So the embargo to write about the 2026 Toyota C-HR happened a couple of days ago, but for whatever reason I didn’t feel an intense need to get a review or anything out to you right away. I think there’s a few reasons why: I didn’t get all that much time in the car for me to really formulate a coherent opinion about it, but more so because I had just written about it’s bZ-family sibling, the 2026 bZ Woodland earlier this week. And that car is really quite similar to the C-HR, enough so that it gave me a realization about something Toyota is doing that feels like an interesting throwback. And I think I’d rather write about that?
The thing I’m talking about is how carmakers used to offer a single model of car in a number of body styles, usually a sedan, coupé, and wagon. Mainstream cars like, say, the Honda Accord came in those three options, for example: two-door coupé, four-door sedan, and four-door wagon. This was a concept that crossed national borders, social classes, everything. You could get a Chevy Caprice Classic in coupé, wagon, and sedan forms, and do basically the same with a Toyota Corolla, though the coupé was really the hatchback version. Still, you get the idea.
So, when I was thinking about these new electric cars from Toyota that are part of the bZ platform, it reminded me of this sort of throwback-feeling idea. The three cars Toyota had to drive and test at this recent event, the bZ, C-HR, and Woodland, I liked to think of in terms of Volkswagen Type 3s:
This seems to be the best way to explain what Toyota seems to be doing to the widest group of people, since the global population is intimately familiar with Volkswagen’s midcentury upmarket rear-engined air-cooled offering. In this analogy, the Woodland is the Squareback (wagon), the bZ is the Notchback (sedan), and the C-HR is the Fastback (a sort of sporty coupé).
And, like the VW Type 3 lineup, the bZ family is all pretty much the same from the B-pillar forward, and mechanically is quite similar across the line as well, with some variations, of course. I don’t know how much Toyota is leaning into this idea, the old-school one-basic-car-in-three-versions idea, but they are at least sharing the bZ name on the bZ Woodland and the bZ itself, though they didn’t do that for the C-HR. So let’s talk about the C-HR a bit.
The C-HR
We’ve had the C-HR before here in the United States as a combustion-engined car, and it still exists globally as a combustion or hybrid vehicle. The name C-HR turns out to not be an initialism for “Cheese – Ham on Rye” as is usually assumed (based on the erroneous belief that Toyota names their cars after common sandwiches) but rather stands for Compact High Rider or Cross Hatch Run–about or Coupe High Rider.
The most notable thing about the C-HR has been that it seems to be the car where Toyota is willing to be the most experimental styling-wise, and they did manage to make something fairly distinctive-looking. Here’s a commercial for the combustion version so you can see what I’m getting at:
I especially like the dramatic two-tone approach they’re using there, and even on this latest battery-electric iteration, you can still option one with a contrasting black roof:
Of course, the only colors are red and three kinds of grays and a black, but I suppose I should be happy red still exists. I think the most notable styling detail of the C-HR is the rear door handle inset into the C-pillar area, and this newest incarnation retains that:
So, the back half of the C-HR is unique, but the front half is basically the same as the bZ and bZ Woodland, really. Toyota is pitching the C-HR as the “sporty” member of the bZ family, mostly, I think, due to its somewhat shorter length and more daring-looking rear. It’s not the fastest, though – the Woodland’s dual motor setup makes 375 combined hp while the different dual-motor system of the C-HR makes 338 hp, but it’s still good enough to get it from 0 to 60 in under five seconds, and if you need something quicker than that I may ask why you’re looking at this car, but in a concerned and supportive way. Not judgmental. You probably have your reasons.
Oh it weighs between 4,322 and 4,366 pounds, so like almost all EVs, it’s a bit of a chonker. Luckily, most of that weight is down low, in the battery pack.
So, it’s quick, sure, but I’m not sure I’d think of it as sporty, as such. It drives a lot like most EVs, which is to say fast and easy. It doesn’t feel all that different than the Woodland did, and while it’s certainly comfortable and would be an easy car to live with, driving-wise, I didn’t find it to be engaging. Again, it’s fine, and for most people it’ll be exactly what they want, but I’d take Toyota’s posturing of this car as something sporty with a grain of salt. Maybe two.
Interior-wise and equipment-wise we’re once again reminded that this is basically the same car as the Woodland. It has the stuff most people want: lane keeping, dynamic cruise, CarPlay/Android auto, one of those handy center-screen camera views that looks like a drone is videoing you from above, all that, but I feel like I just covered all this ground a couple of days ago with the Woodland. So feel free to go back and read that again, if you like?
