Compare the2026 Toyota bZVS 2025 BMW i5

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota bZ have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The BMW i5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota bZ are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW i5 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the bZ AWD’s standard Downhill Assist Control allows you to creep down safely. The i5 doesn’t offer Downhill Assist Control.

Both the bZ and the i5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Toyota bZ has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The i5 has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.

Toyota’s powertrain warranty covers the bZ 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than BMW covers the i5. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the i5 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 4 times as many Toyota dealers as there are BMW dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the bZ’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than BMW vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 27 more problems per 100 vehicles, BMW is ranked 9th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than BMW vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota third in overall reliability. BMW is ranked 8th.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota bZ electric motors is faster than the i5 eDrive40 electric motor:

The bZ can travel longer on a full charge than the i5 on a full charge:

The Toyota bZ may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 800 to 850 pounds less than the BMW i5.

The bZ is 1 foot, 2.6 inches shorter than the i5, making the bZ easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the bZ’s rear seats recline. The i5’s rear seats don’t recline.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the bZ has standard extendable sun visors. The i5 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The bZ has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the i5.

The Toyota bZ stands out above the BMW i5 by offering not one, but Qi-compatible phone chargers. This convenience helps travelers with multiple devices to keep powered up on-the-go. Wireless charging eliminates lost or cluttered charging cables and two of them provide more flexibility. Both vehicles also offer Qi charging for the rear passengers.