Admit it: you woke up today missing the Toyota Matrix, didn’t you? Could Toyota interest you in a modernized, reincarnated Matrix?
This is it. The Toyota C-HR is roughly an inch shorter than the old Matrix, two-tenths of an inch higher, and about an inch wider than the dearly departed hatchback that we likely wouldn’t call a mere hatchback if it arrived in 2016.
The C-HR is already in production in Sakarya, Turkey, but until the North American production-ready reveal at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show today, there were details unknown.
Now, some of the unknowns are known.
“It looks like nothing we’ve ever created, and ushers in a new era of Toyota style,” says Bill Fay, general manager of the Toyota division in the United States.
Uh, that’s for sure.
Initially intended to end up as a Scion in North America before the Scion brand was extinguished, the 2018 Toyota C-HR arrives to challenge subcompact crossovers in a burgeoning segment.
Though somewhat late to the party — there are already nearly a dozen rivals — the C-HR will beat the Ford EcoSport in the front door. But wait a minute. Is the C-HR really a direct rival for the Jeep Renegade, Mazda CX-3, Honda HR-V, and a host of other small crossovers?
For the time being, the C-HR is a front-wheel-drive car only. AWD is an option in other markets.
Keep in mind, the front-wheel-drive-only Kia Soul sells more often in America than any of the subcompact crossovers that offer AWD. Claiming Nürburgring-honed handling, Toyota says the C-HR arrives in America with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder producing 144 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque exclusively linked to a continuously variable transmission.
There’ll be XLE and XLE Premium trims, with the upper grade adding heated front seats, power lumbar support for the driver, proximity access and, “puddle lamps that project Toyota C-HR.” Both the XLE and XLE Premium are equipped with Toyota’s Safety Sense P, but the XLE Premium adds blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert.
The C-HR first appeared as a concept at 2014’s Paris show, was altered for the 2015 Frankfurt auto show, and was then shown in production form earlier this year in Geneva, Switzerland. U.S. sales of the production car begin in the spring of 2017.
No AWD? Even the Matrix, a mere hatchback, offered four driven wheels.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.
[Images: Toyota]
What a nice Juke refresh.
Lol. More wagons less bloated hatchbacks please.
90% of the Juke ugly still remains. Not bad from the front, but horrible from the side. No rear visibility. What a disaster. This is NO Matrix replacement, it is an “answer” to the question “why can’t Toyota make a Juke?”
Even the Matrix, a mere hatchback, offered windows you could at least KIND OF see out of.
Fixed that to more pertinent info for you.
Front of that car says “Hey, kid… c’mere.”
Those whose keys the gods would yank they first make repelled by every new car.
I don’t need or want AWD. This is a low-cost way to keep people in the Toyota showroom in the unlikely event they can’t afford or don’t want the RAV4.
Hey SCE, I’d love to hear your comments.
So, since its “not a crossover”, and the hatch back shape is so sloped as to appear to really constrict useful space (to my eye anyways), how is this superior to the Corolla? Hatch shaped opening is pretty much all that I can see, as well as not being a sedan, which appears to be the trend.
My preference is Corolla hands down.
The Corolla iM is better car than either this or the Corolla sedan.
Agreed. iM is kind of my preferred “cheap” car at the moment. Not exciting, but useful, certainly reliable, and decently equipped for right around 20k.
@dave:
I like the Corolla, and its styling is cleaner than this. The seating height in this C-HR might be better for older people.
hand me the vomit bucket
That picture with the shift knob gave me pause. My heart fluttered for a mere second. Then my eyes focused better on the picture, and also caught the seven words typed directly above it.
Nothing to see here, move along. 2013 Kia Soul is still at the top of my list if I get a hatchback.
How to fix this: add a turbo, remove black plastic trim around wheels, lower 4″ – bingo hot hatch. I think it looks 1,000X better then the Juke but I have crumbled up bits of paper that look better then a Juke.
“But Don’t Call It a Crossover”
Indeed.
’49 Beetle height: 60″
’17 CH-R height: 59″
Five details on the front end, and the way the touch screen is housed in the interior clearly show stylistic relationship to the 2016 Prius.
144 hp and 140 torques? I guess Toyota really wanted their own HR-V, except uglier.
The looks, the interior – I am in.
140HP no manual – I am out.
As a matter of fact… FU, Toyota. F#$% ^&&**##@, #@$%&*(… you all should be hanged and your bodies should be packed in Fukushima reactor.
+ 1. I bought a ’98 Rav4 4WD with manual transmission this year to use as a winter beater. I absolutely love that little car. This thing would make a great replacement (minus the 4WD). No manual transmission, no thanks! What a freakin disappoinment. As if Toyota doesnt have enough money to make a few manuals to keep us Toyota fanboys interested.
Ooh those are fantastic little runabouts. A ton of room too in the back if you remove the rear row entirely (they have quick disconnects). Huge windows, fantastic clearance, and available rear LSD for the 5spds along with standard locking center diff. Those little buggers are no joke!
LSD just ain’t what it used to be, man…
I have an ’03 RAV4L, I love driving it. It’s entertaining in a way that SUVs typically aren’t…just wished it had a manual.
