The Scion brand may be gone but its youthful DNA lives on with the Toyota C-HR, as the high-volume Japanese automaker hopes to take advantage of the burgeoning subcompact CUV market.
What's New for 2018
The C-HR is an all-new model.
Choosing Your Toyota C-HR
To say the design of the C-HR is polarizing could be an understatement, but as brand-new vehicle models enter the automotive landscape seemingly as quickly as redesigned ones do, a distinctive style will get one noticed regardless. And although its looks may convey disarray, the upside of the C-HR is its simplicity.
In staying true to its Scion roots, Toyota’s demographic target for the C-HR is millennials and as such offers simplified pricing and options. There are only two trims (XLE and XLE Premium) and a single option for both: R-Code White-painted outside mirrors and a “floating” rooftop. Exterior colors are standard fare with six choices, and all are paired with a black interior.
The 43.5 inches of front legroom beats direct competitors but front headroom is toward the back of the pack at 38.1 inches. Rear legroom is equally dismal at 31.7 inches. Although the C-HR offers 19.0 cubic feet of rear cargo volume with the rear seats folded flat, overall capacity is a meager 36.4 cu-ft. Similar-sized vehicles can offer up to 58.8 cu-ft of storage capacity.
However, for a small vehicle, standard safety technology abounds. Toyota's Safety Sense suite packs all the important electronic nannies, including lane departure warning with steering assist, automatic high beams, radar cruise control, and a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection.
All C-HRs are front-wheel-drive – a fact that's sure to cause some consternation among northern drivers – and feature a continuously variable transmission. A 2.0-liter four-cylinder with an output of 144 horsepower and 139 pound-feet of torque is the only engine. Toyota estimates the EPA mileage to be 27 miles per gallon city, 31 highway, and 29 combined.
The five-passenger subcompact SUV is offered in two trims:
Subcompact SUVs are all the rage, but the Toyota C-HR disappoints in its glaring omission of modern technology. Navigation and smartphone integration via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay are not available. Also, while the vehicle excels with its safety technology, its aggressive design creates blind spots and poor visibility, making the equipment a necessity rather than a nice-to-have. Opt for the XLE Premium, the only trim equipped with blind spot monitoring.