The Scion parentage also explains why the CH-R is so danged funky
What Is It: There are more stars in the Andromeda galaxy than there are subcompact crossovers available in the U.S. market, but not many more. To stand out, the Toyota C-HR brings spicy, art-project styling to the table and even two-tone paint jobs. No surprise that this was originally going to be a Scion before Scion got the ax. But style cannot hide its torque-sucking CVT transmission; only buyer denial can do that.
What Is It: There are more stars in the Andromeda galaxy than there are subcompact crossovers available in the U.S. market, but not many more. To stand out, the Toyota C-HR brings spicy, art-project styling to the table and even two-tone paint jobs. No surprise that this was originally going to be a Scion before Scion got the ax. But style cannot hide its torque-sucking CVT transmission; only buyer denial can do that.
Key Competitors: Too many to list, but the Mazda CX-3, Ford EcoSport and Hyundai Kona are good
Base Price: $23,545 As-Tested Price: $25,395
Highlights: Style, baby! Look at the roof wing ... heck, look at that roof. And just try to find the rear door handle. OK, it’s not that hard, but it’s not immediately intuitive, as one great editor once said. Its 144 horses aren’t going to squeal anyone’s tires, but this class of crossover is more about economical operation and practicality, anyway.
Our Opinion: The Toyota C-HR was developed by Hiroyuki Koba, a man who should know exactly what characteristics make a car fun to drive. Not only does the deputy chief engineer own a twin-turbo Supra, according to Toyota, he’s “a die-hard racer with speed coursing through his veins”.
The trouble is, the C-HR isn’t just slow, it’s one of the slowest cars you can buy. Koba should have transfused some of that speed in his veins to the C-HR’s four-cylinder engine. Part of the problem is that the pokey 2.0-liter is hitched to a CVT. At full throttle, the engine revs are loud. And once the C-HR hits highway speeds around 70 mph, there’s more wind noise than most small cars. The ride is taut, bordering on choppy when the tires slap rough pavement. But generally, this is an unobtrusive, easy-handling machine around town. The C-HR sits higher than most compact cars and the view out front is just fine, but there’s a crazy blind spot over your shoulder thanks to the, ahem, funky design. And because there’s so much metal high up in the flanks of the rear door, the back seat is a dark grotto of gloom -- like a mid-1980s Mercury Cougar. And 6-footers will need to duck their head on their way out.
Yet strangely, I don’t hate this thing. The driver and passenger have plenty of room up front and the materials in this XLE Premium were very nice. When was the last time a $25,000 car had such nice soft dash padding? Never, that’s when. The rearview mirror camera system seems like a smart move until you learn that the C-HR comes standard with a 7-inch touchscreen. So why not use that? The C-HR’s 19 cubic-foot cargo hold is smaller than many hatchbacks. In our testing though, the flat, raised rear load floor is perfectly sized to expertly transport a stack of extra-large pizzas without any toppings sliding around. That’s probably more important to crossover drivers than quarter-mile times.
Another Opinion: In football, you can be flagged for piling on, making late hits long after the play is dead. Well, debit me for 15 yards and two minutes in the penalty box because, as nearly everyone who has ever ventured an opinion about the C-HR has already stated, it is slooooow. In a drag race with molasses, the C-HR would come in third. Published figures say 0-60 in 11 seconds. I don’t know how they got that blistering figure. During my test, glaciers sped past, tectonic plates blew me away -- and flipped me off.
Attempting a passing maneuver, not that you’d ever be able to attempt a passing maneuver in this, took even longer. Step out into the passing lane, place a brick on the gas and reacquaint yourself with your Catholic upbringing as you pray no one comes up behind you. The 144-hp 2.0-liter four does its best, but “power” is routed from there to a CVT. Granted, CVTs are generally getting better, but this one needs to get a lot better. The C-HR comes only in front-wheel drive, which could be another drawback to some potential buyers.
I’ve driven three CH-Rs in the last couple months. One of them was dubbed “the world’s fastest.” You can read about it here. I lapped Willow kinda fast, but that car represented lots of speed parts and a year’s worth of work from a professional race team. The other two C-HRs I drove were stock and thus less impressive, at least in the acceleration department.
Awright, enough speed-bashing! Apart from anemic acceleration, the CH-R ain’t bad at all. Both mine were the loaded XLE Premium models with dual-zone climate, 7-inch touchscreen display, 4.2-inch TFT “Multi-Information Display,” heated front bucket seats, Smart Key System with push-button start and a host of other features. Most of the other features were also found on the plain old XLE model, so you could save a couple grand there, if you were buying.
Both trim levels offer that same zany exterior, from the wacky rear roof winglet to the hard-to-figure-out rear door handles. Once you do figure them out, you’ll find there’s good room inside. As one teenaged carpooler said, “It looks like a small car, then you get inside and it’s, like, a medium car.” But the looks are what is politely called polarizing. Another carpooler: “Are we taking the weird car?” Yet another, “That is funky.” One last scud: “What’s wrong with the roof?” The latter referred to the two-tone paint job called the R-Code paint treatment.
It is heavy on the style, this C-HR, heavier than other crossovers in the subcompact crossover segment. Should you get this or a Mazda CX-3? Or Honda HR-V? The Chevy Trax/Buick Encore and Jeep Renegade achieve cuteness without being overstyled. Same with the Hyundai Kona. There are over 15 entries in this segment. As long as you don’t buy the Fiat 500X or anything with a torque-sucking CVT, you’ll probably be OK.
-- Mark Vaughn
Read more: https://autoweek.com/article/car-reviews/2018-toyota-ch-r-woulda-been-better-scion#ixzz5Ods6JXzF
No comments:
Post a Comment