With most of its designs, Toyota shoots for the middle of the road. But the Toyota C-HR is weird. The 2022 Toyota C-HR has the reliability Toyota is known for. But it doesn’t have the mainstream styling Toyota is known for.
It offers a pleasant ride, decent fuel economy, and possibly the funkiest styling in the decidedly funkless subcompact SUV segment.
Its successor will stick with that formula.
Toyota today previewed the next C-HR (it means “coupe – high-riding,” although the car has four doors). The company’s European division took the wraps off a concept car it’s calling the “C-HR Prologue.”
Officially a Concept; Probably the Next C-HR
Toyota says this car is destined for Europe. But it’s almost certainly the same car we’ll get in the U.S. in 2024.
Officially, concept cars aren’t previews of production cars. But Toyota has used the “Prologue” name before on concepts that went into production shortly afterward, and previewed the prior C-HR in Europe. So odds are good that this is a preview of Toyota’s next subcompact SUV here in the United States.
Toyota says the concept “makes very clear that Toyota is staying true to what made Toyota C-HR such a success.”
That includes the strange styling – amped up in the concept with bigger wheels and shorter overhangs, plus a front fascia with a thinner grille and big C-shaped LED lights. Toyota is calling the look “hammerhead.” It shares obvious DNA with the all-new 2023 Prius.
The almost-hidden rear door handles return, made even more difficult to spot thanks to a 3-tone paint job that includes an eye-catching spoiler set in yellow.
Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid Versions
The company offered no details on the car’s interior.
Toyota promises both hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions. An all-electric C-HR? We still think that’s likely, in the form of the bZ Compact SUV Concept Toyota unveiled in Los Angeles last month. But that will likely get a name with the bZ (“beyond zero”) prefix Toyota is using for its planned lineup of electric cars.