I will mention two things again, because I think they bear repeating: the bZ line does include a decent number of physical controls for things like HVAC temperature and volume, so I applaud that, but I disapplaud the lack of a glovebox, which just feels lazy to me:
Oh, and since I’m griping about the lack of storage spaces to stash stuff, I’m going to note again that the bZ platforms offer no frunk, and I feel that’s ethically wrong:
Even though this is the smallest of the bZians, there’s still a decent amount of cargo room in the back:
It’s less than the other two, but for most people’s normal usage? It seems like plenty. Fold the seats down, and you can haul a good bit of stuff back there. Keep the tailgate open and I’m sure you could carry a lawnmower or something, but it’ll likely play havoc on your range.
Let’s Just Get Some Numbers Out Of The Way
Okay, we’ve established this is very much like the other bZ siblings, and that means it’s a capable, comfortable EV with Toyota quality. It doesn’t charge the fastest of all the EVs out there, but I’m sure it would be more than fine for most people’s daily use. I can’t pretend to be excited about it, but I can honestly say it’s worth cross-shopping against many other EVs, like a Tesla Model Y or a Kia EV6.
These start at $38,450, which really isn’t cheap, but it’s on par with most of its competition. Higher specs get into the mid $40s. The base model on 18″ wheels gets an estimated EPA range of 287 miles, and the 20″ wheels on the XSE drop that to 273 miles. It’ll charge via a Tesla Supercharger-compatible NACS port at a maximum of 150 kW – not that quickly by today’s hopeful standards – but Toyota says you can go from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes.
All of this (well, except the price) is the about the same as the bZ Woodland.
I feel like such a jerk, because I just can’t make myself really care about this car! What’s the matter with me? Have I become so miserably cynical? Or maybe I’m just still hoping there will be some EV options that are decent cars that don’t start at almost $40,000. I’m tired of all these similar EVs that drive almost the same and feel the same. Yes, there’s some good styling going on here, but I think the Kia EV6 looks better and, more importantly, I just want to see some company actually try to make a decent $25,000 EV.
Couldn’t this have been that car? There’s plenty of corners that could have been cut here, and still have been plenty appealing to people. I’m bitter. It’s fine, the C-HR is fine, if you get one I’m sure you’ll be happy enough. Maybe I’m just tired.
If it helps, I still like how Toyota brought back the one car with three variations thing; that has to count for something, right?
I like multiple versions on the same platform; I do not like completely different names for each one. KISS, like VW did.
You know what appears to be really quiet? Attention thrown on current events, that suddenly there is real BEV movement on the part of Toyota after all these years of dragging their feet and wasting time with fuel cells. This comes even after they kissed Trump‘s ring. Very interesting.
Toyota was smart enough to not chase the EV Rainbow everyone else did. Saved billions in R&D despite everyone telling them they were going to Go bankrupt. They are at the forefront of Hybrid and the #1 selling auto manufacturer in the known universe. I got to think they probably are correct and your read of the market is well not as correct.
The old C-HR was pretty stupid also. Anyone excited about it or this one is someone to avoid.
Thanks for the chuckle.
They don’t care about cars, but in an aggressive way.
I love the one car, multiple forms idea, but can one of them not suck?
I mean, I’m failing to see why I would buy this over the new Leaf, which is dramatically cheaper. Or a Bolt. I know most of us are more keen on risking the biscuit on a Toyota versus a Nissan or GM product, but those companies have at least made their mistakes when it comes to EV powertrain development and maaaayyyybe have learned their lessons. If you’re going to buy a transpo-pod where you can’t even spec a real color, you might as well go with the one that you know, doesn’t cost 40k.
Not only is the Leaf cheaper, it has a nicer interior and more range!
As a Veloster driver and crossover-hater, the old C-HR was the evil crossover Veloster. A name I didn’t want to see return…
As a Slate follower…wait, why doesn’t it have a glove box? I was annoyed to realize that it appears the “Blank Slate” lacks one. But that’s a deliberately minimalist and modular vehicle. And it has a huge empty space behind the dash panels. And a frunk. And it’s a pickup truck.
They designed this car specifically for people to use the passenger seat and footwell as a clutter-gathering area!
I don’t think $25k is a reasonable expectation from cars like this, but making it not “drive and feel the same” should be.
I imagine that there’s not much room to vary within “heavy medium-sized 5-door crossover”, and they aren’t going to leave that target zone even if it means their slight variations on beezy platform will only compete with each other (which I assume will soon be declared a failure of offering variation instead of not offering enough variation).
Edit: It’s the C-HR, not CH-R. I knew this and the article tricked me.
sorry! I fixed it!
The VW Type 3s example really helped me here. Feels like they just sneezed out the designs and names of some cars these days.
“You didn’t ask for this, but you got it. Whatever: Toyota.”
