Standing out from the crowd
WHEN I was little I was great at spotting types of car. I wasn’t quite up to spotting the difference between an Austin Mini and a Morris Mini but I knew my Morris Minors from my Ford Prefects. Presumably there are small kids today equally absorbed by car spotting.
It must, however, be harder these days. The difference between a Ford Escort and a Vauxhallviva was absolutely obvious but between a Kia Stonic and a Hyundai Kona? Not so easy and I do this for a living.
One car that really does stand out as being different is Toyota’s C-HR – or to give it its full name, Coupe-high Rider.you can spot one of these distinctive crossovers from several-hundred metres.
And they’re a regular sight, with 400,000 sold in Europe since its launch three years ago – 50,000 of those to British customers.
It’s facelift time for the C-HR and, with a hit on its hands,toyota hasn’t messed too much with the styling.there are new front and rear bumpers (because these are cheap to change), new lights, two new designs of alloy wheels and – if you are really observant – you’ll notice the fog lamps are moved further out on the front bumper.
Bigger changes have taken place under the bonnet.when the car was launched you could buy both conventional and hybrid versions but, according to Toyota, eight out of 10 buyers went for the latter.
It’s made sense, then, to only sell the £31,750
Petrol – 2.0 182bhp 0 to 62mph in 8.2 seconds, 112mph top speed
49.56 - 54.32mpg 119g/km Seat Ateca, Peugeot 3008, Volkswagen T-roc 7/10 hybrid model in the UK. Buyers still have a choice to make, as the entry-level C-HR is now the 1.8-litre hybrid and there’s a new 2.0-litre engine borrowed from the Corolla.
The former produces 120bhp and the bigger engine 181bhp. Since it’s new, it’s the two-litre C-HR we’re testing this week. It’s in Excel spec and therefore costs £31,750. There’s only one option fitted to our test car and that’s metallic paint at £545.
THERE has been one crucial change inside the car.the infotainment system, with Apple Carplay and Android Auto connectivity, is fitted as standard.although not quite a Luddite, I don’t like a lot of gadgets in a car; many of which are complicated to use and aren’t really needed.
One thing I do like is smartphone pairing. I couldn’t believe Toyota launched its new Corolla without it. Presumably, as the C-HR has done, it will catch up.
The real advantage of Apple Carplay in this Toyota is it means that you don’t have to use the rather poor-quality infotainment system itself and can navigate via phone apps and listen to music on your phone.
Little else has changed in the interior. While the C-HR looks cool and sporty from the outside, the downside is the coupe styling robs space in the rear. For those in the back it’s claustrophobic.
Now to the new engine.with an extra 61bhp you’d expect the 2.0-litre car to be considerably quicker off the mark than the 1.8 but an improvement of only 0.2sec on the 0-62mph time (it’ll do that sprint in 8.2sec) is barely worth noting.
What you will notice is the extra 48Nm of torque. The engine drives through Toyota’s CVT or constantly variable transmission which, when you’re aggressive on the throttle, sends the revs shooting up, making the engine sound coarse.that extra torque makes the C-HR’S engine much more responsive and willing to perform so you’ll need to rev the engine less often.
Official fuel consumption figures using the now standard (and recently made so) WLTP testing procedure is 49.6-54.3mpg. The 2.0-litre engine is 10 per cent thirstier than the smaller, less-powerful unit but I think the performance and better response of the bigger motor is worth having.
The car has two electric motors, one for energy capture during braking and another to power the C-HR when in full EV mode.
Electric power chips in regularly, even at high speeds on motorways.toyota mastered hybrids long ago and this one slips seamlessly between electric and combustion-engine power.
Engineers have worked on the facelifted C-HR’S refinement and reduced cabin noise. The suspension has also been tweaked to give a more comfortable ride and to sharpen up the handling. If you’ve bought a C-HR for its sporty looks you won’t be too disappointed by how it drives as, for a crossover, it’s really quite good fun.
The 2020 C-HR is definitely better than the original, the new engine works well and the adoption of smartphone mirroring is a small but welcome addition.
Toyota should be able to start shifting its next 50,000 C-HR now sales are restarting and dealerships managing to function.