Toyota C-HR Review & Prices

Much like a quirky teenager that’s grown up and got a corporate job, the Toyota C-HR wraps up some outrageously funky design touches in a chic, sleek package. It backs up its looks by being fun to drive, but the C-HR also manages to be fuel efficient thanks to its hybrid engine options.

There are some very capable alternatives on sale though, and the C-HR isn’t exactly cheap, so cars such as the Hyundai Kona, and Skoda Kamiq are worth considering - or even the posher Lexus LBX, Audi Q2 and Volkswagen T-Roc.

Though none of them are quite as striking as the Toyota; it’s a properly cool piece of design. Big, pointy C-shaped headlights, slim taillights, two-tone colour schemes and more angles than a kaleidoscope mean the C-HR properly stands out on the road.

The interior isn’t quite as exotic, and while it features the typical Toyota sturdiness and feels well put-together, there’s a lot of grey plastic inside which cheapens the look just a touch. It’s a shame because it’s a fairly good looking interior, with wrap-around doorcards that lead onto the dashboard and a centre console that curves up towards the wide infotainment display - though the basic model only has a small 8.0-inch screen.

It’s crisp and clear to use, if fairly basic, but the C-HR comes with standard fit Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which should be second nature to most drivers these days. Top-spec models have a rather lovely suede-effect interior trim, but base models make do with plain black fabric. Rear-seat passengers aren’t as lucky, as the rear door cards and trims are made from hard, scratchy black plastics.

It’s a similar story with interior space, as the front of the C-HR’s cabin is spacious enough to get comfortable in, and highly adjustable seats mean you can find a suitable driving position with ease. The back is tight on the knees though, and the tiny rear windows - set far forwards - means it’s quite dark too.

There are deep front door cubbies, a pair of cupholders and a phone slot underneath the climate controls which doubles up as a wireless charger on all but the base models, but rear passengers aren't catered for quite as well. The 388-litre boot is smaller than in a lot of alternatives such as the Nissan Qashqai and Volkswagen T-Roc.

What the C-HR really has to offer is fantastic comfort on bad roads. Potholes, cracked surfaces and speedbumps are of little concern to the small Toyota, taking them all in its stride. Motorways are just as comfortable thanks to a well-insulated cabin, though both engines are noisy when getting up to cruising speeds.

Yet even with its cushy suspension it’s rather good fun on a twisty road. It’s no Toyota Supra sports car - sharp steering inputs do unsettle it a touch - but it feels agile and grippy when carving through corners. It’s just a shame the engines are so gruff.

As a stylish, comfortable and economical all-rounder the C-HR makes for an excellent option - though the small boot might put off larger families. Check out our Toyota C-HR deals, or have a look at our C-HR lease deals instead. You can browse used C-HRs through our trusted dealer network, or other used Toyotas to see the rest of the range. Carwow can even help you sell your car when the time comes to switch.

The C-HR is definitely a heart-over-head purchase when it comes to small SUVs, as there are far more practical options available for the roughly same price. If we’re talking about pure, unadulterated practicality then the Dacia Duster is not only bigger but cheaper, and the electric Volvo EX30 is a more comfortable proposition.

It’s worth noting that the entry level Icon trim is particularly bare-bones compared to the rest of the range, with 17-inch wheels, a smaller infotainment screen and non-projector LED headlights. It doesn’t even come with underfloor storage in the boot, unlike the Design models and up.

There’s a hefty price jump between the models too, and you’ll be paying over £10,000 more for the highest-spec GR-Sport model compared to the Icon, or almost £14,000 more for the PHEV model.

The Toyota C-HR is really comfortable while also being fun in corners, but the hybrid engines can be frustratingly noisy

In town

Town driving is the Toyota C-HR’s natural habitat, because the hybrid engine can spend most of its time on the electric motor. Leave it to its own devices and it does a good job of prioritising electric power while also making sure it has enough battery to do so. You can force it to stick to EV mode if you desire, though the plug-in hybrid could be the one to go for as it will be able to travel further without calling on the petrol engine to help (assuming you can regularly charge the batteries, of course).

Visibility is okay, but the rear pillars are chunky and the dashboard is quite deep, so it can be tricky to judge the car’s extremities. At least all models get Toyota’s Safety Sense assistance, which includes blind spot monitoring and a reversing camera as standard, while parking sensors are fitted from the Design grade, so the car has the kit to help you when things get particularly tight.

Despite iffy visibility, the light steering and electric propulsion mean that the C-HR is far from cumbersome. And the comfortable suspension means that when you hit potholes or speed bumps there are no intrusive thuds in the cabin, while rutted roads do little to upset the car so it feels like you’re driving something bigger and posher than you are.

On the motorway

At motorway speeds, the Toyota C-HR is a comfortable and refined cruiser, without too much wind or tyre noise making its way into the cabin. The peace is shattered somewhat whenever you accelerate up a slip road or need to pull off an overtake, though.

The 1.8-litre petrol engine in particular makes a loud fuss when you put your foot down, even if you’re being gentle on the pedal. And it’s rather gutless, so it’s not like the noise translates to a punchy driving experience. The 2.0-litre is similarly shouty under hard acceleration, but copes with gentle speed increases in a much quieter manner.

On a twisty road

When a car is impressively comfortable you usually expect the compromise to be less ability in the corners, but the Toyota C-HR actually proves itself to be a capable all-rounder. Sharper turns can cause the body weight to jolt to one side unnervingly, but make smoother progress and this is a family SUV that’s capable of putting a smile on your face down a winding road.

Unfortunately it’s let down by the engine once more. You make swift progress through a corner, but while the 2.0-litre is more eager to accelerate, neither engine is particularly responsive, so you’re left frustrated by the car’s lack of willingness to cooperate with your tomfoolery as you accelerate out of a corner.

