2024 Toyota bZ4X gets better cold-weather charging and feature upgrades

Toyota is taking the slow and steady road to putting compelling battery-electric offerings on the market. The bZ4X, its first and so far only BEV, enters its second model year with a major upgrade, a few new features, and a higher price.

Some might remember that barely a month after the bZ4X launched in 2022 as a 2023 product, outlets ran stories about slow charging in cold weather. A mix-up with PR copy didn't help matters, the automaker eventually clarifying, "As temperatures decrease below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), charging time will increase significantly. For the bZ4X AWD model, charging may slow down more than other models in weather conditions below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and may not be possible when the temperature drops to around -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) and below." Future owners could spend less time waiting in cold weather, Toyota saying it improved the battery's heat regulation by adding a water-to-water heat exchanger and a heating adjustment valve, resulting in faster DC charging in cold temperatures. We don't have numbers to gauge the potential change, though, such as whether there's still a hard limit below -4 degrees.

Charging will be less fussy and more informed as well. Both XLE and Limited trims will come with a portable charging cable able to handle 120-volt Level 1 and 240-volt Level 2 charging. The cable sold with the 2023 model was good for Level 1 only. When out and about, every buyer and lessee will enjoy a year of free charging with EVgo. And UI designers added a charging information screen to the multi-information display showing details like state-of-charge percentage, estimated time to an 80% charge, and estimated range while charging. This last feature will be available to owners of the 2023 bZ4X, but they'll have to visit a dealer for that download. The electric crossover is enabled for OTA updates, but not that one. As we said, slow and steady.