I guess the passage of time is wearing me down: when I see a BZ in person, I find myself thinking “well, it’s not that ugly.” The revisions Toyota made on the more recent ones help a bit, and like most cars, dark colors help in camouflaging some of the more eyesore-inducing details. The interior, from what I’ve seen of it, is fine more or less for what it is: functional albeit a bit bland, like a modern Toyota usually is.
This CHR, which seems like a SUV-coupe-shaped version of the BZ family, is OK I guess, if that’s what you’re looking for. Personally I’d probably opt for this “Woodland” flavor, since that would seem to have the most cargo space. Not that I’m likely to run out and buy one.
The new CHR (please pardon me for not bothing to google where the hyphen goes, or see if any letters are supposed to be lower case, or are replaced with a symbol like Prince did for a while, etc…) generally reminds me of the new, third-gen Nissan Leaf does: both cars seem like scaled-down SUV coupes like those more expensive ones offered by Mercedes, BMW, and Audi.
SUV coupes, in general, are not a form factor that I’m fond of since they seem needlessly impractical, favoring a swoopy rear end instead of cargo room.
At least the Leaf comes in that nice Robin’s egg blue color. That I’m a fan of.
I would think Jason of all people would appreciate that glove box was sacrificed for the sake of the amazing new crotch heating technology Toyota has developed on these. New levels of efficiency are gained by heating the driver or passenger crotch directly! Only available on limited trim, due to typographical error mislabeled as ‘radiant heater’ in documentation. Crotch Heater!
If looking for a new $25k EV, just go to CarMax and type in ID.4, they’re going for less than $25k, for 1 and 2 year old models with less than 10k miles on them. Depreciation on them is crazy.
Or if you want a really brand new one for the cost of a $25k EV there are lease deals to be had, and then when the lease is done, if you liked that one, go to autotrader or what not and buy a used one for half your lease buyout.
Frankly I came with a crotch heater from birth. I guess I could use the crotch heater here and use Mr old crotch heater space for maps and gloves but I really don’t want to. Oh and heated seats
CH-R or C-HR, whatever, I think of Honda, not Toyota.
I really like the combustion version. I was hoping we’d get it, but of course…
I was wondering if you were trying to make a point (https://xkcd.com/37/) but it seems to just be that you called it CH-R instead of C-HR in every place in the text and images except the literal shot of the side of the car. I wish this would stop bothering me but it does…
sorry about that. It just looked better to me that way! I fixed it.
Per Jason’s typology, I’d love to see a 2 door hatch version. Like how the first gen RAV4 had one and man was it cool.
There are some bridges I won’t cross and the lack of a glove compartment is one of them. It doesn’t have to be huge, it doesn’t have to be fancy, it does have to be present. I need to be able to access my old oil change receipts and crumpled fast-food napkins at a moment’s notice, dammit!
And gloves!
Also registration, insurance card etc, I guess.
Frankly, as the smartest man in the world, in my own mind, I convert my glove compartments to a space that is capable of fitting my basic car repair tool kit and transfer it between cars.
It is certainly a vehicle, one of the vehicles of all time even. Lack of glovebox and modern car-isms aside it does look like a huge product improvement over the last CHR the US got (which was the hilariously underpowered 1st gen). Wish it came in more funky colors though.
I’d love for a car company to just name a color “Obligatory Red” since they all seem to trot that out as the one non-greyscale choice.
Don’t forget Mandated Muted Blue, the usual other see we got colors color.
Or that dark blue that only looks like blue and any good when it’s perfectly clean and in bright light.
Another complaint is when OEMs do a “special edition” color and wimp-out, like the purple on the BRZ/WRX that doesn’t have the guts to own being purple, so it looks like black in darker light—why bother? Similarly, the limited, non-metallic green on the GR86. I bought my GR86 in Neptune blue not because I’m a Smurfs fan, but partly to add an additional data point for a customer buying a car with a bright color. Also helps to be seen, but I would have preferred a color they don’t offer (like Plum Crazy or BMW Twilight purple or emerald green or Alfa Romeo’s Fangio green or something like Aston Martin’s Almond green).
Neptune Blue is my favorite GR86 color by far – it fits the car’s ethos so well. Black is my least favorite, as just like on a Miata, it makes the car fade into the background, which is antithetical to what it is.
The everything grayscale or dark color thing sure seems to track with the overall (fake) “serious” trend that’s engulfed the car world over the past decade or so. Remember when, not that long ago, the default Jeep Wrangler vibe was that you were laid back and up for some fun?
It’s so disappointing that Jeeps are offered in all kinds of wild colors, but collectively, they are easily the minority sold vs grayscale. They even have a Barbie pink and I think I’ve seen two of those. Might have even been the same one twice.
Does not matter how many color options when weak minded sales managers order the same basic colors.
