Toyota C-HR (2016-2023) review

Because we’re down to two powertrain options and four trim levels, the C-HR brochure is quite simple to get your head around. However, because it’s hybrid and automatic only nowadays, that simplicity doesn’t translate into being cheap. Quite the opposite actually, as the 1.8-litre C-HR in entry-level Icon guise costs £28,470, and that’s rather a lot of money for a small crossover. Even a hybrid one.

As standard you get a 4.2-inch instrument cluster, an electric parking brake, DAB radio, Bluetooth, an eight-inch touchscreen (but with the older, worse interface), Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate control, a leather steering wheel, LED headlights and 17-inch alloy wheels. You get a whole host of active safety systems too, with blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert on the options list.

Next up is Design trim from £30,975. Say hello to 18-inch alloys, parking assistance, the vastly better eight-inch touchscreen, heated front seats, front and rear parking sensors, keyless entry and push-button starter.

Then you’ve got the top-spec Excel trim, priced from £32,980. It keeps you on 18s but adds the rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitoring, a heated steering wheel, powered height adjustment for the driver’s seat, powered lumbar support, adaptive LED headlights, LED fog lights and black leather upholstery.

The final offering is the GR Sport trim, which is priced identically to Excel but fits 19-inch alloys and decks out the C-HR with GR SPORT badges to tell the world of your sporting prowess (without actually making the car any faster). Best avoid it.

As we said earlier, the 2.0-litre version is your best bet, which means adding about £1,500 to the price tag. There’s no Icon trim available with the 2.0, so Design is your cheapest route in at £32,595. This is the sweet spot to aim for, until you realise that an entry-level Audi Q3 Sportback can be had for similar money. Why are you doing this again?

Perhaps Toyota’s finance calculator will offer you a reprieve: stick £3,500 down up front on a C-HR and you’re looking at monthly repayments of £393 over a three year lease for that desirable 2.0 Design. But do the same for the 1.8-litre Icon version and it’s a much more palatable £325 per month. See what we meant about putting up with the smaller engine?

Apparently, 43 per cent of those who bought the pre-facelift C-HR said that design was their number one reason for choosing it – and that’s only those who admitted as much. The five-year/100,000-mile warranty also probably has something to do with it. Only Kia’s seven-year guarantee really beats it.