There is a Sport mode that makes the engine rev more keenly when you press the throttle, but it feels like it’s just making things louder with little effect on pace, which only highlights the underwhelming performance further.

Cabin space is generally pretty good, but the Toyota C-HR has a smaller boot than most alternatives

Those in the front are fairly well catered for, and although this is a relatively small SUV there’s enough room for most people to get comfortable. You get a great driving position and can move the seat quite high for a commanding driving position, though taller drivers might find their legs a touch cramped beneath the wheel.

Storage is acceptable, too – the door bins are pretty deep and will take a large bottle despite being quite narrow, while you get two cup holders in the centre console and a space for your phone beneath the infotainment display (which is home to wireless charging for two phones in all but the base trim). The armrest gets the most useful storage space.

Space in the back seats

Jump in the back seats and it’s another case of good but not great. Legroom is adequate, your head won’t be rubbing the roof, and there’s a lot of shoulder room to the door in the outer seats, but the C-HR isn’t too wide so it’s a real squeeze to get three in the back.

You pay for that funky exterior styling, because although the sloping roof doesn’t impact on headroom too much, it does mean that the view out is quite restricted. The rear pillar is next to your head which makes it a touch claustrophobic, even if the actual space on offer isn’t too bad.

Storage is almost non-existent though, with a cup holder in the door and not a great deal else. There’s also just one USB-C charging slot for the kids to fight over.

Boot space

Unfortunately, that average rear seat space is not made up for with a big boot in the Toyota C-HR, which gets 388 litres with the 1.8-litre engine and 364 litres with the 2.0-litre. Plug-in models reduce further to just 310 litres.

All of its alternatives offer comfortably more, with the T-Roc and Niro being the closest at 445 litres and 451 litres respectively, while the Peugeot 3008’s massive 520 litres makes it the best option if you’re regularly carrying large items like prams.

For some perspective, the similarly priced Nissan Qashqai also has a much bigger boot than the C-HR at 504 litres, while its smaller and even cheaper alternative the Nissan Juke is still more spacious at 422 litres.

Ultimately, if you only use the boot for the weekly shop it should be fine, but if you do need to maximise space it’s not ideal. The back half of the boot angles in so it’s not a particularly square shape, and when you fold the rear seats there’s a big lip to lift items over. There’s also little under-floor storage, which is taken up by some tools and a tyre repair kit.

The interior design is smart and upmarket up front, but it feels pretty cheap in the back seats

Although the interior design isn’t quite as dramatic as the exterior, the Toyota C-HR has a cool cabin design that makes it one of the more stylish options among alternatives. The 12.3-inch display (on all but entry trims) is big without being too intrusive, while the centre console swoops up to divide the passengers with a more interesting appearance than your typical slab-sided dashboard.

There are physical switches for the climate controls, and they have a satisfyingly solid action, so you don’t worry about them easily succumbing to fidgeting kids.

Go for the Design trim and above, and that large infotainment display works really well. It’s a big improvement on Toyota systems of old, being pretty simple to use and really fast to respond to inputs. It’s fairly basic, which isn’t necessarily a huge problem because it means you don’t get lost in endless menus, while the standard-fit wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto take care of your navigation and music streaming needs.

While the front feels fairly upmarket, it’s not the same story for those in the back. The doors are made up of exclusively scratchy plastics, meaning it looks a bit cheap.

There are two self-charging hybrid engines available for the Toyota C-HR. The first is a 140hp 1.8-litre unit that is likely to be the much more popular option. Official figures put fuel economy at 60.1mpg, though we saw an impressive 56mpg during our test drive, indicating that the official figure should be possible on a predominantly city-based route.

The 2.0-litre is a bit more powerful at 197hp and returns 57.7mpg in official tests. It’s the much nicer engine to drive and if the extra cost doesn’t put you off – it’s only offered on high-spec GR Sport and Premiere Edition models – it’s the one to go for, particularly since we saw a perfectly acceptable 53mpg on a short run.

Company car buyers will be better off going for the plug-in hybrid, because it has the lowest benefit-in-kind rate. It's the most powerful with 223hp, and if you have the ability to regularly charge the batteries, the official economy figure 353.1mpg could be possible, too. Its electric-only range of 40 miles is pretty good, and means you can probably undertake most journeys without ever needing the petrol engine.

Whichever model you go for, though, Vehicle Excise Duty will be pretty cheap thanks to low CO2 emissions of just 105g/km in the 1.8 and 110g/km in the 2.0, or a tiny 20g/km for the plug-in.

The new Toyota C-HR received a stellar five-star rating by the safety experts Euro NCAP in 2025, thanks in part to its suite of driver assistance systems. Occupant scores are high too, with the adult occupant score coming in at 85%, and the child occupant score marked at 86%.

All trims come with adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, blind spot monitoring and a warning if you’re opening your door on a car or cyclist. Excel versions get adaptive high-beam headlights, lane change assistance and a driver monitoring system, all of which are available as optional extras for the GR Sport.

Most of these systems are neatly integrated and don’t annoy you by, for example, constantly tugging at the wheel to keep you in lane, though the warning that you are exceeding the speed limit can grate, and turning the technology off is quite a fiddly process.

Toyota as a brand has a fantastic reputation for building cars that don’t break, and this is supported by coming eighth out of 32 manufacturers entered into the 2024 Driver Power reliability survey results.

On top of this, Toyota offers the best warranty of any car manufacturer in the UK. All cars come with the standard three-year warranty, but this can be extended by 12 months and 10,000 miles annually up to a total of 10 years or 100,000 miles simply by performing an annual service at a Toyota retailer. This comfortably beats even the likes of Kia (seven years) and Hyundai (five years).