The 2026 Toyota bZ Woodland stretches farther than the standard bZ by nearly six-inches and offers all-terrain tires to expand its use, if not its range.

What’s Good: Lots of easy-to-reach cargo space. Respectable 8.4-in of ground clearance. Sit down-shut up-and hold on levels of power.

What Could Improve:  Acquired taste, visually speaking. Small and distant digital instrument cluster. Middling driving range in today’s world.

My Conclusion: Practical, useful, and powerful plaything for folks with a penchant for heading away from civilization, but hopefully not too far from a charging station.

OVERVIEW

Brand new for 2026, Toyota brings us the bZ Woodland. A twin to the Subaru Trailseeker, the bZ Woodland runs on the same platform as the bZ, the e-TNGA dedicated battery electric vehicle platform. But Toyota lengthened it 5.6-in and, with a set of taller all-terrain tires, added 0.2-in of ground clearance, 8.4 inches in total.

You also get more power than the bZ, courtesy of mounting the larger electric motor on both the front and rear axle. The Woodland comes standard with the all-wheel-drive, and the larger of two battery packs offered, this one a 74.7-kWh lithium-ion pack. But the aforementioned raises the base price considerably as well. You need at least $46,750 to leave the dealer in one.

Then again, Toyota packed a lot of good in the bZ Woodland, especially if you eschew pavement on the weekends. Indeed, I did exactly that and wrote about it for Gear Junkie, click here for that adventure.

powertrain

Toyota kept things simple in the bZ Woodland, it gets the larger battery-pack, twin-electric motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain as standard equipment. Each electric motor makes the same 224 horsepower and 198 lb.-ft of torque. Theoretically, then, the bZ could potentially have 448 horsepower and 396 lb.-ft. Unfortunately, the battery can only supply so much energy. That curtails peak power to “only” 375 horsepower.

Then again, we’re talking about a compact station wagon/crossover with 375 horsepower. And because electric motors make peak torque from near zero rpm, you do get the full 396 lb.-ft. to use. That makes this humble, compact machine a straight-line barnburner!  Toyota claims 60 mph from rest takes just 4.4 seconds! It’s quick.

Bury the accelerator and the Woodland immediately shoves you back in to the seat and propels your forward like an F-18 launching off an aircraft carrier. Such power makes passing on a two-lane a two-second-long affair. And that’s without any wheel slip, thank you standard all-wheel-drive.

Driving Range and Charging

Unfortunately, getting used to these antics will no doubt dig into your driving range distance, which is already less than stellar. When equipped with the standard all-season tire, you’ll manage 281 miles between charges, Toyota reckons. Go for the no-cost option all-terrain tire, and that drops to just 260 miles. That is—at best—average.

Moreover, Toyota stuck with a 400-volt system in the Woodland, which limits peak charging power to 150 kW on a DC fast charger. As a result, it will take half an hour to reach 80 precent state of charge if you start with 10 percent. Fortunately, Toyota installed a NACS port to make finding a charger much easier. And overnight charging on a 240-volt system will top off the batteries in an easy seven hours.

chassis

Just like the standard bZ, the Woodland makes uses of a strut front and multilink rear suspension geometry. It is a four-wheel-independent setup.  And, thanks to the several hundred pound battery pack underneath the floor, the Woodland benefits from a nice and low center of gravity.

That allowed the vehicle dynamics engineers to keep the shocks and springs relatively soft without worrying too much about body roll. In other words, the Woodland feels comfortable on bumpy roads and off-road trails and keeps pretty level when hustling through corners, what a lovely combination.  It’s not a backroad carver, by any stretch, but its competent.

I drove a bZ equipped with the all-season tire on the roads and it felt fine, and looked appropriate enough, 235/60R18s filled the wheel well nicely. But then I drove one equipped with the taller all-terrain tires, 235/65R18s, and it felt fine on the road, too. I didn’t hear any significant difference in road noise.

