Nother CarGuy

Toyota has used the Beijing Motor Show to announce plans to launch ten electrified vehicles in China by 2020. As part of the announcement, Toyota unveiled plug-in hybrid versions of the Corolla and Levin. The company was tight-lipped on details but confirmed the models will be built in China and launched next year. The vehicles will become the first Toyota plug-in hybrids built outside of Japan and they are slated to have an electric-only range of at least 50 km (31 miles). On the styling front, there isn’t much to report as the models only receive minor modifications. Changes include a new charging port, purple accents and plug-in hybrid badging on the front fenders. Besides introducing the Corolla and Levin plug-in hybrids, Toyota revealed plans to offer an electric version of the C-HR / IZOA. Little is known about the model but it is scheduled to be launched in 2020. In related news, Toyota said it is working with its Chinese partners to build a local production bas...

The new Toyota C-HR Hy-Power concept has been unveiled and -as the name suggests- comes with more hybrid power and a brightly-colored exterior. Toyota created the design study to explore the possibility of a higher powered hybrid version of the C-HR, since the regular C-HR Hybrid has proven to be massively popular with customers in Europe, attracting more than 75 percent of them. Toyota’s designers cleverly avoided using any extra elements on the bodywork, working instead on “amplifying the inherent qualities of the production car’s design”, meaning new color combos, finishes and detailing. The lower front lip spoiler, the area above the Toyota badge on the front of the car and the wheel arch trims are now finished in gloss black, with headlights, window frames and the 20-inch alloys finished in dark chrome. Striking contrast is provided by the ‘Burning Orange’ finish on the front pillars, door mirror housings and the accent bar within the headlamps. A matching o...

Toyota will have several entirely new vehicles on display at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens its gates for the international press on September 12. One of them is the C-HR Hy-Power Concept, a study developed by the brand's European Design Center, whose intention is "to emphasize C-HR's emotional and powerful look, while hinting at future expansion of Toyota's hybrid powertrain lineup within its core models". The automaker is already offering a hybrid version of the C-HR, which uses the same powertrain as the Prius. It combines a 1.8-liter petrol engine with an electric motor, which delivers 120 horses to the wheels through a CVT. In production since 2007, the current Toyota Land Cruiser is getting ready to be replaced by an entirely new generation. The company didn’t have much to say about it, so far, except that it will feature "a segment-unique body-on-frame construction", and it "will take you wherever you want to go, and brin...

Toyota has unveiled the CH-R in full at the ongoing  Paris Auto Show  after its  design preview  earlier in the new at Geneva. Standing for Coupe High-Rider, the new Toyota model bares a striking resemblance to its concept variant unveiled two years ago in Paris. It's been spawned to rival vehicles like the Mazda CX-3, Nissan Juke and Honda JR-V. Beneath the skin, the  CH-R  is based around the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) and when it hits the market, will be available in a number of guises. The range-topping model features a 2.0-liter petrol four-cylinder engine delivering 142 hp and mated to a CVT. However, this variant will only be available in select markets. Elsewhere, like the UK, the range will be topped out by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder mated to an electric motor to produce a total of 120 hp and achieving 78.5 mpg over the combined cycle, all while emitting just 82 g/km of CO2 emissions. Last but not least is a 1.2-liter turbo petrol engi...

Toyota has finally given us an inside glimpse of their upcoming  2017 C-HR following its debut  at the Geneva Motor Show in March where it was displayed with blacked out windows. The C-HR represents Toyota’s jump into the hotly contested subcompact crossover segment, going up against the likes of the Honda HR-V, Nissan Juke, Mazda CX-3 and the Buick Encore and  Opel Mokka twins , with sales in Europe to start this fall, and in North America and other regions around the world, in the first half of 2017.  Having already  seen the production C-HR’s  hip exterior styling with a coupe-like build, aided by the concealed rear door handles, angular lines and pronounced wheel arches that work well when filled with big wheels like on the Geneva show floor model, Toyota has now lifted the curtains on the car’s cabin.  The CH-R’s asymmetrical dashboard has a simple and uncluttered layout, minimizing switchgear thanks to a large 8-inch touch-screen featuring a r...

Toyota is entering the highly competitive yet lucrative subcompact SUV segment  with the C-HR  that was officially revealed today at the  Geneva Motor Show . The brand’s rival to the Honda HR-V, Nissan Juke and Mazda CX-3, remains fairly true to last year’s C-HR Concept with a distinctive, albeit overly busy design with cuts and creases, featuring a sloping, coupe-like roofline and hidden rear door handles.  Underpinning the C-HR is the flexible Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) shared with the Prius, which allowed the use of the latter’s gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain, making it the first of its kind in its class.  The 1.8-liter hybrid unit from the Prius delivers 122 horsepower with CO2 emissions of less than 90g/km, which Toyota says, is “unrivalled within its segment”.  Alternatively, the C-HR will be offered in Europe with the new 115PS (114hp) 1.2-liter turbocharged gasoline engine first used in the Auris, connected to a 6-speed manual gea...

Less than two years after  Toyota released their C-HR Concept  that was followed up by an updated version last September, the Nissan Juke-rival has materialized into a  production model  that will be officially  revealed in Geneva .  The first official photos of the  new 2017 Toyota C-HR  that surfaced online show that the Japanese carmaker tried to stay as close as realistically possible to the  edgy concept without  creating a claustrophobic vehicle for the passengers or limiting its practicality and usability.  It is based on Toyota’s new global architecture (TNGA) that’s also found under the latest Prius, and like the latter, it will feature a full hybrid petrol-electric powertrain, the technical details of which haven’t been released yet.  Toyota’s dramatic looking C-HR will join a growing pack of subcompact crossovers, including the Fiat 500X, Jeep Renegade, Mazda CX-3, Nissan Juke, Honda HR-V and Chevrolet Trax, and w...

With just a week left until the  Geneva Motor Show  will open its gates for the media, Toyota has released a teaser sketch with the production version of the C-HR Concept.  Penned in order to keep interest high in the  new compact crossover , the sketch doesn’t reveal anything on its shape just yet, except for the fact that it will carry over some of the study's lines.  According to the official press release, the new model is " matching a 5-door coupe design to an elevated SUV-style cabin " and is supposed to " show the new face of Toyota ".  The plant in Sakarya, Turkey, will be in charge to build the new C-HR-based crossover, which will become the firm's third plant to  produce hybrid vehicles  outside Japan, after UK and France. The facility currently produces the Corolla and Verso and, in order to cope with the compact model, Toyota has invested around €350 million ($394 million equivalent).  Joining in Geneva is the  new Proace ...