Toyota C-HR review

The C-HR range starts at £31,290 for the entry-level Icon model with 1.8-litre hybrid petrol, rising in £2/3k increments up to a punchy £42,720 for the Premiere Edition and its 2.0-litre petrol hybrid. 

There are five trims available: Icon, Design and Excel trims are only available with the 1.8 hybrid engine, while the GR Sport and Premiere Edition specs can only be paired with the more powerful 2.0 hybrid unit. 

What about the PHEV version?

That starts at £39,145 for the 'Design' trim, rising to £42,610 for the mid-range 'Excel', and £43,540 for the range-topping 'GR Sport'. 

For BIK taxpayers it’ll be a no-brainer option as it's rated at just 20g/km for CO2. Charge time for the battery is two-and-a-half hours at 6.6kW AC; there's no rapid charging CCS input. On a normal tariff, it shouldn’t cost much more than a fiver to top it up from flat. The 105g/km and 110g/km figures of the 1.8 and 2.0 hybrids leave them in the same VED band, so there’s little difference there.

Which spec should I go for?

The Icon model comes with 17in alloys, auto headlights and wipers, keyless go, reversing camera and eight-inch infotainment with Apple and Android Connectivity, boosted to a 12.3in screen from Design trim upwards. Likewise the seven-inch digital instrument panel is swapped for a 12.3in number on Design and up.

Design also gets 18in alloys, front parking sensors, wireless phone charging, a rear USB port, ambient interior lighting, powered tailgate, heated front seats and dual-zone aircon. GR Sport nets you 20in alloys and some trim-specific decoration, such as the aluminium scuff plates and Alcantara seat fabric, as well as a head-up display, fancy sound system and LED headlights.

The slightly less sporty Excel trim bumps you down to 19in alloys and offers a better park assist setup, as well as some more electronic safety gizmos like cross-traffic alert. The Premiere Edition gets the kitchen sink thrown at it: the digital rearview mirror, panoramic roof, JBL sound system and two-tone paint all come as standard.

We’d probably go for the Design trim: if offers the best blend of value and equipment, though if you insist on the more powerful 2.0-litre petrol hybrid setup you’ll have to opt for a fancier spec.

What’s the warranty like?

Toyotas come with a three-year 60,000 mile manufacturer warranty. Every time you get it serviced at an official dealer after that, you add another year or 10k miles, up to a limit of 10 years or 100,000 miles. Keep on with the services and the hybrid battery warranty gets nudged up to 15 years. You also get 12 years for body rust.