Also, the cargo capacity with the rear seats removed is pretty great, given the size of the vehicle. The fact that the liftgate swings out like a normal door completes the package IMO.
There is a replacement for the Matrix already: the Corolla iM.
No rear visibility is a deal killer for me.
I was about to say the same thing. What the hell is that C pillar about? Mandatory murkey reverse cam.
I’m also ambivalent about the 4wd capability. It doesnt have the ground clearance or the need for 4wd being its going to be an urban vehicle.
2.0 n/a four cvt is a bit behind the times… where’s the turbo supercharged 800cc two cyl?
Seems like the whole Toyota line-up is suffering from a terminal case of uglytist.
Honda CR-V. Honda HR-V. Toyota C-HR. Kill me.
Agreed. I thought it was a Honda, at first. It resembles the Crosstour, just not as long.
Three letter names are meaningless and annoying. Cadillac and Lincoln should also get the hint.
Is it me or do these letters seem backwards?
Still a better name than P-Face.
F-Pace has to be one of the worst names in the industry today. What was Jaguar thinking?
Oh dear god, my eyes, my eyes. And you don’t even get AWD for having your eyes bleed every time you see your car. Keep that thing out of the Northeast Toyota, or you’re gonna have…ISSUES.
I dunno. Is the Big 3 – 5 in Japan and ROK coming into the “Malaise Era” only Asian style? There is not even any “Brohminess” here. Just another boring appliance that looks retched. I think it has been going on awhile. Hope it doesn’t last another 10 – 15 years. This Toyo/Scion will cost 2017 Jeep Compass money. At least the Jeep is a looker and will have a Subaru X-verse style version for less bux. We shall see if the Jeep turns out to be a mere appliance.
So when do they slap a Lexus badge on it and double the price…?
Already have, The Lexus NX
http://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/news/gallery/driven-2016-lexus-nx-200t_12.jpg
I know I’m nuts but I really like the dash layout of this and the RAV-4…
Interior is indeed very attractive IMO. Steering wheel is a standout in particular. Sort of reminds me of a pre-airbag mid 1990s 4Runner wheel.
The exterior however…..horrible. I agree with an above poster, I think we’re entering some sort of Japanese malaise era, atleast styling wise. ’13 Accord seemed to signal a return to normalcy, alas it was a false prophet.
When I’m looking at a car, I have a few basic elimination tests. One of which is to sit behind the wheel, and look over my right shoulder.
There’s no way in hell this will pass that test, so I won’t bother to form much of an opinion of it. If it can’t reasonably function in traffic, I’m not interested in the rest.
This is no longer “styling”. This is clever exploitation of the fear and dysfunction accompanying overpopulation in even a wealthy nation.
Egregiously closed-off, cocooned passenger vehicles have become the norm, this Toyota is merely a pack leader. It’s a tiny creature’s adaptation to an ever more threatening environment rapidly filling with faster competitors and larger predators.
And it’s unique in nature: turtles that can run from bears.
“Nürburgring-honed” Does anyone who would buy this know what that means?
I can imagine the poor test driver swearing at the CVT the whole way around the ‘ring. Over and over again.
It used to be boxy and square-cornered, but it rolled and scraped so many times while going around the Ring that it ended up shaped like what you see here.
The iM is clearly a modern Matrix, while this thing is not.
I’d have that over this.
Matrix had substantially more cargo room, at least gen 1 did. It had vestigial “wagon” glass between the C and D pillars.
Funny how I loathed the gen 1 matrix for squished rear visibility when they first came out (my point of reference was a ’90 Civic Wagon), and now Toyota releases this abomination.
We are in a lesser of evils type world now. The blind spots in this CHR are just ridiculous. The NHTSA is going to end up forcing rear wing cameras the way we’re headed.
As if the Nissan Juke wasn’t bad enough here comes Toyota out uglifying it to the tenth degree. Complete with lackluster power, no rear door visibility and no AWD it’s as if there is a terminal disconnect with reality going on amongst there ranks. Turkey indeed!
I suspect CG has N/R law dogs looking at this already. No manual is a bad sign. I feel many automakers only want the hi-mileage cars sold to allow the sale of a SUV with the huge profit margin it brings. I am considering a new Mercedes but they sold their soul to the EPA for the money they get from emissions credits for the mandatory start stop feature of the car. Yes, you can disable it but you must do this every time you start the car, not much of a choice. Same with the rubberband transmission, creating an extra mpg or two to justify a Sequoia sale.
Holy Blind Spot Batman!
Looks nice, somewhat of a competitor to Juke. I’m not sure I’m a fan of the gigantic wheels, but that seems to be the modern trend.
Well this car was designed for European market, so they have more taste than American. American only like boxy, sharp macho stuff. Come on ppl be adventurous. For the first time I really like Toyota design. But as we all know nothing in this world is perfect. I wanted a Hybrid AWD cuz I live in big city that still have snow. But if this mean make it cheaper then oh well it’s always like that America always get watered down product anyway. Been happening since the beginning of time. Less powerful German cars, less high tech Japanese cars. Nothing new. They must have other agenda like selling bigger more expensive SUV in their mind.