’ve accidentally consumed caffeine. More importantly, a larger 74.7 kWh battery boosts range to 505 km, while base models stick with 57.7 kWh and a 380 km range.

And the price? Still under wraps. The outgoing version started at $37,000 in the U.S., but with all the LEDs and mood-happy trim, expect a bump. Because nothing says progress like paying extra to make your electric SUV feel less like office software.