2017 Toyota C-HR: First Impressions
CARS.COM — I’m not sure what’s gotten into the water over at Toyota, given some of the latest styling that’s been popping out of the company’s design studios and ending up on production cars. Models such as the Mirai fuel-cell vehicle and the latest Prius are downright weird, but one thing is certain — you can’t accuse Toyota of being boring anymore.
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The trend continues with the new 2017 C-HR SUV, making its debut here at the 2016 Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland. We saw the concept version of the car in Detroit at the 2016 North American International Auto Show, and wondered how much of its wild, Nissan Juke-like styling would make it to production. The answer, for better or worse, is: almost all of it.
The C-HR is wild, a true 21st century design that looks like nothing else in the Toyota lineup (perhaps because it was supposed to be a Scion until that brand was dropped last month). What it does look like, however, is a pumped-up Nissan Juke. It’s bigger than the Juke (what isn’t?), and the larger proportions help a little bit. Not having a front-end that looks like an angry Pokemon gives it another advantage over the Juke. Suffice it to say that the C-HR is not for the meek; you’re going to be questioned about this car when you stop to buy gasoline.
That might not be that often, given that the C-HR will have an optional hybrid powertrain when it goes on sale in Europe. We’re not sure if this combination will make it to the U.S., but we’re almost certainly getting the 2.0-liter four-cylinder version with a continuously variable automatic transmission.
I can’t tell you what the C-HR looks like on the inside, or how it does for cargo room with that dramatically sloping rear glass. The supposed production-ready version shown here apparently had no interior, given its opaque tinted windows and the fact that it never was opened. It may be that this is the “almost” production-ready version, and a subsequent version may appear at an auto show down the road this year.
When it hits the streets, the C-HR definitely should make a splash, and it might be a good option for Juke owners ready to trade up into something bigger. But honestly, would it have been too difficult to give it a decent name?
