Her + His Car Reviews
2018 Toyota C-HR XLE
There are two sides to everything, right? To keep our car reviews innovative and interesting, we provide an animated, insightful, detailed and sometimes uncouth two points of view on the same car from - Her + His perspectives.
Her: Anne Fleming, Car Buying Advocate, women-drivers.com
His: Don Hammonds, Writer, AutomobileJournal.com
| HER | HIS |
|---|---|
| Price | |
| $24,060 | $22,500 base price for C-HR; $24,350 base price for C-HR Premium |
| Performance | |
| The 2018 Toyota C-HR is an interesting model with a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine providing 144 horsepower. It also has 139 lb-ft of torque. Perhaps not the most thrilling car to drive, but it's economical and provides value in its class, which services its purpose. Continuous Variable Transmission and Intelligence Shift Mode. Handling, acceleration and braking is satisfactory. | Some car writers have written off the C-HR as being unbearably sluggish, but I wouldn't go that far. It's slow, yes, but not the horror story that some speed-conscious other car writers think. |
| Fuel Economy | |
| The 2018 C-HR, or Coupe High Rider, deliver 31 highway miles, 27 city and 29 all purpose. | C-HR is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine (144 horsepower, 139 pound-feet of torque) matched to the front wheels through a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Rating is 29 overall, 27 city and 31 highway. it uses 3.4 gallons per 100 miles driven. |
| The Car | |
| Toyota originally was going to introduce the C-HR under its Scion brand, but re-tooled it under the Toyota logo to go against the Nissan Juke, both sub-compact SUVs. Styling and design goes to the Juke, but the safety, tech and space nod slant toward the C-HR. We like the 7" touchscreen interface, 36.4 cubic feet of space, and so many of the safety features (see Safety section below). All, supported by 18" alloy wheels. | Clearly, an attention getter and head-turner! The ready for anything, getup and go style and flavor of the C-HR is served up with some pretty out of this world styling--more on that later. I loved the the handling of the C-HR, which is pretty crisp and athletic, and it's a perfect starter vehicle for those buying their first car. And it's a perfect urban car too. But I felt let down by a number of things: Acceleration is at best modest. The interior is full of plastic and is not especially inviting, and there is so much stuff that I just take for granted on most cars, but you can't get them on this one, at least not yet. These include a decent navigation system, Apple/CarPlay and Android Auto. It's noisier inside than the average car in this class, too. And what is this about the lane keeping feature only operable above 32 miles per hour? And in my view, all-wheel drive, preferably standard but at least offered optional, is a must to compete in this hard-fought market niche. I encourage Toyota to move quickly on this, or they will not have as competitive a product as they might like. |
| Safety | |
| Lane departure alert, pre-collision system, warning messages. Auto dimming rearview mirror and integrated back up camera with pollen filter filtration. Telescopic steering wheel for customized fit. Bluetooth hands free phone and voice command. Dynamic Radar Cruise Control. Automatic Emergency Braking. Pre-collision System with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, Automatic High Beams, and Full Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control. Star Safety System®, Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, Anti-Lock Brakes, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Brake Assist and Smart Stop Technology. 10 Airbags! With Advanced Airbag System - including driver and front passenger seat cushion airbags, driver knee airbag, front passenger seat cushion airbag and rear side curtain airbag. Brake Hold and Electric Parking Brake. |
Standard safety equipment includes Toyota Safety Sense (TSS-P) - Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection (PCS w/PD), Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist (LDA w/SA), Automatic High Beams (AHB),41 and Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC)26Electri Parking Brake Brake Hold, Toyota's Star Safety System™ - includes Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control (TRAC), Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA) and Smart Stop Technology (SST), ten airbags, includes driver and front passenger Advanced Airbag System, driver and front passenger and rear seat-mounted side airbags, driver knee airbag, front passenger seat-cushion airbag, and front and rear side curtain airbag; 3-point seatbelts for all seating positions; driver-side Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) and Automatic/Emergency Locking Retractor (ALR/ELR) on all passenger seatbelts; Driver and front passenger seatbelt pretensions with force limiters, Driver and front passenger seatbelt warning system, Engine immobilizer; LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) includes lower anchors and tether anchors on outboard second-row seats, Blind Spot Monitor (BSM)18 and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA), Hill Start Assist Control (HAC), Tire Pressure Monitor System, and Child-protector rear door lock. |
| Technology | |
| 7" Multi-Infotainment Display with customized settings include the odometer, driving modes, outside temperature fuel economy and trip information, fuel economy history, average fuel economy, distance till empty, average speed, trip distance with timer, G-force monitor, drivers assist, lane departure alert, pre-collision system, warning messages, opening welcome animation ad trip summary.
AM/FM, Aha application with over 100,000 stations for customized listening. 4 speakers, auxiliary audio jack, USB 2.0 port with iPod® connectivity and control, voice recognition and voice training capability. Hands free phone capability, phone book access, and music streaming via Bluetooth wireless access, HD Radio and Steering wheel controls. |
Every C-HR is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine (144 horsepower, 139 pound-feet of torque) matched to the front wheels through a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Standard features on the XLE include 18-inch wheels, automatic headlights with automatic high-beam control, LED daytime running lights, a rear spoiler, remote locking and unlocking, a driver information display, adjustable driving modes, a rearview camera, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, height-adjustable front seats, a 60/40-split rear seat, a cargo cover, a 7-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, and a six-speaker audio system with HD radio and a USB port. Several advanced safety and convenience features are also standard, including traffic-adapting cruise control, brake hold at stoplights, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, and lane departure warning and intervention. If you buy the XLE Premium trim, standard equipment also includes foglights, keyless entry and ignition, power-folding mirrors, heated front seats with two-way power lumbar for the driver, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. |
| Aesthetics & Styling | |
| We like the look of the car with its clean edges and sharpness, and the color contrasting mirrors for example. Rear Spoiler adds cool factor. Acoustic noise reducing front windshield. Door handles to the back doors are simply not comfortable and is not ergonomically easy to open. The rear window and the back windows may cause blind spots for the driver. Something to be cognizant of when test driving.
Shift from Normal, to Eco to Sport Driving Modes depending on conditions or preference. Clean, easy layout of dashboard, etc. We like that there are no paddle shifters - who really uses them and they only increase the cost of the car. Was there really only one cup holder in the middle console? Remote keyless starter on this one. Goodyear tire included - thank you, as many manufacturers are not including. |
Styling is quite striking, but you may not like the swoopy, edgy, chunky athletic vibe---I loved it. Inside, the dashboard is an attractive one although some controls were hard to use intuitively, particularly the audio system. But still, the interior just felt austere to me. Then again, I had the entry level model. I'd like to try the XLE Premium version. I suspect I would like that model a bit better when it comes to interior design and materials. |
| Warranty | |
| 3 Years/36,000 miles for basic, 5 Years/60,000 miles for powertrain. | Three years, 36,000 mile warranty. |
