The new Toyota C-HR crossover is set to launch with a choice of hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains and will arrive in Australia following its European debut.
The new Toyota C-HR has been previewed and confirmed to launch in Australia in “the coming years”.
The new creation is ostensibly a show car, but Toyota sources are openly saying that it is a close preview of the second-generation C-HR, which should land in dealerships in the second half of 2023 across Europe – but Toyota Australia is not so committed to timing.
“The current C-HR was embraced by customers for its bold styling and unique small SUV packaging and the concept vision for the next generation C-HR takes that to an even higher level,” said Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley.
“We are looking forward to the reveal of the final production version and introducing it to the Australian market in the coming years,” he said.
The C-HR Prologue sticks closely to the overall look of a patent drawing that leaked a couple of months ago – and was scooped by Automotive Daily. It shows that Toyota has elected to keep the new car’s focus on style and design over practicality – values that allowed a bold look, which has made the C-HR one of Toyota’s best-ever models for attracting new customers.
The new car’s wheelbase is believed to be extremely close to that of the existing C-HR – and it probably should be, given that the production model will use the same TNGA platform. At the front, there’s a new take on Toyota’s ‘hammerhead’ grille and lights treatment, with aggressive sculpting around the lower area of the bumper.
The roof profile remains closely aligned with the existing car’s, but the Prologue’s C-pillar has been pulled back in a bid to address one of the existing C-HR’s biggest flaws: a gloomy rear cabin. “It may not actually be more roomy in there,” admitted Lance Scott from Toyota’s ED2 studio in France, where the C-HR Prologue was designed, “but the extra light will help it to feel more spacious.”
The rear end features an extremely long and complex tail-light unit – an item that’s likely to be dropped on the production model – and a chunky diffuser.
The Prologue also sports a more dramatic experiment with the two-tone paint job that has proven popular with C-HR customers. Instead of on the roof alone, a gloss-black finish extends from the side sills all the way up to the tip of the C-pillar – in a fashion not dissimilar to the Aygo X. The concept also has a third colour on its long roof spoiler; this isn’t guaranteed to make the final vehicle, but it could be offered on special editions.
As revealed by Automotive Daily, the biggest shift on the Mk2 C-HR comes in its choice of powertrains – because alongside the latest, fifth generation of Toyota’s ‘self-charging’ hybrid set-up, it will also be available as a plug-in hybrid. Toyota has confirmed the choice of hybrid and plug-in hybrid without giving details of specific power outputs or tech configurations, but it’s feasible that the C-HR will use the same 2.0-litre, 142kW powertrain as the newly launched Mk5 Prius.
It might prove more of a technical challenge for engineers to squeeze in that car’s 165kW plug-in set-up, though, since it has a chunkier battery that would be a tighter fit under the back seats of the more compact vehicle. However, there won’t be a pure-electric version of the C-HR, but Toyota is lining up a similarly shaped new bZ model that will sit above the second-generation C-HR in the line-up.
Toyota says it will source PHEV battery packs for the C-HR in Europe, instead of shipping them from Japan to the car’s production base in Turkey. Despite this, the gains in overall powertrain complexity mean that at least a small price increase over the existing car is all but guaranteed.
Toyota Australia will no doubt confirm timing closer to its on-sale, which could be in 2024.