A Day Behind the Wheel Changed My Perspective on Modern Cars
Last Thursday I spent the day travelling around North Devon setting up a vehicle display for a sponsorship event.
As part of the day, I ended up driving four different Toyota models and, if I’m honest, it was probably the most time I’ve ever spent properly driving modern Toyotas back-to-back.
Now before anyone accuses me of drinking too much of the Toyota Kool-Aid, it’s worth pointing out that my own vehicles are a VW T5 campervan and a rather elderly Vauxhall Corsa.
Neither are exactly cutting-edge.
In fact, before I started working for SCC Toyota, Toyota probably wouldn’t have been the first brand I’d have looked at. Like a lot of people, I knew they were reliable and good on fuel, but I hadn’t really paid much attention beyond that.
After spending a day behind the wheel of four very different Toyota models, I realised just how much modern cars have moved on.
It’s the Little Things
The biggest surprise wasn’t actually the hybrid or electric technology.
It was all the little things.
The huge screens. The fact my phone connected instantly. The sat-nav that actually knew where it was going. Traffic updates that appeared automatically. Music, podcasts, calls and messages all working seamlessly without me having to fiddle around with settings every five minutes.
It sounds daft, but as somebody who usually drives around with a phone mounted to the dashboard and charging cables hanging everywhere, it felt incredibly polished.
Throughout the day I was travelling to places I’d never been before, yet navigation was completely effortless.
I wasn’t thinking about where I was going.
I was just driving.
The cabins themselves were another pleasant surprise. Comfortable seats, plenty of space and a level of refinement that made spending hours behind the wheel feel easy.
I got out at each stop feeling surprisingly fresh.
Technology That Doesn’t Get In The Way
One thing I’ve always wondered about modern cars is whether all the technology becomes a bit much.
The answer, at least in these Toyotas, is no.
The clever stuff mostly stays out of the way until you need it.
Parking sensors help when manoeuvring. Reversing cameras give you confidence in tight spaces. Adaptive cruise control takes some of the strain out of longer journeys.
What really caught my attention, though, was the driver monitoring system in the bZ4X Touring.
Using facial recognition technology, the car can tell whether you’re paying attention to the road and will alert you if it thinks you’re distracted or tired.
Ten years ago that would have sounded like something from a sci-fi film.
Now it’s just another feature quietly working away in the background.
The bZ4X Touring Was a Proper Eye-Opener
The standout vehicle for me was the new bZ4X Touring.
I’ve written plenty about electric vehicles since joining SCC Toyota, but reading about them and actually driving one are two very different things.
The thing that completely caught me off guard was the acceleration.
I knew electric vehicles were supposed to be quick.
I just didn’t realise quite how quick.
The first time I put my foot down, the response was instant.
No hesitation. No waiting. No gear changes.
Just immediate acceleration.
The surge of torque genuinely pushed me back into my seat and, for a split second, it was almost alarming because I wasn’t expecting it.
After years of driving a campervan and a Corsa, it felt like I’d skipped several generations of automotive development in one go.
Thinking About Scotland
What surprised me most wasn’t the acceleration itself.
It was where my mind went afterwards.
Like most campervan owners, some of my favourite memories involve driving around Scotland. The Highlands, mountain passes, steep climbs and those winding roads that seem to disappear into the horizon.
As I drove the bZ4X Touring, I found myself imagining taking it on those same roads.
The instant torque would make light work of the climbs. The low centre of gravity would help it stay planted through the bends. Those tight hairpins that sometimes have my campervan working hard would be dispatched effortlessly.
For the first time, I wasn’t thinking about electric vehicles in terms of charging times or range figures.
I was thinking about how much fun it would be to drive.
And that’s probably the biggest compliment I can give it.
So Has My Opinion Changed?
Absolutely.
Not because Toyota has suddenly become something it isn’t.
But because I realised my perception of the brand was years out of date.
What I found wasn’t just reliability and efficiency.
It was genuinely impressive technology, clever driver assistance features, comfortable interiors and, in the case of the bZ4X Touring, performance that completely exceeded my expectations.
I climbed back into my campervan at the end of the day and still loved it.
But I also came away thinking that modern cars — and modern Toyotas in particular — have moved on a lot further than I had realised.
Sometimes you don’t appreciate how much things have changed until you experience them for yourself.
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