A look at the Toyota CH-R
Say the name Toyota and you immediately think of a car that’s reliable, sturdy and well-engineered. However, apart from a few exceptions over the years you wouldn’t think of a Toyota as being daring – but you can now!
You can now because this is the Toyota C-HR and like some of the very best designs you’re either going to love it or hate it. CHR stands for Coupe High Rider and whilst it may look a little like a Nissan Juke, with its divisive looks, the CH-R is larger and actually rivals the Nissan Qashqai. If you think its sister car, the Toyota Rav 4, is a little ordinary then the CH-R is certainly the antidote. Also, don’t think that it’s a weird Japanese designed irrelevance because the CH-R has been designed with European customers in mind.
Due to the fact we Europeans tend to place design above anything else the CH-R’s interior is like no other Toyota interior in the entire model range. So, what you get is some really funky design shapes, in particular the diamond pattern along the door which is repeated around the central switchgear, the headlining and the interior lighting. We also love the way that the dashboard seems to wrap around the driver. The quality throughout the interior is actually pretty good. There are lots of soft touch plastics dotted around the cabin which makes it easily then best car Toyota makes for quality. The only bugbear we have is that Toyota have installed a digital clock next to the central display screen. For some unknown reason they insist on installing this on every model they make and it just looks so old fashioned. In fact, it looks like something from a used 1990 Toyota Carina.
There are just three trim levels available on the Toyota CH-R and they all look extremely well equipped. The entry level Icon gets an 8 inch touch screen, a reversing camera and dual zone climate control. It also gets a whole heap of safety kit like pedestrian alert, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, automatic high beam lights and adaptive cruise control.
If you move into the back you’ll find that getting in is relatively straight forward due to the car’s raised ride height. It’s also very easy to get comfortable as there’s adequate knee and head room. However, if you’re over 6ft then you might struggle a little bit. Toyota has come up with a device for this though and that’s that you can place your feet underneath the front seat which sinks you down and gives you that little bit more head room. You can fit three people along the back at a push thanks to the virtually flat floor. There’s also easily reachable iSoFix points but the biggest problem this car has is just how claustrophobic it feels at the back. This is pretty much due to the black roof line and highly positioned small window.
Moving on to the boot, the amount of space that’s on offer is equivalent to a family hatchback rather than the more conventional SUV like the SEAT Ateca. You could probably fit two small suitcases in there and that’s once you’ve managed to get them over the quite large boot lip. You can make the boot larger by folding down the 60/40 rear seats and once you’ve done that then you can fit those larger items in. It’s just a shame that there’s a bit of a step between the back of the seat and the boot floor. Also, there’s no clever touches such as a moveable boot floor or underfloor boot storage.
It’s all very straight forward under the CH-R’s bonnet because there’s just the choice of a 1.2 litre turbo petrol or a hybrid model. The latter uses a 1.8 litre petrol engine which is mated to an electric motor. However, despite it using the same petrol and electric motor setup that you’d in the Prius, in the CH-R hybrid it’s nowhere near as good. The electric motor feels very disinclined to ever drive around in full electric mode and when it does you probably only get about a mile of electric range. Happily, the 1.2 litre petrol is better suited if you are a keen driver as it’s very punchy and smooth. Although it’s a little bit coarse at high revs for the most part it is a very smooth and refined engine. It’s particularly more suited to the six-speed manual gearbox and unusually the gearbox blips itself when you’re changing down which adds that little bit of a sporty feeling. The CH-R is pretty economical too. Toyota claims that the car should return 47 miles to the gallon (mpg) meanwhile for the hybrid Toyota claims then 72 mpg is possible.
The 1.2 turbo bolted on to the CH-R actually makes it quite fun to drive. The steering is light and accurate and the body doesn’t roll around as much as you would expect. Despite all of this the ride is pretty good as well. The driving experience is a little different in the hybrid model thanks to the batteries adding some extra weight. So, the car feels just that little bit more ponderous to drive. However, Toyota is realistic and says that the hybrid will appeal more to those people that live in the city than those that like to drive with enthusiasm on country roads. Though, even the most ardent fans of hybrid motoring will find it frustrating. The engine never really wants to travel in EV mode and even gentle applications of the throttle sends the engine revs soaring to a thrashy and coarse drone.
The Toyota CH-R is a surprisingly good car. It has great concept car looks and the interior looks and feel great while the 1.2 petrol model is good fun to drive. However, if you’re in the market to buy a new or used Toyota CH-R then you should definitely take a look at models such as the Peugeot 3008 SUV.
