CAR OF THE WEEK: Toyota’s C-HR still has a lot to do

BY BRIAN BYRNE

WHEN I saw the first generation of Toyota’s C-HR in 2017, I said there was an awful lot going on with the styling.

I wondered if it would date well, and how the next generation could differentiate itself.

Well, that next generation has been here since New Year’s, and I have some answers.

The answer to the first question will always be the customer. And it seems the C-HR has been consistently well received by those who want something different in their compact crossover.

As recently as 2022, it was Toyota Ireland’s second best-selling model, a space it has filled several times since launch, while otherwise riding happily in third place. As for what they might do with a new generation, the adage of not fixing something that isn’t broken still applies.

While it’s with some quite sharper details that move things along, it’s essentially the template as before.

The front now has an “I’m coming to eat you” look that adds a touch of hawkishness to what was the least interesting part of the original’s style.

The C-HR plays in a difficult market. Hyundai’s Kona and Skoda’s Karoq book it in terms of size, and it also stacks up against the Mazda CX-30 and some premium players.

Compared to its own bestseller brother Corolla, the C-HR is slightly shorter, but a lot wider and higher.

With the same platform area as before, the interior offers the same good space for four adults, and five if younger teenagers are involved.

The dashboard styling is comfortable in the familiar current Toyota details, with my test car having the larger 12.3-inch infotainment screen providing really good space for my favorite Google Maps navigation via CarPlay.

The driver’s instrument cluster has nice bright and unpretentious graphics and, as usual with Toyota, all button and switch labeling is clear and straightforward.

Climate control is via rocker switches below the central display, while the electronic transmission selector looks good and works neatly.

For me as a driver, the whole space felt good. The steep slope of the rear window limited rearward visibility quite a bit, but good mirrors and a decent reversing camera balanced things out when needed.

In saying that the finish quality is Toyota’s, I don’t need to say more. My test car was the Sol grade, a few steps up the specification ladder, including seats finished in a comfortable mix of faux suede and fabric that I suspect contains a lot of recycled material. The 19-inch alloys looked very good.

Here in Ireland the C-HR now comes exclusively as a hybrid model, with a choice of 1.8 or 2.0 primary engines… and there’s a recently available plug-in hybrid option that I haven’t driven yet.

The hybrid is what we have come to expect from the brand, a CVT automatic transmission that draws its power from petrol or electric as circumstances require. Colleagues sometimes sniff around CVT, but I have always liked the system. It won’t feel sporty, but it doesn’t have to if it does its job well.

And it does. Toyota claims a combined fuel consumption of 4.8L/100km, and I averaged 4.4L/100km, so I was happy not to be oversold there.

Overall, I generally feel comfortable in a Toyota.

This latest C-HR is no exception. Together with loyal customers, they also managed to adequately answer the only questions I ever had about the model. Can’t ask for more.