Toyota C-HR

TOYOTA QUIETLY GOES about the business of being first surprisingly often. You wouldn’t necessarily know it, but it has an impressively high number of technical ‘world firsts’ in its back catalogue, and during its history it has been given more than 100 awards by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan.

Toyota is probably most noted for its work with petrol hybrid technology – a strategy that looks ever more sensible in light of urban air quality issues – but is no slouch when it comes to model innovation, either. There are plenty of cars whose makers would like to claim they were the first small, funky SUV, but the RAV4 of 1996 is right up there among them.

Toyota’s latest model, the C-HR, might prove just as significant again for the company. This time, it’s not the first crossover, but it does things its own way and revitalises the Toyota range, following the recently revised Prius with a new-found fearlessness in design and showing absolutely no compromise as it maintains Toyota’s commitment to petrol and electric powertrains.

Aimed at replacing a number of five-door offerings in the firm’s international line-up, the C-HR is one of the most convincing crossovers we’ve driven in a long time. The funkiness of its exterior design is mirrored inside, where Toyota has again discovered a new level of excitement and interest. Perhaps that’s because it was designed with Europe in mind first – one of the most liberal and accepting markets for cars that look and feel interesting. But it’s notable that since the car’s announcement, Toyota markets throughout the rest of the world – including Japan – have decided that they’d like some C-HR action themselves. That’s the mark of a game-changing car.