A curious crossover: The Toyota C-HR review

After a slower start than its major rivals, Toyota has been making up for it with a flurry of new electric vehicles for the North American market. Its first attempt, the bZ4x, was an also-ran, but a new battery pack, more efficient motors, and a NACS charging port transformed the face-lifted bZ into an EV I happily recommend. Then, earlier this year, it followed up with some bZ-related variants. For those who miss the vibe of a station wagon, there is the bZ Woodland, and an all-electric Highlander is nearing the showroom, too. But today’s focus is the C-HR, and I’m still not entirely sure what to make of it. It’s the smallest of the bunch, some 6.7 inches (170 mm) shorter than the bZ. But it’s still as wide and only a little more than an inch shorter. So if you’re put off by the bZ’s size, and are looking for something diminutive—and based on reader feedback, there are many of you out there—this small SUV will probably still fail to pass muster. It’s not any cheaper than the bZ until you consider that the C-HR is only available with one choice of powertrain: a twin-motor AWD setup with a combined 338 hp (252 kW) powered by a 74.7 kWh battery pack. That same arrangement, with a 223 hp (167 kW), 198 lb-ft (268 Nm) front motor and 118 hp (88 kW), 125 lb-ft (169 Nm) rear unit, costs almost $3,000 more in a bZ than the $37,000 starting price of the C-HR. From the driver’s seat, it might look like a bZ. There’s the same multifunction steering wheel, the same small main instrument display, the same infotainment system, and a pleasing array of actual plastic buttons, each with just one discrete function. Toyota’s 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system isn’t particularly flashy, but the screen is responsive, and Apple CarPlay runs wirelessly. You notice the 3.9 inches (200 mm) that’s missing from the wheelbase if you sit in the back. It’s not especially cramped compared to the back seat of the old gas-powered C-HR, but it’s hardly palatial. As you sit level with the C pillar back there, it can feel a little dark even with the optional panoramic glass roof, which robs a little over an inch of headroom as a trade-off for letting more light into the cabin. There’s only one USB-C port in the back, and it’s only 15 W, unlike the two 60 W ports up front, but if you opt for the C-HR XSE, you can get heated rear seats to go with the standard heated fronts. The C-HR certainly feels frenetic on the street. Even with the car set to Eco mode, it’s plenty peppy; in normal mode, I found the initial throttle response to be a bit too eager. Despite that, Toyota quotes the same 4.9-second 0–60 mph (97 km/h) time for the C-HR as the other AWD EVs it builds. Perhaps driving them back-to-back would reveal no appreciable difference, but if the point was to imbue the C-HR with an eager quality, Toyota’s engineers succeeded at the task. It’s not the last word in driving thrills, though, with front-biased power delivery thanks to that AWD setup and not particularly communicative steering.