In Brief: Toyota C-HR, where style is king

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The Toyota C-HR is a subcompact crossover that Toyota introduced back in 2017. UMW Toyota Motor previewed the C-HR back in 2017, before introducing the hip crossover in 2018. 

Toyota updated the C-HR in early 2019, giving the crossover some mild styling updates, including new 17-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, new garnish strips on the front and rear bumpers, and new body moldings along sides.

More importantly is the addition of a new head unit, now with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. 

How Much Is It?

UMW Toyota Motor only offers one variant of the C-HR, priced at RM 150,000. 

At that price point, the Toyota C-HR is priced above all of its segment rivals, including the Honda HR-V (RM 108,800 to RM 124,800) and Mazda CX-3 (RM 130,159). 

In fact, the Toyota C-HR is priced in the larger, more expensive compact crossover price bracket, occupied by the Honda CR-V (RM 138,308 to RM 163,191) and Mazda CX-5 (RM 137,379 to RM 167,770). 

The sole C-HR 1.8 variant is offered with automatic HID projector headlights, automatic dual-zone air-conditioning, 7 airbags, and Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) with Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA).

Pros and Cons

If there’s one aspect that Toyota nailed right on the C-HR is its superior ride and handling. Never mind the Honda HR-V, the Toyota C-HR strikes the right balance between ride comfort and handling far better than the Mazda CX-3 ever could. 

The Toyota C-HR soaks up road irregularities with ease, which would have otherwise upset the balance of the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3. Compared to the Mazda CX-3’s overly firm ride, the Toyota C-HR offers a far plusher ride, courtesy of its double wishbone rear suspension configuration.

Furthermore, handling prowess of the Toyota C-HR is also miles ahead of its competition. The suspension gurus at Toyota has bestowed the C-HR with a go kart-like driving experience, as the rear end of the C-HR responds to steering inputs obediently.

With that said, despite its great ride and handling capabilities, sitting in the rear of the Toyota C-HR can get rather claustrophobic, due to its doorline that slopes upwards. The full black interior of the C-HR also does little to alleviate the issue.

In terms of infotainment, the Toyota C-HR is perhaps one of UMW Toyota Motor’s earliest models to receive Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, putting it ahead of the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3.

Safety wise, the RM 150k Toyota C-HR’s equipment is seriously lacking, as its sibling, the Corolla Altis, gets the full Toyota Safety Sense suite of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) at a much cheaper price point.

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