Toyota C-HR review

The C-HR is a great car to drive with superb comfort, great handling and engines that are both quick to respond and efficient. The interior is well-built with easy-to-use controls and infotainment system. It’s practical with hard-wearing materials and a great driving position. The C-HR has lots of tech, from a connected touchscreen phone and navigation system to the latest driving safety aids.

Its unique design and practical interior have earned it a number of awards from the likes of Auto Trader and Parkers. In 2019, the C-HR was updated with some styling changes and an all-hybrid line-up but every model looks great and drives just as well.

The interior is well laid out with hard-wearing materials and lots of equipment. The driving position is excellent and all the controls are within easy reach, ensuring a relaxing drive. Instruments such as the speedometer are clear and there’s a useful driving information screen that gives you helpful stats like your fuel consumption and distance to the next fill-up. The touchscreen infotainment system sits on top of the dash making it easy to see and use while driving.

The seats are comfortable with plenty of adjustment controls so you can find your best driving position. Rear seat passengers have lots of legroom but taller adults might have their headroom compromised slightly by the sloping roof, and the back can feel a little dark at times due to the small windows.

Boot space is less than most rivals but still allows for a small pushchair or a couple of medium size suitcases and it’ll easily cope with the monthly grocery shop.

The updated 2019 models have a more dynamic look and the interior is slightly better with its ambient lighting and improved design.

The C-HR is great to drive and, thanks to its compact size, is easy to park. The engines deliver decent power and there’s a fantastic driving position with great visibility of the road. The hybrids are the most popular, particularly the 1.8-litre engine and from 2019 all models were hybrid. This makes perfect sense as they are very economical and have low running costs. You’ll find that the C-HR is comfortable on both city drives and long journeys. There’s a choice of front or all-wheel drive but the former will be more fuel efficient.

The Toyota C-HR is priced competitively against its rivals. Hybrid models are the most efficient to run, promising very good fuel consumption as high as 59 mpg. There’s also a zero-emission EV (electric vehicle) mode for city driving which further reduces running costs. Road tax is low and even zero on some of the hybrid models, while insurance costs are also inexpensive. Servicing and maintenance bills for Toyota are usually low and they even offer service plans on used models.

Toyota is renowned for its reliability and most C-HR models will have part of the excellent five-year/100,000 mile warranty left.

The C-HR really stands out when it comes to safety. Not only does it have a 5-star safety rating from Euro NCAP, but it has lots of electronic safety features as standard. These include things like lane departure warning that advises you if you start to wander out of your lane on the motorway. There’s also autonomous emergency braking, meaning the car can apply the brakes itself to avoid a collision, and adaptive cruise control so the C-HR can cruise on the motorway maintaining the correct speed and distance from the car in front.