Joined
·
36 Posts

At least that’s what Car And Driver thinks after taking the new 2018 Toyota C-HR for a spin.
Though they will give credit where it’s due, mainly around the C-HR’s interior and exterior design, which Editor John Pearley Huffman describes as “Grape Ape styling”. An acronym for Coupe and High Rider, the C-HR is Toyota’s answer to the Nissan Juke and Honda HR-V. Appealing to a similar market with high-mounted rear door handles and shortened rear, its side profile is reminiscent of a crouching chimpanzee.
Then there’s the very extensive list of standard equipment that the $23,495 XLE base model comes equipped with; adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, projector-beam headlights, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather covered steering wheel and shift knob, and a 7.0-inch centrally mounted touchscreen.
But where the C-HR failed is in its performance on the road. The 2.0-liter engine’s 144 horsepower just isn’t enough to move all 3286 pounds fast enough. Accelerating to 60 mph takes a full 11 seconds and you’ll need a quarter-mile and 18.4 seconds to hit 79 mph. Perhaps the C-HR would have been more appealing if peak torque (139 lb-ft) was achieved at lower rpms and sustained for longer, similar to what you’d find in the Honda Civic.
But this is all just from Huffman’s perspective. Let us know what you think of his review below.