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With the trend of “more for the same” or, in some cases, “more for more” common in today’s automotive industry, the 2026 Toyota bZ bucks that trend just as it also bucks off the last two letters of its former name. Yes, SUV formerly known as bZ4X is going to start its new, more concisely named journey by being just over $2,000 more affordable. Remember, the 2026 bZ also enjoys improved charging and more driving range than the 2025 bZ4X.
How Much Cheaper, You Say?
The 2026 Toyota bZ lineup kicks off with the entry-level XLE trim level. This front-wheel-drive, single-motor bZ starts at $36,350, making it $2,115 cheaper than the least-expensive bZ4X. This, is despite a $55 increase in the cost of the destination fee, which is now $1,450—and a number we always include in our MSRP reporting. This does come at a penalty of battery capacity as the XLE now gets a smaller 57.7-kWh battery pack that Toyota says is good for 236 miles of range—a good drop from the 252 miles offered by last year’s single-motor XLE. This model also makes a measly 168 hp, down from the 201 hp offered by last year’s entry-level bZ4X.
Buyers can upgrade to the XLE Plus trim, which includes the larger 74.7-kWh battery pack, for $3,000. This battery, combined with single-motor front-wheel drive, is good for up to 314 miles of range and a boost to 221 hp—a big improvement, and more range and power than was available in any 2025 bZ4X (front-drive versions of which only got 201 hp). Even better, the bZ XLE Plus with front-wheel drive only costs $855 more than last year’s 252-mile bZ4X XLE; seems like a worthy tradeoff for much more range and improved charging in a wider variety of climates. (Previously, the bZ4X’s charging suffered in cold weather, something Toyota has worked to address in the bZ.)
Beyond those trim levels sits the XLE AWD, which combines the 74.7-kWh pack with dual electric motors for all-wheel drive and a bump in power from 214 hp to 338 hp. Range similarly improves to 288 miles from 228 miles. Next up is the bZ Limited, which is said to be good for 299 miles in front-wheel-drive form and 278 miles with dual-motor all-wheel drive, both improvements over the 2025 bZ4X Limited’s 236 miles and 222 miles. Prices for these upper trims actually increase over the bZ4X’s, with the XLE AWD model running $805 more than previously, while the Limited AWD is $1,475 dearer. And the biggest hit is to the Limited FWD, which sees a $1,555 increase over the equivalent 2025 bZ4X Limited.
The claimed range improvements help with the bZ4X’s rather so-so driving range. In our first test of the 2026 bZ Limited AWD, we ran it through our MotorTrend Road-Trip Range test (maintaining a steady 70 mph until the battery reports 5 percent charge remaining) and saw 222 miles. Claimed range is 278 miles, but even in the real world, it matched the old bZ4X’s claimed distance, showing improvement. Expect a drop from the claimed range to the real-world range even for the smaller pack, but not one necessarily as large, as the smaller pack and single motor means less weight to carry.
The good news is that the bZ lineup adopts the NACS (Tesla) charging port for access to more charger options and helps increase the chances of finding a reliable DC fast charger or slower AC destination charger. If you happen to need that AC charging, it’s now faster. The onboard AC charger’s max rate climbs to 11 kW (versus 7 kW on the bZ4X). Finally, there is now battery preconditioning on all bZs that will keep the battery pack at the optimal temperature for a higher average charging rate, even in colder weather or suboptimal conditions. This preconditioning can be done manually or automatically by selecting a DC fast charger as your destination.
Versus Other Entry-Level EV SUVs…
Now, how does the improved 2026 Toyota bZ stack up against its competitors? There is the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5—our top pick of EVs, which the bZ undercuts on price. An entry-level Ioniq 5 SE Standard Range RWD is $7,850 more expensive than a bZ XLE FWD, but the Hyundai’s range is nine miles better. That’s thanks to a 5.3-kWh larger battery capacity. But jump up to a single-motor, rear-drive Ioniq 5 SE with the larger battery, and range leaps to 318 miles; but that Hyundai costs nearly $2,000 more than a fully loaded dual-motor bZ Limited AWD.
The Hyundai offers similar cargo capacity when its seats are up (27.2 cubic feet versus 27.7 in the Toyota), but when those seatbacks are folded down the Ioniq 5 has a 2.4-cubic-foot advantage over the Toyota (59.3 vs 56.9 in the bZ). While that gives the Hyundai an edge, it’s hard to declare it the winner with it being nearly $8,000 more expensive than the standard bZ, even with up to nine miles more range. It’s an even harder sell when the Toyota bZ Limited AWD gains 30 miles of range and is just over $13,000 cheaper than the Ioniq 5 Limited AWD.
What about the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV? Things are much closer here. To start, the 2025 Equinox EV LT1 FWD is $1,355 cheaper than the bZ XLE FWD, and can take you five miles further on a charge thanks to a 27.3-kWh-larger battery pack (85 kWh). Step up to the top line all-wheel-drive Chevrolet, and the Equinox loses out; the Equinox EV RS AWD is $2,340 more expensive than the bZ Limited AWD, and it only goes seven miles further per charge (285 miles) using the same 85-kWh battery as the front-drive model, which is 10.3 kWh larger than the Toyota bZ Limited AWD’s 74.7-kWh battery pack.
As far as cargo room goes, it’s a toss-up. Seats up, the bZ edges the Equinox Ev by 1.3 cubic feet, but the Toyota barely gains on the Chevy when the seats are down, by 0.3 cubic feet (57.2 versus 56.9 for the Toyota). If getting the cheapest EV SUV with the best range is your concern, then the 2025 Equinox EV LT1 FWD is your choice. If you’re looking for the best SUV between the two, technically the bZ edges out with slightly more cargo space with the rear seats up and both are close enough to say they are the same with the seats down. If you want top of the line for the cheapest price, then the Toyota wins with its $2,340 lower cost of the 2026 bZ Limited AWD.
Toyota has made some meaningful gains with the 2026 Toyota bZ. It has more range, power, and charger choices than it did when known as the bZ4X. It has also started to catch the competition in terms of range despite the bZ having smaller battery packs. Will this give Toyota the edge versus the rest of the 2026 EV lineup? It’s hard to say as the smaller battery pack will still give purchasers pause and rightfully so, as our real-world testing has shown thus far.
