Toyota C-HR (New, Cheaper LE/XLE Trims Added for 2019)

[mmcartalk]

In the latest push by Toyota President Akio Toyoda to change the conservative image of his company’s vehicles, the auto maker hopes the C-HR will succeed where Toyota’s other radical vehicle designs have failed. Crossover SUV customers care more about how a vehicle looks than Prius customers, Mr. Koba said.

Mr. Koba said he had regular fights with other Toyota engineers, who questioned whether the C-HR reflected what people expect from a Toyota car.

“Some customers might feel the same way,” Mr. Koba said of a car designed to attract customers from Toyota’s flashier competitors. “We are looking for customers who dislike Toyota cars. We want to turn their heads,” he said.

http://m.wsj.net/video/20161214/121416toyota1/121416toyota1_v2_ec664k.mp4


Interesting.......they said in the video that American-market Prius sales are down 19% for the year (Steve, I think you and I were correct on the new Prius's styling LOL). Although that does not necessarily guarantee that the C-HR will be a poor seller, especially in these days of mass SUV popularity, I think the fact that its anti-Toyota styling and lack of AWD will work against it.

 

[IS-SV]

^ Yes and I've actually seen both the Prius and CHR at the same time and under the same bright indoor lighting. The Prius looked like crap, the CHR looked sporty and well proportioned.

 

[Alexander Li]

I heard it was tested on the Nurburgring Nordschleif. Not bad for a Toyota. P.S. : There is a performance Yaris coming out with over 325 hp and torque.

 

[mmcartalk]

I heard it was tested on the Nurburgring Nordschleif. Not bad for a Toyota. P.S. : There is a performance Yaris coming out with over 325 hp and torque.

325 HP in a YARIS? It better have AWD, or torque-limitation in the lower gears, or you'll need to be WWE-grade to deal with the torque steer LOL.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

325 HP in a YARIS? It better have AWD, or torque-limitation in the lower gears, or you'll need to be WWE-grade to deal with the torque steer LOL.

http://wardsauto.com/technology/street-legal-toyota-yaris-have-racing-bloodlines

They're going back to racing, so there will be a hi-po Yaris, though that much hp is TBD, but everyone thinks it will be somewhere on the lines of the Fiesta ST.

 

[mmcartalk]

http://wardsauto.com/technology/street-legal-toyota-yaris-have-racing-bloodlines

They're going back to racing, so there will be a hi-po Yaris, though that much hp is TBD, but everyone thinks it will be somewhere on the lines of the Fiesta ST.

One of the things the engineers found, with the MazdaSpeed3, was when they put all that HP and torque into a FWD pocket-rocket, they had to limit the torque in first and second gears to keep the car reasonably drivable.

 

[mmcartalk]

Anyhow, back to the C-HR. For those of you who have not already seen it on the West Coast, I'm sure it will be displayed at the Detroit show in the middle of January, and (hopefully) at the D.C. show in late January/early February. Steve has already given us some good ones, but I'll try and snap some more shots if it is at D.C. Still not my cup of tea, though, on the styling....though I agree that the new Prius is probably worse.

 

[mikeavelli]

Nissan made the insane JUKE R.... would love to see Toyota have some fun with it...

 

[mmcartalk]

Nissan made the insane JUKE R....

.....yet the Juke still sells.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

They race C-HRs, so hopefully they'll offer one worthy of a Nurburgring sticker.

 

[IS-SV]

.....yet the Juke still sells.

Yes very weak sales, hardly something Toyota would want to replicate. If you remember, I already posted (#54) how Juke sales are in a death spiral in 2H 2016.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

Yes very weak sales, hardly something Toyota would want to replicate. If you remember, I already posted (#54) how Juke sales are in a death spiral in 2H 2016.

Indeed....
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01/nissan-juke-sales-figures.html

It technically is "old" since it has been on the market since 2010, and most of the segment is new and fresh.

 

[mmcartalk]

Indeed....
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01/nissan-juke-sales-figures.html

It technically is "old" since it has been on the market since 2010, and most of the segment is new and fresh.

Even with the recent decline, I'm surprised the Juke has sold as well as it has over the years, given the circus-clown looks. I agree, though, that the C-HR (and the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3) are going to pick up a lot of sales that formerly went to it.....not to mention the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X. When the Juke debuted six or seven years ago, it didn't have any significant competition. Now, it has at least five or six significant competitors...the C-HR, of course, being the newest.

 

[IS-SV]

Indeed....
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01/nissan-juke-sales-figures.html

It technically is "old" since it has been on the market since 2010, and most of the segment is new and fresh.

Yes "old"/dated and ugly is a recipe for low and declining autommotive sales.

 

[oem_is300]

Hope they do, because it has the looks...

OTOH, it seems disappointing that the US spec C-HR doesn't have the desirable options that the Euro C-HR has. No moonroof, AWD, Hybrid, manual (with the 1.2 Turbo), etc. Of course, very likely that those options and models will be available after the initial launch.

This is what Toyota needs more of. Perhaps a platform for an awd hatch in the future. I'm liking the production photos here, hope to see it at the DC show early next year.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

I like this ad more than I like the C-HR in its current form

 

[spwolf]

This is what Toyota needs more of. Perhaps a platform for an awd hatch in the future. I'm liking the production photos here, hope to see it at the DC show early next year.

So far i have sat in one extensively, and interior quality is what Toyota needs to mirror up and down in the lineup.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

I like this ad more than I like the C-HR in its current form

I like the ad *and* the current C-HR.

The LS500 has been described as "unapologetically Japanese", and I think the same two words apply to Toyota's recent efforts. In Toyota's case it's more of a fun, anime/manga inspired look vs. Lexus JDM elegance though. IMO it's more successful on the C-HR and Camry than the Prius, but all 3 of them look like they could form Voltron at any minute. This ad feels like an admission from Toyota that they're at least aware that the new styling can be interpreted that way. It'll be interesting to see if they run it in the West.

 

[mmcartalk]

So far i have sat in one extensively, and interior quality is what Toyota needs to mirror up and down in the lineup.

Agreed. A quality interior will do a lot more to sell a vehicle than animated video-game ads.

 

[DoingDamage]

I saw these on sale in Paris. I like the look! I would prefer this over a Prius.

https://goo.gl/photos/T2f2FUKajbefNR228