Toyota C-HR 2020 review: new hybrid tested

I'm Tom Baker, this is Chasing Cars, and this is the updated Toyota C-HR. The quirky C-HR is actually one of my favourite small SUVs because it's great to drive, it actually has quite an upmarket interior, and it's also something a bit different. It doesn't look like a boring, blocky SUV. Instead, it's got its own unique thing going on. It's been relatively popular here in Australia for the last few years, but it's now facelift time. Yes, it has been facelifted. Even if you can't see the changes that are quite subtle, there's a bit of a difference to the grille, the headlights and taillights have changed a tad, and there's also a different wheel design on each of the two grades. But the bigger news is what's under this stubby little bonnet, because there's now a hybrid option here in Australia. It's only available on the most expensive Cobra grade. It's, in fact, the top of the range C-HR, the hybrid, 1.8-litre 90-kilowatt unit, but it promises stellar fuel consumption. The 1.2-litre turbo option hasn't gone away though, nor has the C-HR's cool interior, and that's where we're gonna go next before we take this car out onto the road. The interior is one of the best parts of the C-HR because it has a more upmarket feel than most vehicles in the Toyota lineup. Why is that? Well, mainly because the C-HR was actually developed for European markets, which, like Australia, generally have fairly picky tastes about car interiors, and as such, almost everything in here feels a bit more expensive, a bit more plush than your run-of-the-mill Toyota, and that's to our benefit. So it starts with a really nice little thin-rimmed leather steering wheel. You've got lots of plush material here on the dash and on the doors, and also some cool materials like the avocado-style cutouts on the roof and the diamond patterns in the door trims. It's all pretty cool. You also get nice leather seats here on the Cobra, which are pretty supportive. Still manually adjusted though, even on the driver's seat and even on a vehicle which is nearly 40 grand on the road, so not too sure about that. But the headline update in the cabin is the 8-inch touchscreen. It's a different unit entirely than the pre-facelift car. It's a bit bigger. It also has standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus navigation built in, which is cool. You still get analogue dials in front of you with a small colour screen giving you your trip computer information, and otherwise, the ergonomics in here are pretty good. Gear shifters within easy reach, all the buttons are well laid out, and you've got a little bit of storage too. The back seat, by contrast, has always been one of the CH-R's weak spots, and because this facelift is not especially comprehensive, that doesn't change. The outright room here isn't the problem. I'm six foot tall. I've got enough headroom. Leg room is okay. Toe room is generous. It's actually the view out, because I look to my right, and you've just got a body panel there. The CH-R's back windows are very small, which means it's claustrophobic for children. If you don't have kids, that's okay, because nobody else is really going to complain all that much. But if you are looking to integrate this car into the family, you might need something which has a more generous rear window. You also don't get air vents, which is a bit of a shame, because this country is pretty hot. You do get bottle holders in the doors, however, but the materials switch back to hard in the second row. The rear of the CH-R is one of its coolest angles, in my opinion, because it doesn't really look like anything else on the road, but it's also practical. It's got a big boot. As you can see, it's a nice square space. The load height is basically the same, so you don't have to lift heavy stuff in and down into the boot, which is cool. So, there's a bit of practicality to go along with the funky looks of this crossover. The only thing is, is that the tailgate is heavier than most in this class, and there's no automated electric option available for that. So, what is the updated Toyota CH-R like to drive? Well, thankfully, the facelift hasn't ruined it at all. This is still one of the best vehicles in its segment from behind the wheel. It has engaging dynamics, that countenance, great steering, a firm but compliant ride quality, and also a modicum of interest on the powertrain side as well, and that is, of course, where the main update to the CH-R lies. So, there's now a 1.8-litre hybrid. It's only available as a $2,500 option on the two-wheel drive Cobra, so that's just a smidgen under $40,000 drive away, which is expensive for a vehicle that only produces 90 kilowatts of power combined, but the hybrid rewards you with really good fuel consumption. So, Toyota say it'll do about four and a half litres per hundred combined, but actually better than that in town, and as my long-term ownership of the RAV4 hybrid confirmed, those figures are very achievable. So, I actually think the hybrid CH-R is a really good idea, and I expect that it will be a popular choice here in Australia. I do think it would have been good if a hybrid version of the standard car was also on offer for, like, closer to $30,000 than $40,000, but there you go. The conventional engine, which is a 1.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol, continues to be the default choice. That makes 85 kilowatts of power and 185 Nm of torque. So, it's certainly not explosive, but it definitely gets the job done, and I actually quite like the 1.2-litre turbo. It's a fun engine to hustle. The hybrid, by contrast, doesn't have as much low-down torque, I don't think, but because Toyota don't publish torque figures about their hybrids, it's hard to say for sure. Either way, you can't really go wrong with either engine. The hybrid will use probably 30% or 40% less fuel in the real world, though. The rest of the dynamics are just lovely. So, the ride quality, it isn't overly soft. It's well-connected to the road, but bumps are never allowed to intrude, even on the 18-inch wheels of the upspec Cobra. Standard car gets 17s, which are a little bit more plush again, but the ride quality is a resolved balance between good body control, in fact, very good body control for this segment, and enough compliance that bumps are not going to annoy you. The steering is quick, well-weighted, a little bit lighter rather than heavier, so that's my kind of thing, and the connection to the front wheels is really nice. The front end is pretty faithful. It's happy to be pushed hard through corners, and the quality Bridgestone Potenza rubber helps in that department as well. Hustling it down a country road is actually a lot of fun, because it'll turn in eagerly and happily, and then a little bit of trail braking, you'll just feel the rear end rotate around behind you gracefully, and a little bit of lift-off oversteer, which is really nice, predictable, linear. So, a keen driver will find there's a lot to exploit in the CH-R. Equally, though, if you're just going to drive it around town, it's easy to manoeuvre, and it's relatively easy to see out of, apart from over your shoulder, because as you might expect, there's a bit of a blind spot happening back there because of the shape of the car, but I guess, you know, the big mirrors help, and you probably learn to deal with it. It's relatively refined. Those Bridgestones kick up a bit more road noise than I might like, but the high grip levels are probably worth it, and there's not really any wind noise to speak of, which is good. Safety, that's always been good on the CH-R, even from the initial launch of the car. Every variant has proper AEB, adaptive cruise control, lane trace assist, but I don't really think that works that well. It's one of the least good in the industry at picking up the lines in our testing of the car, and then if you go up the range, you have stuff like the So, those are my impressions of the 2020 update for the Toyota CH-R. This small SUV is still one of my favourite crossovers because it effectively combines the spirit of a pumped-up hatchback with now two interesting engine options and a really, really excellent chassis, plus the fact that the interior is nicer than most Toyotas is a real bonus. In terms of misses, I think there's the fact that you can't get a cheaper version of the hybrid on the base car, but that's slim pickings when the 1.2 litre turbo is still a really nice engine. Let me know down in the comments what you think of the Toyota CH-R, whether you think it's worth buying or not. While you're down there, make sure to hit subscribe, and as always, thanks for watching.