Diamond Member Pelican Press 0 Posted May 17, 2025 Diamond Member Share Posted May 17, 2025 This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up Toyota Is Finally Making the EV the Car Market Sorely Needs Toyota’s second pure EV for America plays more to the brand’s adventurous spirit while filling a notable hole in the current EV landscape. The front of the Toyota bZ Woodland EV shown head-on against an illustrated background of pin tree tops Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up It’s hard not to admire Toyota’s remarkable portfolio of vehicles, though, in full disclosure, my first car was a Toyota Tacoma, so feel free to call me biased if you want. On one side, with all apologies to rare exceptions like the newly revealed Corolla Hatchback FX Edition, it’s a brand known for making some of the most pragmatic (and yes, often staid) sedans and vans ever to grace the asphalt in the This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up , This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up , and This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up . Yet the same company also makes other vehicles, like the This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up (and This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up ), This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up , and iconic This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up , which passionate, hard-core off-roading enthusiasts revere as some of the most badass, drive-through-hell-and-back rides in existence. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> The newly revealed Toyota bZ Woodland EV is clearly optimized for quick weekend adventures that are not too far from home. – Credit: Toyota It’s the cultural equivalent of Michael Bay being a maestro of action movies and rom-coms—nay, foreign documentary shorts—or Patrick Mahomes being equally elite in football and figure skating. You just don’t often see a singular entity master such two disparate fields so completely. A Different Kind of EV Bet I’m belaboring the point because when the company had to game-plan its first mass-produced EV in North America, it’s easy to imagine leadership facing a difficult question. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> The bZ Woodland is nearly 6 inches longer than Toyota’s first EV in America, the bZ4, and offers 8.3 inches of ground clearance, good enough to pass over semi-prominent trail features. – Credit: Toyota Do we release a vehicle that aligns with our pragmatic or passionate side? Or do we thread the needle and aim for the narrow zone somewhere in between, as in the case of one of the brand’s other all-time great vehicles, This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up ? I can’t speak to what the company ultimately aimed for. Yet, a quick survey of the automotive media’s reaction to the This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up , which launched in 2022, suggests it didn’t quite hit any mark, at least not neatly in the center. “Toyota’s newly announced bZ Woodland SUV feels like a much stronger bet in the direction of the brand’s deep roots in making versatile, value-oriented adventure vehicles, which the EV market is sorely missing right now.” However, Toyota’s newly announced bZ Woodland SUV feels like a much stronger bet in the direction of the brand’s deep roots in making versatile, value-oriented adventure vehicles, which the EV market is sorely missing right now. Don’t Be Fooled By the Name This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> You might think the bZ Woodland is simply a unique name for a particular configuration of the existing bZ4X, and you’d be wrong. It’s a brand-new vehicle, though it has much in common with the original bZ4X. The vehicle’s “hammerhead” front facia and lights are the clearest tie-ins, along with a heavy dose of ****** plastic along the wheel wells. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up is actually the more accurate comp since it shares the same platform. Geared Towards Adventure This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> An image of the Toyota bZ Woodland EV driving away down a direct road fast with bikes on the roof Like the Trailseeker and Subaru’s category-defining Outback, the bZ Woodland leans more towards adventurous pursuits than almost every other mid-sized EV crossover/SUV currently on the market, short of perhaps J This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up . It ships with raised roof rails and special 18-inch wheels that can pair with all-terrain tires. It’s also nearly 6 inches longer than the bZ4 and offers 8.3 inches of ground clearance, good enough to pass over semi-prominent trail features. “It ships with raised roof rails and special 18-inch wheels that can pair with all-terrain tires. It’s also nearly 6 inches longer than the bZ4 and offers 8.3 inches of ground clearance, good enough to pass over semi-prominent trail features. That figure is significantly higher than the max 5.7 inches the Ford Mach E offers or the 6.1 inches of the Hyundai Ioniq 5. In fact, it’s just shy of the 8.4 – 8.6 inches offered by various RAV4 trims. The vehicle’s towing capacity is also 3,500 lb, which matches that of RAV4s with ******* engines, the Tesla Model Y and 2025 Subaru Outback. It’s also notably higher than that of the Ioniq 5 and Mach E (which isn’t recommended for towing in the U.S.). Simple & Techie This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> At