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Author: Graeme Cobb

  • Toyota bZ4S Touring Goes on Sale this Spring

    Toyota bZ4S Touring Goes on Sale this Spring

    The Toyota bZ4X Touring is an estate version of their refreshed bZ4X Crossover SUV.

    Following a significant refresh in January that includes new batteries, a new dashboard and improved ride with refinement, Toyota is broadening its appeal by creating a crossover estate.

    In the same vein as the Volvo V60 Cross County, Audi A4 Allroad, Subaru Legacy Outback and Skoda Octavia Scout, crossover estate cars were once a sought after commodity, packing enormous space into a car body with some decent soft off-roading capabilities.

    Toyota might be late to the party, but what they’re offering is an alternative to traditional SUVs. But is it more Subaru Forester than Subaru Outback? We’ll let you decide.

    Space and Specs

    The boot is huge at 669 litres and it can also tow up to 1500 kg in all-wheel drive format. One caveat is the front-wheel drive variant can only tow 750 kg, but both versions can carry 70 kg on the roof.

    The bZ4X Touring sits in the D segment at 4,830 mm in length making it 140 mm longer than the SUV version. It’s also 20 mm taller and, if opting for AWD, it includes Toyota’s intelligent XMODE drive control technology and Grip Control ready to tackle slightly tougher terrains.

    The 74.7 kWh battery provides 366 miles of range on the WLTP test cycle for the 224 bhp front-wheel drive version and that range drops to 298 miles for the 380 bhp AWD version.

    Trim Levels

    There are two and a half trim levels to choose from:

    1. Design

      Available in front-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive, it comes with an 11 kW onboard AC charger.
      There’s also roof rails as standard, 18-inch alloy wheels with aero wheel caps, part-synthetic leather, part fabric seats, 6 speakers, a smart digital key, heated steering wheel and a multimedia display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, plus connected cloud navigation.

      2. Excel

      Excel doesn’t include Office 365 as the trim name suggests, but it does include everything from above plus there’s a standard 22 kW AC onboard charger for those lucky enough to have a 3-phase supply to plug into.
      Excel is only available in AWD, but it adds a panoramic roof, driver and front passenger ventilated seats, a rear digital mirror, and advanced park assistance.

      2.5 Excel + JBL

      Choosing this adds adds a 9-speaker JBL premium sound system to the Excel trim level.

      Charging

      DC fast-charging peaks at 150kW which translates to an approximate 30 minutes of time spent at a compatible rapid charger.

      Warranty

      Toyota has an exceptional warranty called Toyota’s Battery Care Program. Toyota says “it covers the battery each year for up to 10 years of vehicle age or up to 650,000 miles driven, subject to an annual battery health check”. Undoubtedly, this bold move supported by an extensive warranty sets it apart from rivals and will provide absolute peace-of-mind to Toyota’s customers. 

      Prices

      Prices start from £45,990 for Design and £51,695 for Excel, with sales of the new Touring beginning in June and deliveries expected from July.

      Author

      Graeme Cobb is a car enthusiast who loves writing about cars, EVs and the automotive industry. 100% Amatuer.

      You can find Graeme on 𝕏 at @graeme_cobb 

    1. Weekly Round-up of Car News – 15 May 2026

      The SMMT reports a flat used car market for Q1 2026

      The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has published its used car sales report for the first quarter in 2026 with a bag of mixed results.

      Volumes of cars changing hands has stayed static at 2,016,232 sales, but the mix that makes up the various car types has seen a significant shift in trends, perhaps partly due to the Middle East conflict and the subsequent rising fuel prices.

      The headline figures are:

      Battery Electric Vehicle transactions surge 32%

      Hybrid car transactions jumped y 27.6%

      Plug-in Hybrid sales dropped -8.9%

      Petrol transactions were flat at -0.06%

      With people searching for ways to reduce costs, a move to a battery electric car can offer the cheapest fue for those that can plug in at home, with the alternative being hybrid cars for those who may not be able to access cheap charging.

