Hybrid working
The weird thing about Toyota is its different personalities You’ve got the mainstay home appliances your minicabs and grey family cars the crazy eyed sporty stuff the go anywhere peacekeeping off roaders A stranger notion of late has been the expanding set of cool Toyotas the sheep in wolves’ clothing The first gen C HR crossover was a gamble Toyota didn’t know if there would be a market but then over of them a year rolled out the factory A conservative second generation was thus guaranteed but it’s a nice surprise to see the latest is more bonkers looking than the first
It nails the season’s must have trends two tone paint contrasting roof slimline LED headlights aero led styling check out the flush doorhandles and a rear light bar Inside it’s as racy as a Toyota gets you’ll be wowed by the exciting textures and various tiers of dash that give it the air of an off duty water feature The centre console and window line make the cabin seem more cramped than it is really but the comfortable seats make for relaxed cruising
Not quite so comfortable in the back with legroom merely adequate But then it’s easy to forget this is a fairly small car and who carries passengers? The litre boot is a decent size and the powered tailgate standard on all but the entry trim feels like overkill but it’s a nice bit of trickledown from grown up cars The panoramic roof is supposed to lighten things up but doesn’t have a shade so it’s been given the ‘thermal comfort’ treatment The trick seems to be blocking out the sun rendering it pointless on all but the sunniest day
The C HR drives well not fun per se but it’s not a duffer The ride is smooth and the car resists lean through the corners The hybrid setup has long been the weakness but even that’s been developed so the thrashy high revving is mostly kept to a minimum There are bhp litre and bhp litre petrol hybrid options at the moment the PHEV comes later this year miles of e range from a kWh battery we’d go for the this car has no business accelerating too hard
So it’s a solid choice but this bit of the market is rammed The C HR can’t hide its sensible underwear nor escape the inherent irony in its off the rack personality and tens of thousands of other drivers reveling in the individuality of their mass market crossovers from one of the world’s biggest carmakers Just check the neighbours don’t have one already before you sign on the line