Toyota C-HR review

This is the second generation of Toyota’s C-HR, a mid-size crossover that started life in 2017 as a funky SUV commissioned by Toyota boss Akio Toyoda as a sort of experiment to see what the company could do. A toe in the water, with no expectation of how it might sell. 

Much to the company’s own surprise it sold in far bigger numbers than expected. Up to 330,000 or so C-HRs a year rolled out globally, with customers sold on the blend of sensible shoes powertrains and funky styling.

Bit more pressure for the second one...

You’d think so, but clearly Toyota hasn’t felt the need to play it safe. If anything, the newer one is even more out there than the original. Which is good, because it means the car stands out in a heavily congested part of the car market that includes the Nissan Qashqai, Seat Ateca, Citroen C3 Aircross and Ford Puma.

It slots into the Toyota range above the Aygo X and Yaris Cross. But it's smaller than the RAV4, which is quite a chunky thing these days. In most of the world there's now a thing called Corolla Cross, which is the same size as the C-HR but has a boxier outline for more interior space and outward vision.

It looks... striking.

It does, doesn’t it? The C-HR hits all the latest trends to go for a full house in design bingo: two-tone paints, contrasting roof, slimline LED headlights, aero-led styling and even this season’s must-have full-width rear light bar. Better aero helps economy at motorway speeds. But not much, because the frontal area has grown, and the wheels now go up to 20 inches.

Toyota says the C-HR is designed for people "who are not afraid to stand out". The irony, of course, of the C-HR’s ‘something a bit different’ schtick is that there are thousands of other people feeling equally individual behind the wheel of their mass market SUVs from one of the world’s largest carmakers.

Is it hybrid only now?

All C-HRs are electrified now, but just one has a plug. There are both 1.8- and 2.0-litre engines available as prime movers, just as with the Corolla, with the regular Toyota hybrid system. Boosted by their motors at full throttle, they give total system outputs of 138 and 193bhp.

There’s no EV option, but there is a plug-in hybrid with that same 2.0 engine, and because the electrical system is more juiced up, you've got a total of 223bhp. And up to 41 miles of range, claims Toyota, thanks to a 13.6kWh battery.

What’s it like inside?

The interior is jazzed up from what we’d usually expect inside a Toyota. The 50 shades of grey plastic have been given fancy new textures and patterns, and there’s certainly a better variety of material inside. It feels more premium than before.

Maybe most important for modernising the car, the instrument and touchscreens are about two full generations on from the old car's. Toyota screens were pretty ugly before but they're up to par now.

It looks a bit cramped though.

The sloping roofline does impinge on headroom for tall adults in the back. And the small side glass means this isn't the perfect transport for kids prone to car sickness, or indeed those who like to look out of the window. But the actual legroom and bootspace aren't bad. See the Interior section of this review for more.

Does it drive well? 

Although it sits on a standard global platform used on many other Toyotas, this C-HR was designed, engineered and tuned in Europe. The engineers aimed for better handling for European conditions, with no penalty in ride comfort. And (as we'll see in the Driving section of this review) they succeeded.

To paraphrase Kate Moss, though, nothing tastes as good as decent fuel economy feels (and 60mpg WLTP is very decent indeed). The hybrid tech is still the main draw on the C-HR, and it's a great way to put off having to go full EV for a little while longer.

Even if you don’t like the way the C-HR looks, you’ve got to hand it to Toyota for sticking to its guns. Not just on the styling either: the hybrid system is the most effective it’s ever been, and immediately renders talk of diesels or downsized turbocharged petrols (yawn) moot. 

It’s a good small family car, offers neat if unsporty handling and it’s well mannered in normal mooching around. It's refined too, and the safety gadget count is high. So if you like the look of it, there's very little that counts against it.