You’ve got to start somewhere. . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

This is the interior of the first-generation Toyota Prius (2000):

This is a similar shot of the first-gen Toyota bZ4X (2024):

Yes, there is nearly a full demographic generation separating the two.

But the bZ4X makes me think of that Prius.

If you look closely in front of the steering wheel on that early Prius you’ll note that there is no conventional gauge cluster.

That info is displayed in the horizontal slot in the middle of the instrument panel.

There is a more-conventional gauge cluster in the bZ4X in a more-conventional location.

But it is in a binnacle, set further back than is the norm for gauge clusters.

The rationale for both executions is arguably the same: the driver should keep eyes on the road.

While the Prius execution left something to be desired on that account—as in if the driver keeps eyes on the road, then there is the possibility that because there is no ready check of the speed, that could be problematic in terms of potential speeding tickets (although that risk was ameliorated by the lack of pep when you got on the throttle)—the bZ4X approach requires but a slight downward adjustment of one’s eyes to check the speed, a better approach.

The first-gen Prius instrument panel was completely different.

And while the bZ4X’s is more conventional, centered on the standard 12.3-inch touchscreen, there is something of a uniqueness to the interior, such as the use of a fabric on the interior even in places where some polymer would ordinarily be placed and the lack of a glove compartment.

Ten years after the first-gen Prius was released, in a retrospective Toyota acknowledged:

“Not all early reviews were flattering. One car magazine said, ‘With a real-world 35 mpg, this is a car that neither enthusiasts nor greenies can fully embrace.’”

And so far as the bZ4X goes, not all reviews are flattering because the electric vehicle doesn’t go particularly far vis-à-vis competitive electric crossovers:

• XLE grade has an estimated 252-mile range in a front-drive setup; 228 miles for AWD
• Limited grade is 236 miles FWD and 222 AWD

So here’s the thing about the bZ4X that needs to be taken into account: This one is the first Toyota EV, just as that Prius was the first back then.

People liked the first-gen Prius sufficiently well that they bought it and did so in sufficient numbers that there were the second generation and beyond.

People who buy the first-gen bZ4X will probably like it sufficiently well—and there is good reason to, mainly that it is a Toyota, and so it comes with all of the confidence that that brand brings to one’s driveway—and it will lead to future Toyota EVs.

And while they will be better, the current one isn’t bad.