Ever since Ash Tucker’s friends began telling him electric cars are not suitable for long road-trips or unplanned journeys, the Toyota bZ4X owner has been on a mission to set the record straight.
“I like to prove them all wrong,” he smiles, as his wife Kerry joins him in listing the European destinations they visited last year in their family’s Toyota bZ4X: “Bruges, Brussels, Rotterdam, Luxembourg, Basel, Nancy….”
The family, based in King’s Lynn, know exactly how to use their all-electric bZ4X, taking it on many European road trips and using it as transportation to family football games – nothing short of the active lifestyle the bZ4X was crafted for.
A European road-trip by EV
“We ordered our bZ4X 150kW Motion in Sterling Silver and it arrived in March 2024. A few weeks later we set off in our electric vehicle and drove 1300 miles on our first northern European road-trip,” says Ash.
That first road-trip in the bZ4X encouraged the family to travel even further. With this in mind, their next stop had to be Italy. This resulted in an “almost 2000 miles round-trip”, visiting the likes of AC Milan’s football stadium as well as a quick pit-stop at Disneyland on the journey back home.
EV charging in Europe
“The European charging network is fantastic – there are charging stations every 20km or so,” is Ash’s verdict on recharging on the continent. “We stopped 13 times to charge. It takes about half an hour to get it [the battery] to 80%, but most of the time when we stop for a battery top-up we usually need a toilet break too, so we don’t really notice the charging time.”
Dealership and reliability
‘You have to adapt to the future’
Working at Leziate Garage as a vehicle mechanic, Ash believes electric vehicles are here to stay: “I’ve trained on EVs – the [mechanic] business would be left behind without future-proofing. And as a mechanic, I think it’s important to own a car I don’t see in my [repairs] garage.
“To me the Toyota name stands for confidence and reliability,” he adds. “So it was a no-brainer to get an all-electric bZ4X. I’d not heard of the model before but the salesman at Steven Eagell had a really good approach. I was covered in mud, from playing football – my son too. There was no judgement. He took lots of time and lent us a demonstration bZ4X for 24 hours to get a proper feel for it.”
Comfort and convenience
As first-time Toyota owners, the bZ4X truly was the first taste of that electric Toyota feeling for Ash and Kerry.
‘It’s lovely to drive – so comfortable and spacious. All the buttons are in just the right places and the view of the instruments is spot on.’
When they’re back on home turf, the bZ4X is a core component of the family’s lifestyle, with Kerry regularly taking the car for “long and irregular trips” to transport her son to his football matches.
‘With a charged-up range of 287 miles, I just use it in the same way I’ve always used a conventional car. I just have to plug it in when I get home for its scheduled overnight charging.’
Toyota bZ4X’s technology and features
The bZ4X strives to create a safe driving environment for all, whether you’re the driver, a passenger, or another road user.
The electric vehicle’s safety features came in handy when travelling abroad, with Kerry highlighting the practicality of the car’s blind spot indicators, which were especially useful when the family were navigating unfamiliar continental roads on the opposite side of the road compared to the UK.
The convenience of the bZ4X doesn’t end there. As with all Toyota cars, the MyToyota app is crucial in alleviating any of those minor worries and inconveniences. In Ash’s case, that means opening the app on his smartphone to check the car has been securely locked or using the remote control features to “pre-heat the car before getting in on a cold morning”.
Plans for future road-trips
The family are already planning next year’s Toyota bZ4X road-trip to Gibraltar via Spain. It wouldn’t be a Tucker family road-trip if this didn’t involve a few more football stadia, and doubtless another visit to a well-known theme park as they draw a close to another European tour by electric vehicle.
As for the car…
‘It’s on a three-year contract and I’ll definitely have another one’ – Kerry
Please note: The interview for this article was conducted via a third-party contractor on 28 October 2025 and is solely based on an independent account of a current bZ4X 150kW Motion customer (owner since March 2024). All experiences expressed are personal and not to be taken as a broad customer experience. Any purchase cost or running cost price comparison in this article is subject to personal use and can vary depending on factors such as selected grade and transmission, accessories fitted (post registration), driving style, weather conditions, speed, vehicle and battery age/condition, government scheme and vehicle load. This article shouldn’t be taken as a typical customer experience.
