Toyota is said to be planning a late February 2017 introduction for their new C-HR (an acronym for Compact High Rider) to hit Australian shores, marking the Japanese automaker’s entry into the higher end of the compact crossover market with a striking but modern cues inside and out.
Once it does make landfall early next year, shortly after its premiere in Japanese showrooms, it will be up against the like of Mazda’s CX-3, the Renault Captur, Nissan Qashqai, and Honda HR-V. Toyota Australia, however, seems confident that their newest entrant is up to the confrontation.
The Turkish-made crossover will arrive with an impressive standard suite of convenience and safety equipment, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, reversing camera, and automatic headlamps with self-dimming high beam, and lane departure warning.
Naturally, Toyota is hoping for a 5-star streak when safety tests are conducted, aiming for full marks on Euro NCAP and ANCAP score sheets.
The C-HR is the second car in Toyota’s stable to be constructed atop their new TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform after the fourth-generation Prius, with a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine called up for propulsion duties here, producing 85kW and 185Nm.
Two grades will be offered for Australian buyers, the base C-HR coming standard with a six-speed manual transmission to transmit drive to the front wheels while the higher-end C-HR Koba uses a CVT (continuously variable transmission) and an all-wheel drive system.
Elsewhere, it will also be available with a similar hybrid powertrain as the new Prius or a even 2.0-litre petrol exclusive to the North American market.
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