“Toyota have reworked the popular C-HR and taken it to the next level – and it’s still a cracking car”

The C-HR has been with us a little while now, 2017 in fact and owners have really enjoyed the bold styling and usual Toyota traits of efficiency and build quality. This revised version seems even more striking in its overall appearance thanks to nice touches like ultra slimline LED headlamps and a very smart looking full width illuminated rear lighting bar that features a lit-up name badge at night – very smart. Gone are the high level rear door handles to be replaced with a more conforming pop out grab handle when you unlock the car first thing. Bigger 20 inch wheels with a diamond cut polished finish on the GR Sport model really gives the car a welcome touch of sporting prowess and overall I think this new version looks bang up to date with little else on the market even remotely looking similar.

A few passers by commented on the rear full width illuminated side light effect with C-HR logo that glows at night in a resplendent but soft red neon style – this looks amazingly smart in my opinion. The instruments have been revised and the large touchscreen / infotainment unit works better than it used to in the older models and the newer styles of plastics and trim haven’t lost any of the solidity and build quality we have come to expect from Toyota. The only main grip still remains insofar as the C-HR feels slightly claustrophobic for folk sitting in the  back owing to the sloping roofline. Where practicality matters, the C-HR fares well. There’s plenty of stowage space for clutter and chattels and the boot has reasonable capacity for this size of car.

The hybrid package on the test car consisted of a 2.0 petrol unit with over 190bhp on demand and the 16kWh battery claims to run up to 41 miles on electric power (expect to see around 35 to 38 in reality). Performance overall is rather good and refinements over the years with the CVT system has resulted in less decibels when accelerating with vigour. You would expect some harshness in the ride comfort with the GR Sport sitting on pretty 20 inch diamond cut alloys, yet in practice, the ride quality is on the whole very impressive. In fact, take a long haul up the motorway like I did to Cumbria from West Sussex and you will find the comfort, refinement and ease of driving quite remarkable – it really is a splendid car on those long jaunts far away. 

 

Nothing to complain about in terms of standard equipment, all the usual expected items are there and a whole raft of peripheral safety equipment come as standard. All in all though, there is little in general to complain about the C-HR. The tut-tut list is pleasingly short with things like the rear screen wiper has been deleted, the vehicle settings function is complicated to attend to until you have had a good play and worked it out. The steering is still rather lifeless too but that is the normal these days with most of the rivals too. To summarise however, the quality is still really good and the styling has not dated one bit. Add the fact that well over 55mpg is obtainable on motorway driving and the C-HR puts up a damn good show.

I liked the original – and like this one too. It still has the minerals to succeed!

AUTOBRITANNIA RATING: 8/10

THE HUMBLE OPINION:

Despite the original car being launched in 2017, this new variant of the C-HR still looks fresh, unique and bang up to the minute. Toyota have been clever enough no to totally re-invent the model yet despite this there is enough change both inside and out to keep it along side the front runners.

It has lovely quality, comes well equipped and causes conversations at petrol stations and supermarket car parks – great news for Toyota in terms of general interest. Long distance driving is as effortless as a candle-lit bath and those front seats really are some of the very best I have come across – they’ve really done a thorough engineering job on this new version.

It can still frustrate when it come to altering settings via the screen or steering wheel button and so on,  rear visibility is still rather poor too, but I love the styling both inside and out and appreciate the efficiency of the plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Also, it’s not a cheap car, but as the adage goes – you get what you pay for. In this case a well built, well equipped car with a long heritage of reliability. Buy cheap – pay twice as they say.

Still a highly enjoyable and recommended car in my opinion

 

MODEL TESTED: Toyota C-HR GR Sport 2.o

PRICE: £44,095 including safety and premium pack at £3,050 (effective as of June 2026)

POWER UNIT: 2.0 petrol with electric CVT plug-in hybrid system with 193bhp maximum power

PERFORMANCE*: Top Speed 112mph 0 – 60 in 8.1 seconds

EMISSIONS: 111g/km

ECONOMY*: 57.6mpg WLTP combined (55mpg on test)

ELECTRIC DRIVE RANGE: 41 miles WLTP (31 miles on test)

LONGEST HOME CHARGING TIME: Approx 4 to 4.5 hrs from a 13amp socket

WARRANTY: 3 years or 60,000 miles plus a service activated warranty with a limit of 10 years or 100,000 miles (whichever sooner)

INSURANCE GROUPING: 26E

 

WHAT’S GREAT?

• Great built quality inside and out
• Long distance refinement is superb
• Well equipped
• Wonderfully comfortable seats
• Smart and sharp looking styling
• Full width illumination of side lights with model name is properly cool looking
• Effortless to drive
• Efficiency, economy and low running costs
• The promise of the usual Toyota levels of reliability

WHAT GRATES? 

• Fairly poor rearward visibility
• Not the sporting machine that the badge may have you believe
• Rear wiper has been deleted – why???
• Vehicle setting functions can be difficult to fathom at first
• Lifeless steering
• Rear headroom and space for taller occupants a bit tight
• A little bit expensive compared to other models in its class

For further information on the Toyota C-HR CLICK HERE