Toyota C-HR (Coupe High Rider). Reviews start P. 23

UK specs & pricing announced: Toyota C-HR | New Cars | Toyota UK
Only 4 colours available, surely more will come later?

 

i wish US news soon. I'm holding back rom buying HRV

 

I got to drive the car today..! On a track, to be more specific. It was an invitation-only type event. The theme of the day was hybrid, so we had basically all Toyota hybrids on the track that we have available here: Yaris, Auris, Prius, RAV4 and the C-HR. There was a professional driver in the lead car and you got test drive all the cars one after another. It was a really nice event and I had a great time, so thanks to the organizer! You could also try an off-road course with the RAV4 and I was positively surprised as to how bad spots the car was able to clear. I wouldn't have tried them if there hadn't been a professional saying the car can handle it.

Anyways, about the C-HR. The car available was a top spec Hybrid. First impressions: the car is pretty spacious for it's size, I'm close to 190 cm tall and I had no problem fitting in the back seat behind my driving position. The boot is also ok given the car's size (but not huge by any means). The front seats are quite good and give good support in the corners. Compared to the 4G Prius, which was also on the track so you could directly compare, the C-HR has a stiffer chassis and it corners better. There's a lot less body roll. Maybe it's partly because of the better chassis, or maybe the C-HR is a bit heavier, but the Prius felt like it accelerated better (funnily the Auris was probably "fastest" of them all, though not by a big margin). The C-HR definitely could handle a lot more power, which I found a bit lacking. Also the engine noise was different in the C-HR, it felt more noisy than the Prius. So that was a bit of a letdown as well. Overall I can't say much about road noise since we were driving it high revs most of the time. Probably the Prius is better in this aspect.

On the plus side, however, the car looked absolutely stunning live! Even better than it did in the showroom. It's just so different than what most competitors have to offer. Something like Kia Niro quite doesn't compare to it. That's probably also why I'll soon order the car. It just looks so good.

 

Nice.
I'm interesting in kick-down acceleration (e.g., 50-70 mph, 6.1s, AutoExpress Prius vs Passat)
especially, if you compare 4G Prius vs C-HR,
in fact, same engine and weight , but according to the UK Toyota blog:
- "hybrid powertrain that is derived from that in the new Prius but specially tuned for this application"
- "the continuously variable transmission (CVT) has been engineered with lower gearing for improved off-the-line acceleration, and can be switched into an adaptive sport mode for greater responsiveness"
Did you feel a greater responsiveness of C-HR comparing to Prius? Thanks.

 

the boot comment intrigues me. when you say spacious, is it like Mazda CX3 spacious or Honda HRV spacious? with a kid, it's a very important decision factor.

 

About the acceleration: I only did two laps and because there were other cars and the track wasn't that big, we only reached around 60 mph top speeds. And in the heat of things I didn't check any drive modes or anything, it could've been in eco for all I know. So my first impressions may not be completely accurate. The C-HR felt a bit slower than the Prius, but it may not actually be slower though.

Boot space: I just felt like it had a reasonable boot considering the car's size and interior space. It's rated at 372 liters which is like normal C segment hatchback territory. I think everyone will have to judge this for themselves. I haven't seen either the CX3 or HRV so that I could directly compare.

My overall conclusion was that this is my next car so I placed an order for one to be delivered in April (it would've been possible in already in January/February, but that's the coldest & darkest winter time here so I won't bother then). Funny they had packaged the top spec version so that when I chose it, there literally was no possible factory options left. The car has it all. Basically sun roof and electric seats come to mind as things the car doesn't come with, but those cannot be ordered either. I chose metal stream with a black roof as a color, but I'll have until January to change my mind so I'll keep on eye on other colors when they come to showrooms. Ash grey and also the blue color are possibilities, but will have to wait to see them live.

 

I currently drive a fit and find it challenging to fit a baby stroller in. and that seems to be bigger than the C-HR. I really hoped that C-HR was the answer to my search

 

Keep in mind the European cargo volume measurement is done with a different method than the American one. It results in a smaller value, and may only be up to the rear seat back, not the ceiling.

 

C-HR is 377l up to the cover... it actually looks fine, a lot larger than Auris... plus if you really need more, kind of can load it up to the roof .

https://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/t/toyota/c-hr/toyota_c-hr_6.jpeg

 

I am looking into buying one too... how was the interior? I am likely getting same model as you.

As to acceleration, it is higher so worse aero, and little bit heavier than Prius... so it will be a little bit slower for sure, like base Prius vs loaded Prius with big wheels (this has 18" wheels).

So far, pricing here in Eastern Europe is 10% less than Prius. It is first Toyota in a long time I want to buy, it just looks like properly done vehicle and more like Lexus than old japanese Toyota's with cardboard interior. Can you compare interior quality to Prius and Auris and Rav4?

 

for sport models, they have 4 colors with black roof (and they look quite nice)... rest of the models have more colors to chose from.

I think most people will get the models with black roof since they look fantastic.

 

Dont all Toyota TSS-P vehicles have full range cc? At least in Europe they do. Prius, Rav4 I believe. Rest of them have TSS-P.

 

Here is my "theory" regarding HYBRID version

ACCELERATION:
CVT has been engineered with lower gearing for improved off-the-line acceleration (UK blog), following, I would expect slightly faster kickdown at lower speeds. On the other hand, 0-100km/h value is a little bit worse 11.0s(C-HR) vs 10.6s(Prius) as C-HR is higher, more robust, etc.
Overall, overtaking should be quite good, comparable to 100kW turbodiesel (available +200Nm electromotor torque). Waiting for real test ...

CONSUMPTION:
Paper values - combined 3.9l, urban 3.5l, extra urban 4.1l (Prius combined 3.0l, wider tires +20mm 3.3l)
At lower speeds (city) comparable to Prius, at higher speeds (highways) +0.8l as aerodynamics is worse. Real consumption cca 4.5 - 5.0l (Prius 4.2l according to Fuelly).
Width of tires is important, +20mm means cca +0.3l for Prius or according to paper data for Kia Niro Hybrid, tires 205/60 R16 (combined 3.8l), tires 225/45 R18 (combined 4.4l).
Consumption during winter could be slightly higher but it can be balanced with -20mm winter tires.

 

We would be lucky with real life 6l/100km... but sure, I agree it should be 25%-30% worse than Prius.

As to the overtaking, depends at what speeds... 300nm turbodiesel in small vehicle would be likely quite faster at highway speeds in Europe... but in city and lower speeds, hybrid is much, much smoother overall.

Overall, huge benefits from new Prius engine and platform, but some of it will be deducted due to SUV front aero, raised floor and 5% more weight compared to Prius.

 

p.s. Prius with top equipment is 3.6l/100km. So not far off 3.9l/100km for C-HR, but C-HR might be dragged a bit more due to aero and weight in hwy and city.

Actually reading my docs, it is 84g/100km vs 87g/100km for top level equipment, so they are very close. I would guess that C-HR got more European tuning for consumption than Prius, because difference should be more than that in real life.