2025 Toyota bZ2X electric SUV previewed

On sale 2025 | Price from £32,000 (est)

Think of the Toyota bZ2X as being the baby bear in Toyota’s growing range of electric vehicles (EVs).

That’s because it will be the brand’s smallest EV when it goes on sale in 2025, sitting below the current bZ4X and the upcoming bZ3X, itself due in 2024.

Unveiled in concept form for now, the new model will be positioned to take on the Jeep Avenger, Mini Aceman and Smart #1 in the growing market for small electric SUVs. And while it shares some design elements with its larger counterparts, including thin LED front lights and a rear light bar running the full width of the car, it also takes on a more upright, aggressive stance than those models.

While Toyota is referring to the model only as the ‘Urban Crossover’ at the moment, the brand has applied to trademark the bZ2X name in several countries, including the UK. And although Toyota is staying tight-lipped about the bZ2X’s technical details, we know what could potentially power the car, thanks to the brand’s ongoing partnership with Suzuki. The two Japanese brands already collaborate on several models; Suzuki’s Across is based on the Toyota RAV4, for example, while the Suzuki Swace is based on the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports.

Suzuki has revealed its own conceptual version of a future small SUV, dubbed the eVX. That model features a 60kWh battery, allowing for a range of up to 342 miles between charges, according to the official Indian test cycle for electric cars – India being the eVX’s primary market.

Unlike its Suzuki counterpart, the bZ2X will be offered in both front and four-wheel-drive forms, meaning at least some versions will feature two electric motors. Different battery options are also expected, with the largest expected to offer up to 250 miles of range on the European WLTP test cycle. That would make the bZ2X competitive next to the Avenger, which offers an official 249 miles of range from its 50.8kWh (usable capacity) battery. The #1, meanwhile, manages up to 273 miles from its 62kWh (usable) battery.

We’re yet to see inside the bZ2X, but it’s expected to borrow heavily from its larger siblings. That means digital instruments, a large central infotainment touchscreen and seating for five. In the bZ4X, we’ve found Toyota’s software to be sometimes slow to respond, but its menus are well laid out. And while the raised digital instruments look swish, your view of them might be blocked depending on how high you have the steering wheel.

Suzuki’s eVX is likely to arrive in the UK in around 2025, taking on other budget electric SUVs such as the next-generation Citroën C3 Aircross and MG ZS EV with a starting price of around £30,000. Because of the bZ2X’s more premium billing, however, it is expected to be priced from around £32,000 – making it a little cheaper than the #1 but more expensive than the Avenger.

The bZ2X is just one of a six-strong family of EVs that Toyota plans to have on sale by 2026. The others are the upcoming bZ3X, the existing bZ4X, a coupé SUV (likely to be called the bZ5X) and new electric SUVs around the same size as the current hybrid RAV4 and the discontinued seven-seat Highlander.

Read more: Best and worst electric SUVs >>

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