Once I reached a trail and ventured off-road a bit, if continued to feel fine. I appreciated the extra 0.2-in of ground clearance the taller tires granted me and the general surefooted feel of the Woodland. IT will march up steep grades of loose gravel and uneven surfaces at a nice and steady clip.

When things do get trickly, Toyota includes an X-mode system and Grip. The former helps distribute torque to the appropriate wheel to find grip. The latter works much like Crawl Control, Toyota’s off-road cruise control system. I tried both and found them handy.

Finally, you can tow up to 3500 lbs. behind the bZ Woodland. A respectable number. But I would keep a close eye on driving range, if you do.

Inside

A fair amount of the added length of the Woodland went into the cargo area. Here, choosing between the base and premium trims make a difference. The premiums get the nine-speak JBL sound system, which includes a subwoofer. That digs into the cargo area a touch. But—honestly—its spacious either way. In the standard Woodland, you get 34 cu.-ft with the seats up and 74 cu.-ft. with them folded. The premium version, those figures drop to 33 cu.-ft and 72 cu.-ft, respectfully. Less space, still a lot. Access to that space comes from a standard power liftgate, by the way.

Both trims offer the passengers 95 cu.-ft of space to use, and I found both rows comfortable for adults. The second row provides all the leg, hip, and headroom my five-foot, eleven-inch (181 centimeters) frame demands. And, if you get at all chilly, all but the middle seat in back get heated seats as standard equipment.

In fact, Toyota stuffed a lot of standard equipment in the base Woodland. The driver also keeps hands warm with a heated steering wheel and uses a seven-inch digital instrument cluster and massive, 14-inch center display to keep a read on things. Moreover, the seats offer good amounts of support, and I find the SofTex upholstery cozy. The Woodland also provides four usb-c charge ports and two wireless smartphone charge pads, resting on either side of the rotary dial PRNDL. You even get standard rain sensing wipers, nice touch.

Going Premium

Premium trims do more than offer a cargo area robbing sub-woofer. You also get a lovely, panoramic fixed glass roof, heated and ventilated front seats, and driver seat memory. A lot of what you expect.

But if staying warm rests at the top of your priorities list, the premium trim also gets radiant foot and leg heaters for the front passengers. I can just imagine how amazing that would feel after a day of winter hiking or cross-country skiing.

Finally, premium bZ Woodlands get blind-spot monitoring, as well.

Conclusion

If the higher base price doesn’t rule the bZ Woodland out, I think Toyota built a very useful BEV. You get mega power and a lot of space inside in a compact package. If you need even more space, or want to bring toys, the Woodland also includes standard roof rails.

Just don’t venture too far away from a trusted charging station. And maybe bring a nice magazine to read while there.

Competitors

Nissan Leaf
Polestar 4
Subaru Trailseeker

Specifications

2026 Toyota bZ Woodland: 5-door, 5-seat, crossover SUV
Base price: $46,750 (includes $1450 destination charge)
Price as Tested: $48,850

Powertrain: two electric motors
Elec. motor peak power: 224 horsepower (per motor)
Elec. motor peak torque: 198 lb.-ft (per motor)
Total system power: 375 horsepower
Total system torque: 396 lb.-ft
Transmission: single-speed drive-down gears
Drive: all-wheel-drive

Driving Range
Driving range: 260-281 miles

Dimensions
Length: 190.2/4831 in/mm
Width: 73.2/1859 in/mm
Height: 65.9/1674 in/mm (includes antenna)
Wheelbase: 112.2/2850 in/mm

Weights and Capacities
Curb weight: 4500. (Premium 4545 lbs.)  
Interior volume: 95 cu ft
Cargo volume (seats up/down): 33-34/72-74 cu ft

Calculated weight to power (lbs./HP): 12.0:1-12.1:1
Mfr’s claimed 0-60 mph: 4.4 seconds
Mfr’s claimed Top Speed: NA mph
Government classified size: Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD

Options: na