launch, the bZ Woodland will be available only in a single trim, which should keep the buying process simple (and production costs down). – Credit: Toyota At launch, the bZ Woodland will be available only in a single trim. A premium package can add a better sound system, a pano glass roof, vented front seats, and a more This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up . The photos show a fine and functional interior for a human living in 2025. The seats are SofTex-trimmed. A 14-inch infotainment screen dominates the center and supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Standard panoramic and multi-terrain view capabilities should help with squeezing into tighter spaces. A dual wireless smartphone charger is also a welcome addition. Four USB-C ports are placed throughout, too. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> An image of the Toyota bZ Woodland interior shown from below the passenger seat looking up at the windshield and driver’s seat. Speaking of phones, the car’s ***********, *****, rear hatch, and core temperature controls like the heat seaters/ventilation, defroster, and steering wheel heater can all be activated remotely using the Toyota app and even synced to a schedule. A user’s phone can also serve as a digital key to the vehicle. The car can even function as a 4G wireless AT&T hotspot for up to four devices with a subscription. The bZ Woodland also comes standard with Toyota’s This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up , which includes features like pre-collision avoidance, lane departure alerts, dynamic cruise control, lane tracing and road sign assist, automatic high beams, and proactive driving assist. Range and Performance This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> Toyota states the bZ Woodland will offer up to 260 miles, which isn’t particularly impressive, though it’s on par with the standard version of the Ford Mach E and Hyundai Ioniq 5. – Credit: Toyota You can’t talk about EVs without discussing range. Toyota states the bZ Woodland will offer up to 260 miles, which isn’t particularly impressive given the vehicle’s seemingly “get out there” ethos. That said, it matches the range of baseline versions of Ford’s Mach E and the Hyundai Ioniq 5. It features a North American Charging System (NACS) port and can jump from 10 – 80% power after 30 minutes of DC charging. Traction-wise, the vehicle features a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system with a grip-control function that Toyota says provides “motor drive power modulation to achieve capable off-road performance.” Toyota pegs the combined system output at 375 hp. An Intriguing Mix This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up . In many ways, it’s just a Subaru-flavored version of the same vehicle. – Credit: Toyota Taken as a whole, the bZ Woodland fills an obvious hole in the current EV landscape. Its additional ground clearance, roof rails, all-wheel drive, and wagon silhouette make it much more capable of tackling lighter weekend adventures closer to home, like ski trips or mountain biking excursions right off the lot, than nearly any other mid-range EV at this price range. “Taken as a whole, the bZ Woodland fills an obvious hole in the current EV landscape.” But it still seems to provide all the comforts and conveniences you’d want from a smaller mid-sized EV around town. Its main competitor for outdoorsy-minded buyers interested in switching to a full EV is the recently revealed This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up . In many ways, it’s just a Subaru-flavored version of the same vehicle. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> A close-up of the back rear wheel well of the Toyota bZ Woodland EV The This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up is another vehicle that could meet a similar balance of needs, albeit with a different body style. But that vehicle may not hit the market until 2027. Neither brand can match Toyota’s reputation for reliability, value, performance, or ground footprint in terms of local dealership presence. Pricing and Availability The bZ Woodland will arrive in the U.S. in “early 2026”. Toyota hasn’t yet shared official pricing for the Z Woodland. Still, it’s safe to estimate that the vehicle will land near or around the high $40 to $50k range based on comps to the current bZ4X – presuming U.S. tariffs don’t dramatically impact our rough math. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up /applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png"> The Toyota bZ Woodland EV in a light brown color shown driving fast down a dirt road at an angle with a roof rack carrying bikes. 2026 Toyota bZ WoodlandAbout the Author: Ben Bowers is the Co-Founder and Chief Content Officer of Gear Patrol. Throughout his tenure in media, Ben has written and reported on everything from consumer tech to ********, watches, cars, camping, and personal style. These days, he gets to write less than he’d like to. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up #Toyota #Finally #Making #Car #Market #Sorely This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up For verified travel tips and real support, visit: https://hopzone.eu/ 0 Quote Link to comment https://hopzone.eu/forums/topic/251459-toyota-is-finally-making-the-ev-the-car-market-sorely-needs/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
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