Image models have always been a special topic for automobile brands. People don’t queue up for such cars, but they can satisfy the demand of those who want to stand out from the crowd. It’s for these distinctive individuals that Toyota unveiled the compact C-HR crossover, which is being tested today by the portal “Yuzhny Avtomobil.”
Generally speaking, if we start with the naming, Toyota’s C-HR stands for “Coupe High Rider,” which translates into Russian as “coupe with a high seating position.” The acronym is interesting, but subconsciously the name still evokes associations with another Japanese brand, Honda’s C-RV. However, Toyota’s marketers know better than to name their cars. Although, given its external resemblance to its older brother, the RAV4, it would have been more logical to call the new model the RAV2, and then the picture would have come together. But the C-HR crossover coupe is a car for those who are accustomed to thinking and looking outside the box, hence the unusual name.
Essentially, the new C-HR has filled the niche of the former three-door RAV4 in the model lineup, and is particularly close in ideology to its very first generation. Released about twenty years ago, the car was just as unusual, stylish, eye-catching, and somewhat mischievous for its time. It was not for nothing that model was called the Fun Cruiser, so the CH-R is a kind of reincarnation of that very same “fun cruiser.”
The Toyota C-HR is built on the new global TNGA platform, which we know from the Prius, the new Camry, and the next-generation RAV4. However, in the case of the C-HR, Toyota engineers prioritized balanced handling and the absence of the roll characteristic of the same Camry and RAV4. The C-HR completely breaks the mold of Toyota cars. Its coupe-like silhouette with concealed rear door handles, muscular wheel arches, and boomerang-shaped taillights distinguish the C-HR from all other Toyota models. This particular model is aimed at a younger audience, not a fat-bellied bureaucrat like the Camry. However, even compared to competitors like the Nissan Juke and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, our subject has advantages. Firstly, despite its avant-garde design, the C-HR doesn’t look pretentious like the Juke, but it’s also not as modest as the Eclipse Cross. Secondly, Toyota claims the largest interior in its class. And thirdly, it’s the most compact Toyota crossover.
The C-HR looks especially impressive from the front. A powerful bumper, narrow, slanted headlights, and a muscular hood form an aggressive “face.” The car’s silhouette is memorable for its flared wheel arches, rising window line, and hidden rear door handles.
As for the interior, it is less impressive than the exterior. The dashboard consists of two deep wells with analog gauges and a color trip computer screen located between them. The front panel is laconic and has an asymmetrical design, but its finish is predominantly inexpensive plastic.
At the top of the center console is a multimedia system tablet. The image on the screen has simple graphics, and the response time to commands could be faster. Drawbacks include the lack of support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay interfaces. The C-HR’s steering wheel is adjustable for height and reach. Its spokes have buttons for controlling the radio and trip computer. Analog controls remain only for the climate control; everything else is configured via the tablet screen. The car’s suspension is firm and doesn’t allow for the rocking or significant body roll that you’d find in a RAV4.
Our test vehicle is a front-wheel-drive car with a two-liter gasoline engine producing 150 horsepower, which is controlled by a continuously variable transmission. The car is front-wheel drive. The engine accelerates the C-HR quite briskly, and in city traffic, the car’s compact dimensions make it easy to change lanes. As for highway driving, you won’t experience any discomfort here either; the engine’s power is sufficient for quick overtaking. The standard configuration comes with a 1.2-liter turbocharged engine producing 116 horsepower. The car’s performance may be a bit worse with this engine. But the latter will most likely be preferable in the city than on the highway.
In general, today the Toyota C-HR cannot be called a mass-market model. And many are wondering: “Who is this model for?” One thing is certain: there will be a buyer for the C-HR, primarily among those who are fans of the Toyota brand. For example, to get the whole family used to this brand. So, the head of the family can get around in a Land Cruiser or Camry, the keeper of the hearth in a RAV4 crossover, and their daughter, a student and a beauty, will be quite happy with a stylish C-HR.
Currently, prices for the model start at 1,299,000 rubles for the version with a 1.2-liter engine and front-wheel drive. The optimal version, the one presented in our test, starts from the figure of 1,703,000 rubles, well, and the top-end Cool package with all-wheel drive will cost at least 2,116,000 rubles.
Toyota Center Rostov-on-Don East
Rostov region, Aksai,
Aksaisky Avenue, 13
(M4-Don highway),
tel.: +7 (863) 210-70-70
