Toyota bolsters its EV line-up with the bZ4X Touring, a high-riding electric estate

The word ‘touring’ has gone through many evolutions during its storied career in the motoring world. In the early 18th century, at the dawn of the automotive era, the etymology was an open-bodied car designed for long-distance travel, typically with a fold-down soft top, at least four seats and room for luggage. They were practical and built for road trips before enclosed saloons became the norm.

In the 1930s, ‘touring’ started to get a high opinion of itself – much like Seiko to Grand Seiko – and became ‘grand touring’. It was no longer just concerned with practicality; it was about being seen in comfort and luxury. The concept merged seamlessly with the tradition of European aristocracy finishing their schooling with a grand tour across the continent.

The ‘touring’ designation subsequently set aside its heirs and graces for a grittier persona in order to compete in motorsport. As modified production saloons and sometimes hatchbacks, ‘touring’ was redefined to be synonymous with one of the most hardcore and aggressive racing classes to date.

As time went on, ‘touring’ decided to settle down, get married and have 2.5 kids. Now, life was about going on family holidays to the south of France and coping with the demands of adulthood in a well-appointed living room on wheels.

With such a distinguished legacy, it stands to reason that testing a new ‘touring’ car – as per its contemporary definition – would be wasted on the North Circular. To truly understand whether the new Toyota bZ4X Touring lives up to its lineage, it needs to be thrown in the deep end where the scenery, food and language no longer resemble home. Thus we find ourselves on the banks of Lake Bled in Slovenia.

East of gelato-land and south of the parliamentary republic of Apfelstrudel, tucked away in the Julian Alps is the most desktop screensaver body of water you’ve ever seen. Comparable to Como, sans the disgraced American news anchors and Russian oligarchs. In the summer, Lake Bled is a bolthole for those escaping the sweltering hustle and bustle of the capital, Ljubljana, and in winter it’s the gateway to Slovenian alpine skiing.

Up in the mountains, down by the lakes and even in the centre of the city, there’s a welcome hush across Slovenia, a country half the area of Switzerland with a population a quarter the size. All you’ll find in the Carniolan hinterland is Balkan bird song and the faint smell of homemade schnapps on the breeze. Adding ‘whoop-tsssh’ turbo dump-valve noises into these tranquil surroundings would be uncouth.

Thankfully, the bZ4X Touring is a more practical, boxy version of Toyota's first fully electric SUV, now with almost double the boot space - enough room for 669 bottles of Slavic moonshine. Beyond mere looks, the bZ4X Touring is built for all-terrain, all-purpose family life, whether that’s picking up the kids from school with the dog and the weekly shop in tow, or a 3,000-mile summer holiday continental road tripper.

Our route through the Slovenian highlands is littered with dramatic hairpins, a dense tree line, and loose gravel roads teetering on the edge of near vertical drops that make you nervous to look down – the perfect proving ground.

Toyota keeps it simple with the new bZ4X Touring, you can either opt for Design trim, which comes with a front-wheel drive setup, or the all-wheel drive Excel trim. Although power between the two looks vastly different on paper, 221bhp compared to 376bhp, the instant torque and acceleration from the electric powertrain minimises the disparity you’d feel if those figures came from an engine.

Unsurprisingly, the front-wheel drive version, at speed, isn’t as composed, throw it around tight bends and the rear tyres let out excited little squeals. There’s an endearing fallibility to it that shows the kind of playful character we all too often bemoan electric vehicles lack. Switch over to the all-wheel drive model though and it won’t be unsettled.

Its confidence is palpable as we venture onto gravel roads – the kind of chunky gravel that would twist an elderly rambler's ankle walking home from the pub. Some cars can get so confused by loose surfaces that it’s a pain to get them to understand what’s happening. You end up sitting there scrolling through endless drive modes pleading with it to stop flicking up stones like a hooligan.

The b4ZX Touring needs none of that, its grip control system immediately comprehends the terrain and sends you flying up a 10% incline with no uncertainty. Toyota would deny it, but it feels like the company has leant on its rally car expertise and built a family car-sized rallying machine. Another feather in the ‘touring’ cap.

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A subtle nod to Toyota’s motorsport background are the flappy paddles behind the steering wheel. Obviously, they don’t control any gears but instead allow you to toggle between four levels of regen in a tactile downshifting motion. It brings back the driving participation that EVs so often lose with one pedal driving, lane assist this and brake assist that.

One of the most remarkable things about the bZ4X is that it doesn’t feel like a heavy car because the secret is, it’s not. With a kerb weight of just two tonnes, it leaves plenty of room for luggage in the boot, up to 80kg of gear on the roof, passengers in the back and a trailer hauling 1500kg with the all-wheel drive model. We’ve entered an era of chronic bloat on all tech fronts, including electric cars, so it’s refreshing to drive something with a little Ozempic fuel injection.

Naturally, the all-wheel drive model takes a hit on range with an official estimate of 297 miles. Design can deliver up to 366 miles on a fully charged battery and both versions come with a slightly larger battery than the standard bZ4X. The key differences emerge in the interior specification, where Excel adds heated rear seats, ventilated front seats, panoramic sunroof and a digital rearview mirror which doubles as a normal mirror.

So, does it live up to its ‘touring’ forebears? The bZ4X Touring doesn’t conform to any traditional ‘touring’ concept but it’s all the better for it as it borrows the best bits from each iteration of its namesake. Regardless of its place in the complex web of automotive model naming, it’s most assuredly a reliable workhorse that will take in football practice, ballet lessons, and family trips to Slovenia and back with no complaints and a smile on its face.

Toyota bZ4X Touring, Design from £45,995, Excel from £51,695, Toyota.co.uk, @ToyotaUK