After much teasing, hinting and winking, Toyota has finally revealed the full production version of the C-HR crossover, a car that will sit above the likes of the Nissan Juke and Peugeot 2008, but less conventional SUV than the Nissan Qashqai or Toyota's own Rav4.
The final version keeps most of the concept’s styling as well as its badge - the rear end is far more swoopy and low-slung than we had been expecting. The big tail-lights are rather striking too, as is the rear door handle recessed almost into the roofline.
It also keeps the hybrid powertrain that the concept had - the same 1.8-litre engine plus batteries plus electric motor as the new Prius, a car with which the C-HR also shares its Toyota New Generation Architecture (TNGA) chassis. The hybrid is claimed to have 122hp and Co2 emissions of less than 90g/km, which Toyota says is the best figure in the class.
It will be joined by more conventional engines - including the highly-praised 115hp 1.2-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine already on sale in the Auris hatchback. There will also be a 2.0-litre petrol engine version that will only come with a CVT automatic transmission, but that model is unlikely to come to Ireland. As yet, no diesel option has been spoken of - tax-conscious Irish buyers may have to content themselves with the hybrid.
It will be spacious though, in spite of that sloping rear roofline - it’s only 40cm shorter than the larger RAV4, which almost makes it big enough to be a rival to the Nissan Qashqai, as well as the Juke.
Toyota says that “guided by Chief Engineer Hiroyuki Koba’s vision ‘Response, Linearity and Consistency’ the driving dynamics have been deliberately benchmarked on the precision and control experienced at the wheel of a modern C-segment hatchback, thanks to the refinement of the TNGA platform and its low centre of gravity.”