A car that looks like it popped straight out of a Manga movie and is about to bounce adventurously across the country, but is actually a small SUV you can fit your family in?
That’s the Toyota C-HR, and this year Toyota has revamped the entire range and added a hybrid engine to one of the line-up, which is the one I test drove.
It’s called the Toyota C-HR Koba Hybrid and is the top-of-the-range, costing $36,890, before on-road costs.
It competes with cars like the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, and Kia Seltos. I took it over the summer holidays and spent a good two weeks in it for this week’s family review.
There is most certainly one thing about the C-HR: it stands out on the road. Very much a funky design, so it wouldn’t be considered classic or indeed, traditionally 'stylish.'
It doesn’t look like your typical mum car, which could be a good thing. There’s something very futuristic about it and the two-tone finish helps extend that. You can see why some people love it… and others don’t.
Inside is not as funky as the exterior, but there are some features which do add to the style and make it anything but basic, like the metallic looking diamond-shaped trim on the doors.
There’s a fair amount of high gloss black which makes it feel premium and the leather accented seats are also heated. The steering wheel feels nice under the hands and the centre console is well designed, making it functional and good looking.
The Toyota C-HR Koba is a very cool looking car to be driving around in for the summer, and though it’s not by any means big, it still fit my family of four comfortably enough. A bigger boot space would be more convenient but it’s not a deal breaker, and I particularly loved the low fuel consumption and petrol/electric hybrid drive. Plus it has the latest in safety and technology.