Toyota's most affordable EV is a great car with some bad helicopter parent-y quirks

The Toyota bZ makes the transition from gas-powered cars to EVs a breeze.

Its quirky styling and constant jangles hold it back.

Ben Shimkus/Business Insider The 2026 Toyota bZ rides like an all-electric RAV4 — with some funky design choices.

I drove the bZ, Toyota's most affordable EV, for a week.

The bZ is a great family car that really, really cares about your coffee intake and posture.

Toyota's refreshed, midsize EV — the 2026 bZ — looks nothing like other Toyotas.

Its backside is sharply sloped and angular, giving it a profile that resembles a doorstop.

It might win a Pontiac Aztek lookalike contest.

Step inside, and even the dashboard has some funky angles, including a gauge cluster that sits unusually far back from the steering wheel.

The 2026 Toyota bZ is a very family-friendly SUV with some quirky design choices.

Ben Shimkus/Business Insider Once you get past the initial "Wait, that's a Toyota? " feeling about the design, the SUV quickly starts to feel like an all-electric version of Toyota's massively popular gas-hybrid RAV4 .

That's a huge compliment.

I spent a week and about 300 miles with a front-wheel-drive bZ XLE Plus, which starts at $37,900 and has an EPA-estimated range of 314 miles.

My tester cost $40,468 with premium silver paint and a few accessories.