Toyota C-HR: A New Plug-In Hybrid Powertrain Option for the Crossover
Toyota has released teaser images of the next-generation Toyota C-HR ahead of its official launch on June 26. The compact SUV is set to take on rivals such as the Nissan Juke and Kia Niro, with a thoroughly overhauled design that Toyota describes as “edgy” and “sophisticated”. The new C-HR will also move upmarket by introducing a plug-in hybrid powertrain option, a first for the crossover.
Design Overhaul
Recent images of the car testing on public roads suggest that the final production version will represent a radical departure from the current model. The C-HR will be restyled with a focus on the new-look ‘Hammerhead’ front-end design being rolled out across the line-up to give Toyota cars a common identity. The darkened teaser image hides just how closely related to the concept the production car will be, but clearly, the distinctive C-shaped headlights and wraparound rear light bar will make it through to showrooms.
Plug-In Hybrid Powertrain Option
Due on sale by 2024, the Mk2 C-HR will be a close sibling to the new Toyota Prius, underpinned by the same TNGA platform and offered with the same mix of parallel-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. The latter will be a variation of the Prius’s PHEV set-up, pairing a 147bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a 158bhp electric motor on the front axle for a combined 221bhp. That’s a 40bhp boost over the current (2.0-litre parallel-hybrid) C-HR.
Battery Range
Should the C-HR also borrow the Prius’s 13.6kWh battery, a 50-mile electric-only range may be within reach. The parallel-hybrid powertrain will be an uprated variant of the 2.0-litre which features in the current C-HR, expected to boost economy above 50mpg and provide a small power uplift to 191bhp.
Andrea Carlucci, the product manager, told Autocar that, in restyling the C-HR, the team focused on ensuring it was “still bold, still perhaps polarising”. The C-HR may also gain a battery-electric variant, placing it directly in competition with the triple-powertrain Niro. Autocar’s spy photographer claimed this test car is a pure-EV proposition, suggesting Toyota’s Small SU EV concept from 2021 – itself almost identical to the more recent C-HR concept – is nearing fruition.
Electric Version
Toyota hasn’t confirmed whether an electric C-HR is in the works and wasn’t available to comment on these latest images. However, the fundamental similarities between the C-HR’s TNGA platform and the EV-only E-TNGA architecture mean it would no doubt be a technical feasibility. An electric version of the C-HR would be positioned below a larger electric coupé-SUV, known at concept stage as the bZ Compact Crossover concept, which will itself sit underneath today’s bZ4X in an expanded Toyota SUV line-up.
Price
In line with similarly sized EV rivals, an electric C-HR equivalent would likely be significantly more expensive than the parallel-hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants, commanding a start price of roughly £40,000.
Conclusion
The new Toyota C-HR is set to take on rivals such as the Nissan Juke and Kia Niro with its thoroughly overhauled design and plug-in hybrid powertrain option. The crossover will be restyled with a focus on the new-look ‘Hammerhead’ front-end design being rolled out across the line-up to give Toyota cars a common identity. The plug-in hybrid powertrain option will be a variation of the Prius’s PHEV set-up, offering a combined 221bhp. The C-HR may also gain a battery-electric variant, placing it directly in competition with the triple-powertrain Niro.