      Electrified vehicles combined now account for 11.7% of used car sales.

      Audi Teases the all-new Petchelli sized SUV with the Q9

      With the Q8 discontinued some time ago, Audi has been working on something even more enormous with its 6 or 7-seater Q9 full sized SUV.

      Whilst details are scarce, the Q9 can be specced as a 6-seater for added luxuries, such as fully heated, ventilated Captain’s chairs with optional massaging capabilities.

      The sound system should impress, because Audi has fitted speakers literally everywhere, including the head rests, but they’ve actually added actuators into the seats so that you can “feel” the music, too.

      There’s also a huge 1.5 metre squared panoramic sunroof with a setting to make segments or the entire roof opaque at the touch of a button.

      There’s also three large screens up front, with some for the driver and an additional display for the passenger.

      Studio photo, exterior, power doors

      Ohme and PayPal Team up

      The largest home charging provider and PayPal have teamed up to offer interest free installments for their home chargers.

      By purchasing a charger directly from Ohme, and choosing PayPal, customers will be offered the Pay in 3 option. An initial payment will be taken, and then a further two payments over the next two months – interest free – will be taken.

      Ohme CEO David Watson said “It’s great to be able to offer buyers an additional route to buying an Ohme charger, by spreading the cost with PayPal. With petrol prices being so high, there’s never been a better time to drive an EV and PayPal’s Pay in 3 option will help more drivers to get faster access to cheaper and cleaner home charging.”

      A Legend Returns with the all-new Renault 5 Turbo 3E

      The Renault 5 Turbo of the 1980’s was a rally car derived from the original runabout, but instead of fettling with what was there, Renault ripped the platform apart and stuck a 1,4 turbo-charged engine in the middle, where the rear seats once were.

      What was born was a wild, mid-engined, rear-wheel drive road-ready car with supercar performance in a compressed package, but it looked incredible.

      40 years after the Turbo 2 left production, Renault is returning with an all-electric 70 kWh crazy Turbo 3E

      With 555 hp and a ridiculous 4,800 Nm of torque, the 5 Turbo 3E will charge to 60 mph like a supercar in 3.5 seconds.

      And all this will be demonstrated at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from 9th to 12th July where this crazy tin-pot sized supercar will be storming up the legendary hill.

      Reservations are open with deliveries expected in 2027 for the £140,000+ rally inspired EV.

      Jeep Avenger Gets a Facelift

      The Jeep Avenger has undergone facial reconstruction as it presents its new look to the world.

      There are significant changes to the headlights, DRLs and front bumper assembly, as well as two new colour choices with Forest Green and Bamboo beige.

      Inside its had a significant refresh with a new dashboard, better materials and can now receive over-the-air software updates.

      A new 100 bhp petrol engine with a manual gearbox has joined the hybrid and electric versions that Jeep says is tuned for efficiency.

      All versions, including the 2-wheel drive have various terrain modes that Jeep claims gives it class leading off-road capabilities, coupled with impress approach and departure angles, and hill descent control, this little 4 meter long compact crossover can handle some of the roughest terrain such as the pot-holed streets of the U.K.

      BYD ATTO 2 Gets two Plug-in Hybrids

      BYD is replicating what it does with some of its electric car line-up by offering it’s new plug-in hybrid version with two battery options.

      The 4.3 meter compact SUV comes with either a 7.8 kWh LFP Blade battery in Active trim, or a chunkier 18 kWh battery in Boost trim.

      The Active has a decent 24 miles of electric range, whilst the Boost gets a more usable 54 miles – more than enough for most people’s daily commutes.

      Both can only AC charge only, but they will take up to 3 hours to replenish their batteries.

      Prices for the Active start from £26,995 with the Boost costing from £29,995 undercutting the Volkswagen T-Roc that starts at £31,635.

      Author

      Graeme Cobb is a car enthusiast who loves writing about cars, EVs and the automotive industry. 100% Amatuer

      You can find Graeme on 𝕏 at @graeme_cobb