2017 Toyota C-HR (US Spec) - Small, Stylish, Sporty!

SPECS
Price when new: £20,995
On sale in the UK: January 2017
Engine: 1197cc 16v turbo 4-cylinder petrol, 114bhp @ 5200-5600rpm, 136lb ft @ 1500-4000rpm or 1798cc 16v 4-cylinder with electric motor, 120bhp @ 5200rpm total system output
Transmission: Six-speed Intelligent Manual Transmission, front-wheel drive / CVT automatic, front-wheel drive
Performance: 10.9sec 0-62mph, 118mph, 47.9-47.1mpg, 135-136g/km / 11.0sec 0-62mph, 105mph, 74.3-72.4mpg, 86-87g/km CO2
Weight / material: 1320-1420kg / steel
Dimensions (length/width/height in mm): 4360/1795/1565mm

Toyota C-HR (2017) review
Clap eyes on the new Toyota C-HR for the first time, and you’ve got to think: that’s it – Toyota’s had enough.
Enough of being ‘the dull one’ of the group, enough of being the one everyone else expects to drive them home at the end of the night, the one who turns up on time, unflinchingly exact, unremittingly reliable, slightly badly dressed...
Ok, so the reliability thing will probably continue – after all, who wants to be a jerk? – but clearly a little more excitement and a frisson of rebellion is on the cards from now on.

How else do you explain the world’s most pre-eminent(ly sensible) car maker so completely missing the conventional brief with its oh-so-late entry into the family crossover segment.
It’s like someone sent the un-edited C-HR proof to the 3D printer, and Toyota’s ended up accidentally putting a concept car into production.

My, my – the Toyota C-HR looks… wild
There’s a little too much Honda Civic in the back end for our tastes, and hell yes, the overall design is surely going to date like carrot-cut trousers, but park the C-HR next to a Qashqai and it's clear who’s the rock and roller among the parents outside playschool.
And though Toyota is rather hoping trendy urbanites will represent the bulk of buyers, despite that sloping roofline there is still a reasonable amount of room in the back. What there isn’t, however, is much daylight, since the rear pillar is so big a grown adult can hide behind it like a VIP in the back of a Rolls-Royce Phantom. The kids, we’re strongly suspecting, will not like.

The interior presents other challenges up front. Infotainment screens that stand proud of the dashboard seem to inspire vehement dislike from certain quarters, and the C-HR’s is asymmetrical. This decision almost out-bolds the exterior – especially with the electric blue trim surround that comes as standard on the top spec Dynamic model – and again appears to come directly from the original concept sketches.