2026 Toyota bZ Woodland: First Spin | The Day by day Drive

OJAI, Calif.—The 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland builds on the bZ lineup, including an off-road aptitude to electrical driving. It’s customary with all-wheel drive, twin motors, and 281 miles of vary. If you happen to’re aware of the unique bZ4X, you could be wrinkling your nostril about now, however I believe this new EV from Toyota has loads going for it.

2026 Toyota bZ Woodland

Possibly you want a little bit context. When the bZ4X first entered the scene for the 2023 mannequin 12 months, it had a humorous identify and low vary. Frankly, except you had been simply searching for a commuter automotive, it was arduous to take Toyota’s first mass-produced EV severely. In 2026, nevertheless, Toyota shortened the identify to bZ, and it obtained a variety increase, which makes it a extra viable contender.

Including in some delicate off-road functionality, 6 inches of size, additional cargo house, and a number of customary options, the brand new bZ Woodland is a recent tackle the “past zero” lineup. And my first impression is general favorable.

Tesla Charging

Together with most automakers within the U.S., Toyota made the change to the North American Charging Normal (NACS aka Tesla charging). Which means that the 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland can use the Tesla Supercharger community. Moreover, a CCS adapter is customary together with your buy, and this enables the bZ Woodland to make use of CCS chargers from distributors like Electrify America and ChargePoint as effectively. With a DC charging most enter of 150 kWToyota estimates that charging from 10 p.c to 80percent will take about half-hour.

Whereas the unique bZ4X solely had about 220 to 250 miles of vary, the bZ Woodland will get an estimated 281 miles of vary with the usual all-season tires. If you happen to go for all-terrain tires, vary drops right down to 260 miles. As a result of this was only a first-look check, I can’t communicate definitively about whether or not these numbers are viable in the actual world.

On the Street

Once I slipped behind the wheel of the 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland, the very first thing I seen was how comfy the seats had been. They weren’t over bolstered and had a pleasant steadiness between firmness and cushion. I additionally had glorious visibility out of the home windows, and as somebody on the quick facet of the spectrum, my driving place was phenomenal. I’ll level out that taller drivers could have an issue seeing the gauge cluster due to the steering wheel, however I talked to a number of average-height drivers who all stated it was tremendous.

On highway, the bZ Woodland was loopy quiet—even with the all-terrain tires. I examined each units of tires, and didn’t hear a noticeable distinction between the 2. And a number of that’s most likely as a result of sound deadening supplies Toyota used.

And did I point out it was quick? With twin motors, the bZ Woodland has a complete system output of 375 horsepower, and it sends 198 pound-feet of torque to each entrance and rear wheels. This interprets to smile-worthy acceleration, irrespective of whether or not you might be popping out of a cease or attempting to cross on the freeway. It feels pretty nimble and simply usually comfy to drive.

Off-Street Critical?

Sure, however. We aren’t speaking loopy off-road functionality. The 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland has a floor clearance of 8.4 inches, and it has a typical off-road X-Mode with Grip Management to assist in slippery conditions. It’ll deal with mud pretty effectively—so long as the all-terrain tires don’t get caked—and you are able to do some small off-camber passes. The place the bZ Woodland will shine is in delicate off-road conditions like attending to that good campsite or trailhead.

We had the chance to take the bZ Woodland up a mountain on a muddy dust highway after the realm had obtained about 3 inches of rain. Issues had dried out a bit, and whereas issues had been nonetheless a bit slippy, the general management and grip had been stable. Plus, over the bumps and grooves, the journey was pretty easy.

Nothing’s Good

I’ll be trustworthy, there isn’t a lot I didn’t like concerning the 2027 Toyota bZ Woodland. Whereas the vary is lower than 300 miles, I do suppose 281 is a good exhibiting, and it’ll swimsuit most individuals’s life simply tremendous. I believed a number of the plasticky supplies on the console and door panels had been lower than very best, and at a value of about $48,000 for the automobile I used to be testing, I might count on some sort of flaps or prongs within the rear-seat cup holders to maintain a espresso in place.

The opposite huge factor I didn’t like will solely be an issue for shorter drivers, and that’s the awkward facet opening for the arm relaxation cubby. As an alternative of a entrance latch or button, the bZ Woodland sports activities a pair of facet buttons, and the one on the motive force’s facet was obscured for me and arduous to entry. Sure, I might use the passenger-side button, however then I’d need to lean over the console to entry what I want contained in the arm relaxation.

Lastly, it is a heads up for tall drivers. Relying in your driving place, the steering wheel could bisect the gauge cluster, making it unseeable. Whereas I didn’t have an issue, and the variety of average-sized drivers I talked to didn’t have an issue, there was one 6-foot, 9-inch driver I talked to who stated it was an issue for him.

Costs and Trim Ranges

The 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland is effectively outfitted and can solely are available in two trim ranges base and Premium. As an “off-road” mannequin, options like all-wheel drive, roof rails, and X-Mode are customary, and all-terrain tires can be found as a zero-cost possibility.

Base ($46,750): This mannequin comes customary with 18-inch wheels, twin wi-fi cellphone chargers, a 14-inch infotainment display screen, leatherette seatsheated entrance and rear seats, heated steering wheel, 4 USB-C ports, dual-zone local weather controls, the power to make use of your cellphone as a key, 8-way energy adjustable entrance seats, a NACS to CCS adapter, and energy raise gate.

Premium ($48,850): This trim provides ventilated entrance seats, a rear digital camera mirror, driver’s seat reminiscence perform, a 9-speaker JBL audio system, and a panoramic fastened glass roof.

CG Says:

The 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland is a enjoyable and succesful EV with loads of vary for most individuals. It’s comfy, quiet, and fast. Plus, it has loads of customary facilities that assist steadiness out the value tag. If you happen to take a look at the Restricted trim bZ, it prices the identical as the bottom bZ Woodland. In case you missed it, we loved our transient time with the 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland, and we will’t wait to spend extra time with it.

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