This is the car the C-HR should have been from the start. Perhaps not fully electric – though you would have thought Toyota would have been an EV pioneer given all its experience with battery tech as a leading advocate of hybrids. But certainly in format, the C-HR+ is, finally, the full-fat version of this crossover. It makes the current car seem like the C-HR-.
First launched here in early 2017, the regular version faced criticism for its overworked design, amid fears it would not age well. It was also rather claustrophobic in the back, with the sharply sloping roofline impinging on headspace and just making it feel less like a family car and more like a supermini for rear seat passengers. In the options for powertrain, you had a 1.8-litre hybrid or a 1.2-litre petrol engine, the latter being better suited to the car.
Yet, despite our initial concerns, the C-HR has proven to be a hit. The rear space was tight, but buyers rarely sat back there. The styling was busy, but it has aged well and doesn’t seem as radical now when you compare it to many of its newer rivals. If anything, it has more character than the fleets of blobby soft-lined crossovers flowing out of China.
And up front, this was a car that would have done credit to a Lexus badge. Similarly, the fit and finish of this car epitomised what Toyota has always aspired to achieve. It was the ideal car for empty-nesters.
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But it was niche. This plus version will be core to Toyota’s future sales success. A look at the sales tables will tell you that this size of crossover is a firm favourite among Irish buyers.
With C-HR+, we get the full-sized version of the car, with proper rear legroom and a decent boot. Plus, lest we forget, a plug. The reason for this bigger EV? It’s really an offshoot of the firm’s first fully-fledged EV, the BZ4X. Under the C-HR styling is the same set-up as on the BZ and also the Lexus RZ.
The upside is that the kinks and issues have largely been ironed out; the downside is that it has the same range limitations as its older brethren.
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But this is more than just a redressed BZ4X. This bigger C-HR+ feels and drives with more maturity and sophistication, delivering a more refined drive.
That’s reflected in some of the little touches, like the driver assistance system (ADAS). Here, the speeding alert is a subtle chime, noticeable but not intrusive. It’s there as an aid and assistance, not an interfering intervention. Many Chinese brands – and the Korean ones – should take copious notes of how the systems are handled in this car.
In terms of performance, this is a big, fast car. Our test car was capable of hitting 100km/h from a standing start in just 5.2 seconds, and Toyota claims it’s the most powerful model in its line-up outside the GR Performance range. Out on the open roads, it does feel fast, but always reassuringly so thanks to its sure-footed handling and whisper-quiet whoosh as it hurtles down the road.
At its initial unveiling several months ago, Toyota engineers spoke of the new C-HR+ in terms of being “fun to drive”. Now that’s a line trotted out at every car reveal, but in this case, there is meat on the bone.
It might be the same platform as the BZ4X, but it feels stiffer and is married well to the car’s steering set-up. In this regard, it’s much better to drive than the BZ.
The big question will be about range. The BZ4X was criticised for under-delivering on its official range between charges. Now that’s hardly unique to Toyota or any EV maker these days, but we expected more from a car giant with so much experience of battery tech, dating back to the original Prius in 1997.
The good news is that we were getting 18kWh/100km from our test car, the 338bhp all-wheel drive version with a 77kWh battery pack. For comparison, when driving similarly-sized cars, we rarely see figures below 21kWh/100km. By our reckoning, 415km or more is achievable from the bigger battery C-HR+: less than the 600km mentioned by Toyota, but competitive for what it is.
A smaller 57.7kWh battery pack is also offered on a 165bhp front-wheel drive format. Toyota is making much of its new pre-conditioning feature, along with the use of a heat pump for the air-con system and heated seats.
Pre-conditioning warms the battery before charging, which can reduce the time plugged in, and if you plot a stop at a charging station on the Sat-Nav during a journey, that pre-conditioning will kick in automatically.
Charging can be done at up to 11kW on regular home charging or up to 150kW on a fast DC supercharger.
In the face of spurious claims and misinformation about EV battery lifespans, Toyota is one of the manufacturers seeking to tackle this issue head-on. Alongside its manufacturer’s warranty of eight years or 160,000kms, Toyota now has an Extended Battery Care Programme, meaning that its batteries will be covered for up to one million kilometres or up to 10 years, whichever comes first.
To avail of this, owners need to have their car serviced in the Toyota Network as per the manufacturer’s requirements. According to Zoe Bradly of Toyota Ireland: “The warranty covers both the battery degradation and the battery defects, which should give peace of mind to anyone looking for a new electric car.”
As mentioned, space in the rear of the C-HR+ is now ample for adults, and even though it has a sloping roofline, taller passengers don’t suffer much from headroom issues, though the footwell under the front seats is tight. You are sitting high, given that the battery pack is under your feet, but it’s not uncomfortable. Bootspace at 416 litres is just about on par with rivals. As for exterior styling, Toyota has managed to blend the C-HR’s silhouette with the front nose of the BZ4X.
This Toyota is facing a competitive market, with a mix of rivals that range from the Kia EV3 to the Skoda Elroq, and the less obvious but no less attractive Renault Scenic. There might be some who would even be tempted to consider the new-look Nissan Leaf in this mix.
Those are serious and popular rivals, yet if Toyota can get the pricing right – and competitive – the C-HR+ could well be the pick of the bunch.
