Toyota C-HR

Fresh family SUV builds on the original's charms and adds plugin hybrid power On sale Spring 2024 Price from £36,000 (est)

- Lawrence Cheung

THE ORIGINAL C-HR represented a stylistic turning point for Toyota. After years of producing cars that were quietly competent if all but invisible in a crowd, here was a funky-looking family SUV that really stood out. It was as interesting inside as it was functional, too, and its frugal engines didn't get in the way of driving fun.

It's hardly surprising, then, that it proved popular. And, likewise, that popularity means it's no shock that Toyota has stuck with a similar formula for this replacement.

The biggest change is that the new car is available as not only a conventional hybrid but also a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), which combines a 150bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor for a combined output of 220bhp. More importantly, its longer electric-only range will translate into lower company car tax bills.

In the PHEV, the electric motor does most of the initial work, helping the car to pull away quickly, while the petrol engine tends to kick in to lend a hand when you put your foot down above town speeds. There's plenty of poke for overtaking, and a 7.3sec 0-62mph time makes it quicker than an equivalent Ford Kuga, Hyundai Tucson or Kia Sportage. As for the big-selling Nissan Qashqai, that isn't available as a PHEV at all.

Alternatively, if you don't want to mess around with charging cables - and don't mind spending more time running on petrol power - there are two regular hybrid C-HRs: a 1.8 with 138bhp and a 2.0 with 194bhp. The former takes 9.9sec to get to 62mph from a standstill, while the latter needs 8.1sec, although we haven't yet tried either.