C-HR a solitude surprise
LOCKDOWN: WHEN STUCK IN ARMAGEDDON-TYPE SITUATION, A TOYOTA IS THE CAR TO BE IN
Updated version still has the sweet 85kW/185Nm, 1.2-litre turbocharged engine.
Itook delivery of Toyota’s updated C-HR on 23 March when life as we knew it was as normal as can be.
Sure, the world was getting into a tizz over this thing called the coronavirus, but here is South Africa, we were still pretty chilled about the whole thing.
And then our president announced lockdown, starting at midnight, 26 March.
We all sat and stared blankly at our TV screens. Many stayed up on 26 March, watching the clock count down while the country ground to an eerie halt.
I will never forget waking on that Friday morning to absolute silence. No traffic, no cyclists, even the birds seemed a little confused and woke up later than usual.
Little could we have imagined that we would still be living under martial-type law well into May and with no concrete end in sight. And I’ve still not taken the C-HR anywhere.
Maybe this is a bit of a blessing in disguise because the changes to the C-HR are cosmetic and technical, not engine related.
And one does not need to be driving all over the place to know what has been updated.
I guess if you ever want to be stuck in an Armageddon-type situation, a Toyota is the car you would want to be in, from a reliability point of view. Our top-ofthe-range, R486 100, 1.2T Luxury CVT model is now a bit better to live with or in, if need be.
You get a new multimedia system that finally upgrades Toyota’s connectivity to include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with full smartphone integration for music streaming and your navigation needs.
All Toyota models now come equipped with Toyota Connect, which includes a once-off complimentary 15GB in-car Wi-Fi allocation.
This allows you the ability to view vehicle telematics and other user features via the MyToyota app. When you need more data, you can just top it up via the app. Easy peasy.
All this new information and multimedia is shown on a bigger screen. The screen size has been increased from 6.1 to 8 inches (20cm). The multi-information display screen has been upgraded from a 3.7-inch unit to 4.2-inch (10cm) offering.
On the safety front, masks and gloves have not been added, but to go with the standard driver, passenger, side, curtain and driver knee airbags, rear seatbelt force limiters and pre-tensioners, the luxury spec model gets a complete suite of electronic driver safety aids.
This comes in the form of the Toyota Safety Sense system, made up of blind spot monitoring, lane change assist, rear cross traffic alert, pre-crash system, adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist. There are a few changes to the exterior styling.
At the front, the bumper now features a wider and larger lower air dam and more vertically positioned side air intakes. The fog lamps are higher and in a more outward position.
At the rear, the new brightred tail lamps are connected by a gloss black spoiler, creating a single clean shape.
New 18-inch turbine-shaped alloy wheels also do duty.
And if colours are your thing, the luxury spec is now exclusively offered in bi-tone configuration – with Passion Red, Nebula Blue and Inferno Orange being the latest tints on offer, paired with a black roof.
The engine is the sweet 85kW/185Nm, 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine. The luxury model only comes with CVT transmission and this engine/ gearbox combination is quite pleasant.
Toyota claim a fuel consumption figure of just 6.3l/100km. We averaged about three litres of fuel per week.
Crazy times we are living in!