Wranglers can be special ordered, as well as a lot of other cars. For something that’s a fashion accessory like a Wrangler, I have no idea why someone would just buy something off the lot that wasn’t what they wanted. It’s generally not the kind of purchase that someone’s going to make because their previous car died and they need a set of wheels right away and it’s not just another parking lot wart like all the other lookalike CUVs where someone might not care because it’s just a boring daily.
The all-new Toyota BL-ah in Black, White, Gray and The Other Gray!
Yellow? No. Uh-uh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=677mpJpGZkA
Incidentally, earlier Yarii like mine had three glove boxes (Echoes before that had two), though the top ones are fairly small and none of them lock.
Some companies just need to be honest and call it “metallic burgundy” instead.
This is especially baffling when this is a “sporty” rebody of more utilitarian offerings. Someone would choose this for the (dubious) style over practicality, yet it comes in one of the most boring and sparse color palettes I’ve ever seen even by modern standards.
So ugly up-front that the lead shot is the rear 3/4.
I think the last mainstream car that was available in a wide variety of body styles was the original Ford Focus. 2-door hatchback, 4-door sedan or wagon, and a 4-door hatchback from MY2002 (or day one in other markets), a more complete line than the Type 3 since VW didn’t figure out Four-Door Technology until they were developing the 411.
“I just can’t make myself really care about this car! What’s the matter with me? Have I become so miserably cynical?”
No, I think it’s just the reality of trying to get hyped about parsing differences and penning a lot of words on transportation tools that are all very much alike. And this one is grey on grey on grey. I mean, what is there to really write about beyond a dry spec list? In a lot of ways the lack of glovebox is the most interesting thing about this.
Does this thing have a spare tire? Really a peeve of mine. You die on your Frunk Hill, I’ll die on mine.
No spare that I saw. Maybe it is VERY hidden.
It’s hidden all the way back at the dealership, haha.
or they’re all soulless disposable junk that will be off the road in 10 years due to ‘software issues’ or unavailable parts or some $25k problem that only a dealer can fix. it’s hard to write about things when the enshitification levels reach a certain point.
With the C-HR Toyota is also participating in the return of a ‘90s trend — calling two entirely different cars by the same name. Just like Nissan is doing with the Rogue and Rogue PHEV, the C-HR HEV is on a different platform than the C-HR BEV. We’re only getting the BEV.
Car companies can barely make a regular ice car for $25,000 let alone an EV that is based on relatively new technology and manufacturing methods.
Oh, I know. But I refuse to believe it’s impossible.
I have a hard time accepting that $25,000 in 2010 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $37,160.41 today.
I’m buying a $25k EV from China. I live in California. How, you may ask? The car, 51% of which is sourced from China, is a Bolt. The price is after the local air quality management district incentive of $10k. I was planning on a plug in RAV4, but there aren’t any left. The next shipment isn’t until April and they will all be priced above the program limit of $48k. I apologize in advance to my fellow Autopians for getting one in silver. My wife vetoed the other colors and contrary to Chevrolet, there are no white vehicles. I hope I can be forgiven, since my last two vehicles were green.
Uh oh, better call Maaco.
It is possible, but it isn’t profitable (or at least, as profitable).
Somewhat unfortunately, the best way to make a decent cheap car is essentially how the Beetle came to be
If the Bz was actually a sedan, my only remaining decision would be whether I would ever buy a vehicle without a glove box and then my question to the salesperson would be where the cabin air filter is located and if replacing it did not require two hours at a dealership service department.
I was just thinking the same thing today!! I just started working at a Subaru dealership and I noticed how similar these EV triplets are. I hope this is a trend that is coming back in car manufacturing, especially for normal commuting cars
Seriously though, the first company that truthfully sells an EV for around 25K will win this particular sweepstakes. Will it be Slate? Don’t think so cause when you equip it as an actual vehicle it will b over 30. So the limb I’m going out on is that GM Chevrolet will do it. Stripped but not bare bones, lighter, smaller battery, smaller vehicle. Perhaps a cross between the Trax and the Bolt. Hey Bishop can you draw that up?
I’ve seen the regular bZ referenced as a sedan a few times this week. I always thought it was an SUV.
I mean, it’s a crossover, I suppose. It’s all pretty blurry, really.
WTH dude, were they serving absinthe at this presser? I mean I totally don’t have any interest in any vehicle made after 2017 or when all the spyware and BS nannies and SCREENS took over. But I’m not a PRO-fessional autojurno, with my career depending on decent relations with purveyors, Bet they don’t supply a full size spare tire, and they better be securing the wiring in that area.
I bring my own absinthe.
Boyscout
Never trust the absinthe served by any corporation that buys antifreeze by the tankerload.
Sage advice