A Sweet Set Up
The C-HR has been a mighty strong seller since Toyota lifted the lid on the first-generation compact SUV way back in 2017. The C-HR wowed us willing engines, levels of equipment and that edgy love it or hate it styling. For 2020, the C-HR has been enhanced to cope with its mid life crisis, so here is what’s what.
Available from a Toyota guaranteed price of $32,990, the C-HR still retains its 1.2 litre, 85kW, turbocharged petrol engine but also becomes the eighth model in Toyota’s family to be available with a hybrid powertrain.
The hybrid is a sweet set up, while the 1.2 petrol pulls well, the 1.8 petrol electric combo, also used in the Corolla Hybrid, is a peach, especially when returning fuel consumption figures of 4.3L/100km. Drive is channelled through a slick eight speed CVT gearbox.
You can also have your C-HR with AWD, but you need to go the whole hog and get the range-topping Limited spec.
Styling wise, it still retains its funky coupe lines, but now features revised LED head and taillights, a new front bumper design and new 17 or 18inch alloys, depending on the spec level.
The new C-HR comes with a gaggle of standard kit, including Toyota’s new eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system which at last incorporates Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Safety kit includes pre-collision warning, lane departure warning, radar cruise control, hill descent control, rear cross traffic alert, reversing camera and blind spot monitoring, to name a few.
Limited spec cars get the addition of heated leather seats, 360-degree rear camera and black gloss dash finish.
Rear seat passengers have average head and legroom and entry and exit are easy enough, just mind your head on the sloping roof line. Boot space is rated at 318L, not the biggest, but this is no wagon for lugging all in sundry around for days on end.
On the move in the hybrid, don’t expect a rapid response after giving it a boot full.
The C-HR is much more at home silently zipping along.
Minor tweaks to the suspension and dampers have resulted in the C-HR petrol and hybrid handling very well indeed.
Through the bends you can corner well with little effort required on your part to keep things level.
Parking is a doddle too, though rear visibility is average at best.
Also worth mentioning is ride comfort, it is quite frankly peerless.
After a couple of weeks with petrol and hybrid versions, one can say the little tweaks bestowed by Toyota really complement the C-HR well.
The one you want, in this writer’s opinion is the base Hybrid at $34,990 TGP.
With great levels of kit, silent running, comfort, refinement and the fact it can be quite fun to drive, the 2020 C-HR manages to do nearly everything very well indeed.
