However, the situation for electric vehicles has changed dramatically in recent years. While there are compact electric vehicles with a short cruising range mainly for shopping and commuting, there are also cars with large battery capacity and increased charging efficiency, making long-distance travel less of a concern.
I’m not sure if I’m tired or sleepy from driving long distances, if there are rest points, or if I’ll get stuck in traffic or an accident. …… But what if, for example, this were an electric car? Probably many people would first cite “anxiety about recharging”.
Toyota bZ4X has a range of up to 746 km with significant improvements.
Among them, the mid-size SUV Toyota bZ4X (BZ4X), which underwent a partial upgrade in October 2025, has a one-charge driving range of over 700 km in WLTC mode for the FWD model (Z FWD) with a 74.7 kWh battery capacity (Z FWD: 746 km, Z 4WD: 687 km, G FWD: 544 km).
The price is also lower than before at 4.8 to 6 million yen, and with the addition of government subsidies (CEV subsidy: 900,000 yen for the bZ4X, 1.3 million yen after January 1, 2026), eco-car tax reductions, greening exemptions, and local government subsidies, the bZ4X can be considered on par with SUVs of similar size with internal combustion engines or hybrids. SUVs of the same size can now be considered side by side with SUVs of the same size. I believe that more and more people will finally consider the possibility of electric vehicles as an option in their daily lives.
I myself have been very interested in electric vehicles in recent years, and among them, I wanted to take the time to drive the Toyota bZ4X, which has undergone a major evolution through partial improvements. This time, when I had the opportunity to drive the new bZ4X, I decided to take it for a long drive.
The test vehicle was a Z FWD model with a range of 746 km per charge (WLTC mode). While considering the route, it occurred to me that I might be able to travel the 530 km distance from Tokyo to Kobe without recharging the batteries along the way, so I decided to take the plunge and embark on a “Tokyo-Kobe No-Charge Challenge” trip.
First, upon witnessing the new bZ4X, I felt that the exterior was more stylish, with more emphasis on the hammerhead design that is also used on the Prius and Crown. Once inside the car, the interior is very simple and clean. The instrument panel has a horizontal base, and a large 14-inch LCD panel in the middle makes navigation and car information very easy to read.
The driver’s seat is moist and comfortable, and the compact LCD meter and three-dimensional steering wheel are reminiscent of an aircraft cockpit. The shift knob is round and can be switched by pushing it in and turning it. The center console is equipped with a two-car smartphone charging station, which I found to be a rare feature. While the number of cars that offer stand-alone charging has been increasing, it is rare to find a car that has two phones side by side. The interior of the car seemed simple, but the usability was advanced and sophisticated.
Before departure, I pushed the power button after fully charging the battery with a regular charger, and found that the meter indicated a cruising range of 632 km. This may be a low figure due to the cost of electricity used so far, but it would still be enough to reach Kobe.
I took the car out for a little spin and immediately wondered, “Has this car ever felt so good?” I was surprised. The new bZ4X has increased the output of each model, and the Z FWD model we tested had its maximum system output raised to 165 kW (224 PS). The feeling of smooth acceleration from anywhere is even stronger, and above all, the cabin is overwhelmingly quiet. As long as you are driving on ordinary roads, you can hardly hear any outside noise, as if you are inside a small shelter.
The responsiveness of the steering after starting to turn the wheel is very good, and the car corners just as I envisioned it to. The previous bZ4X was also a comfortable car, but now it feels as if a sense of oneness with the car and the joy of driving have been added to it.
When entering the highway, the motor’s torquey acceleration made merging and overtaking smooth. On the outbound trip to Kobe, we decided to cruise at about 80 km/h in the leftmost travel lane because of the electricity cost challenge. The weather was fine and the temperature was around 15°C despite the winter weather, so we were able to drive without turning on the heater or seat heaters.
Once on the highway, the bZ4X was very comfortable, moving smoothly in a straight line. After merging onto the Shin-Tomei Expressway from the Tomei Expressway, the flow of traffic calmed down, and I was able to extend the distance with the assistance of bZ4X, which activated radar cruise control to follow the car in front and lane tracing assist (LTA) to keep the car in the center of the lane. When entering an area of traffic congestion below about 40 km/h, the car automatically entered Advanced Drive mode, which was helpful as it reduced fatigue considerably.
When we entered Hamamatsu SA, about halfway from Tokyo to Kobe, the car still had 67% charge remaining and the display showed a range of 418 km, so there was plenty of room to spare. The test car was equipped with a solar panel that recharges the battery while the car is parked, so when we returned after eating lunch, we found that the range had been further increased by about 10 km, to 429 km. We were confident that we could make it all the way to Kobe.
This time, I asked the editorial staff to take over driving and sit in the rear seats as well. The rear seats are spacious, both in terms of legroom and headroom, with adjustable seatback angles and heated seats; there is a small window in the C-pillar, and this small amount of space to view the scenery made the rear seats seem less oppressive. The cabin is very quiet, which is nice because it allows for clear conversation between the front and rear seats. This must make going on long drives with family and friends comfortable and enjoyable.
The bZ4X was as comfortable as ever, whether I was driving it myself or having someone else give me a ride, so the long drive seemed to fly by. I noticed that the night was gradually falling, and as I got off the highway near Kobe, I saw a landscape typical of a port town. The dusk, where the gradation of the sea and the lights of the port town meet, is so beautiful that one can’t help but admire it.
As I drove away, I saw a lovely red tower shining brightly. It was the Kobe Port Tower! We had really made it to Kobe without recharging our batteries. When we arrived at the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel, where we were staying just across the street, we checked the meter and found that the battery had 21% remaining, the remaining cruising range was 123 km, and the total average power consumption was 9.4 km/kWh.
However, the total average electric power consumption was reset once at Hamamatsu SA on the Tomei Expressway to take pictures, and the display up to that point showed 11.8 km/kWh.
To be honest, there were very few times during the run up to this point that I worried about whether the battery charge would be sufficient. Although we took all possible precautions and turned off the heater at 80 km/h, we could have made it to Kobe even without that restriction. Since we had lunch at a rest stop along the way, we could have arrived without further problems if we had made even one quick charge at an SA during that time. Even with internal combustion engine or hybrid models, a long drive of over 500 km would have required at least one 30-minute break. Furthermore, if the battery is normally recharged during the night when the car is staying overnight, the battery will be fully recharged while the driver is sleeping, and the driver can go sightseeing the next day. When I thought about it, it seemed to me that it would be much easier than searching for a gas station and refueling in a strange land.
© Source travel watch