The first generation Toyota C-HR had a rough line of it in America. The tiny crossover, which was sold here from 2017 to 2022, has a bipolar, funky design to say the least, and is available only in the U.S. under the guise of naturally aspirated front-wheel drive, while other markets have a turbo charged engine, hybrid options and all-wheel drive. The U.S. also rejected the 2nd generation C-HR, which went even wild with its design, but now the new fully electric C-HR (it's bigger and better than the c-HR+). Maybe it's biased because I liked the original C-HR design and envied the new models sold in Europe and Asia, but I think driving a 2026 C-HR EV is actually pretty cool. Despite being basically the same as the bottom and inside of the bz, the C-HR's more pleasant exterior design, smaller size and, crucially, its great upholstery make it more attractive to me. It's not an EV for everyone, but I'm at least happy to see some personality from the new mainstream Toyota.
C-HR is supported by the same e-TNGA platform as BZ. Unlike the more sensible sibling also offered with smaller batteries and front-wheel drive, the C-HR is a larger 74.7kWh battery pack and dual-motor all-wheel drive You get a total of 338 hp from a pair of motors; the front-up one has a torque of 198 lb-feet, but the back-up one has a The Sul one only has a maximum output of 125lb-ft. The acceleration from 0 to 60mph takes 4.9 seconds, and Toyota says it matches the normal BZ. It's half a second slower than the bZ Woodland with 375 horsepower — the C-HR feels fast enough, but I think it's a shame it doesn't get a higher output.The 18-inch wheel is standard, but the C-HR I'm driving is an XSE model fitted with 20s fitted with Yokohama Geolander X-CV tires. And what do you know? On Highway 33, a great mountain road north of Ojai, the C-HR is fun, so it's not a performance car, to be clear, but it's more fun than you'd expect, as it continues to drive for half an hour further past the turn around point set by Toyota.
The C-HR's 108.3-inch wheelbase is 3.9 inches shorter than the BZ, and overall it's 6.7 inches shorter and weighs about 100 pounds less. The suspension decays well without too much body roll, the steering is numb, but linear, has enough thrust to make it still feel lively when accelerating from over 40mph, and the tires endure some pretty fast speeds in the corners without too much understeer or squeal. You can do this by clicking on the button below. The inside is also really quiet.It's a shame, however, that the C-HR is plagued by the same intermediate range and charging specifications. BZ, as well as DC fast charging at up to 150kW from the accepted one, about 30 minutes from 10% to 80% there. The range is good, it is not so bad, but the EPA is of the C-HR to a smaller wheel is 287 miles, larger wheels at 273 miles, it is evaluated as each is the equivalent of BZ's a little behind. Still, it is a day-to-day operation and enhanced trail excursions enough for an adjustable regenerative braking is fairly strong, down the mountain in the middle of a significant amount of energy.
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The C-HR's real appeal is how it is. It is the predecessor and the US is not obtained, the second generation of the C-HR than the Mature design to have, but it is Toyota's Grand plan is still strange. It is a more sculpted hood and sporty bumper equipped with brand hammer head nose design, and have this in the center of the light bar is that it is a good trade off I think. Behind the front wheels is where the C-HR is really far away. Its sloping roofline (C-HR stands for "Coupe Highrider"), conspicuous rear hunches, angular side skirt cladding and pert rear end look great. I especially love the letter line that extends off the front door handle, and the hidden rear handle is an electronic release, not a mechanical pull. The taillight bar has a small spoiler integrated over it and I like the way the C-pillar flows down to fill it. Getting a C-HR with a contrasting black roof and Tandoori orange definitely helps, but even with a monophonic grayscale color scheme,
I find it looks great even in the charming small-based 18s, but given how well it rides in the 20s, I'll definitely go for them.Once inside, you'll see the same dashboard and layout as the BZ, with several different material textures. It is a nice place to be, as long as you like the arrangement of the compact steering wheel and the distant back digital gauge cluster. The 14-inch touch screen is great and I don't really understand the dual wireless charging pad arrangement, but you have some pretty visibility well from the back and the panoramic sunroof available allows many lights and, unlike many other EVs, comes standard with a powered sunshade. But that's the seat Toyota really won over me. The base car gets a mix of fabric and Toyota's SofTex synthetic leather material, but the XSE seat is covered in what Toyota just calls "synthetic suede. And it is not just used in certain sections; suede is quite supportive in both rows, except for a bit of a front seat bolster and a back bench center seat, the front seat itself too.
When you climb into the back seat, the size of the C-HR will be a bit disadvantageous, but not so much. The legroom in the 2nd row is 3 inches less compared to the BZ, but in fact the seats in both rows have a bit more headroom, and the hip and shoulder rooms are wash. Even with a panoramic sunroof, which takes about an inch of headroom away, my 5-foot-9 self fits comfortably on the back. Cargo space is not much worse, either. The C-HR has 25.3 cubic feet of space, 2.4 cubic feet less than the bz, but folds up a 60/40 split rear seat back, has 59.5 cubic feet of space, and has more space than the bZ. The sloping roofline definitely gives the cargo area a less practical shape.It's probably cheaper than the BZ, at least because the C-HR is smaller in size. The base C-HR SE AWD starts at destination 38,450, including the destination, and is less 2,900 lower than the BZ XLE AWD, while the C-HR XSE AWD is cheapest 40,450, and is 900 cheaper than the cheapest all-wheel drive BZ. You can get a BZ with a limited trim that has some finer points than what the C-HR offers, but it also starts at nearly 4 in 45,000.
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The C-HR SE features automatic high beam, heated mirror, power lift gate, rain sensing wiper, heated front seat and heated steering wheel, 8-way power adjustable driver's seat (and 6-way manual passenger's seat) with lumbar support, keyless entry, digital key function, 64-color perimeter Comes with lighting, three USB-C ports, dual zone automatic climate control, automatic up/down for all four side windows, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and its 14-inch touch screen, Toyota's safety sense 3.0 suite of driver assist features. Stepping up to the XSE adds 20-inch wheels and suede upholstery, an 8-way power adjustable passenger seat, memory for the driver's seat, traffic jam assist, lane change assist and a 360-degree camera system. In the Xse, the panoramic roof will cost 0 1,000, and the 9-speaker JBL sound system will add 9 900 (and pretty good), heated rear seats and headlight washers.
Fully loaded at about fully 43,000, the C-HR is hitting the base price of a few other really attractive design forward EVs, like the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq5, but even the Chevrolet Equinox EV will be a bit more expensive if you add an AWD, but it's also a much larger vehicle. The C-HR's closest competition comes from its own garbage: Subaru Uncharted, which is essentially a Toyota rebadge. Subaru has a base price slightly lower than its comparable C-HR, and it also can't imagine that what Toyota currently lacks, even the Uncharted offered with cheaper front-wheel drive trim, will feel completely different from the C-HR and will look even better. Luckily for you, anyone reading this will be able to report back as soon as I'm driving a Subaru this week.
Even if you acknowledge the existence of Subaru, I think the Toyota C-HR is a cool product that wants more people to enter the EV. But do you know what would be really cool? Imagine I'm spinning an arm chair and talking directly to you, Toyota, now. What gets really cool will be the performance version of the electric C-HR.Maybe it can be called GR C-HR.Give this thing about more than a hundred horsepower (I also accept 400 too), performance tires, some chassis upgrades and sporty styling. It would be great. In fact, it makes it a bit of a Ford Mustang Mach-E rally competitor and gives it all terrain tires, mud flaps and big wings on the back. And make sure it's still sold in orange.
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