Toyota bZ4X Long Term Review

Wipe out

My wife says I’m obsessed with rear wipers. That’s a bit strong, but I can’t see why they were standard on a basic Austin Metro when I was a kid and now we have to do with out them.

Actually, I can see why we are forced to do without them. They cost the car maker money, add weight and complexity and aren’t pretty either. But no amount of cameras, special hydrophobic coatings or aerodynamic aids can clear the screen when you want to reverse out of a space on a misty morning.

The bZ4X doesn’t have a rear wiper. This annoys me. Especially since the Toyota’s reversing camera gets so dirty. It means I now carry a cloth around to wipe the glass and the lens so I’m able to park.

Apologize, again

Another bit of more modern tech which I’ve become used to in the last few years is Apple CarPlay. This means you can do all sorts of things, but one of the most useful is getting the car to read out your messages and allowing you to respond using voice recognition.

Barring a few amusing mispronunciations this generally works well, but the Toyota seems to have a bug which is so ridiculous that I now show it off as a party trick.

It starts off well, reading out the message with no problems. It then asks if you’d like to reply. Whatever you say, Siri then chimes in to ask you to repeat it, but the car seems to be listening too. It says “sorry” and then replies to itself, saying: “There is no need to apologise”. Just when you think it can’t get any sillier, it starts playing a song called Apologize by a chap called Timbaland. I’d never heard of him before getting the bZ4X but its now my most played song on Spotify.