Toyota C-HR VS Subaru XV

There’s a fair bit going on here compared to most of Toyota’s other products, much like the first generation, but being designed with Europe as the key market and Australia as a secondary means the styling team needed to take on some fairly fashionable brands.

All three variants of the C-HR are relatively close in aesthetics, with major differences being two-tone paint or specific trim elements for the top-spec GR Sport.

It uses new Toyota design elements that have been seen on some models already, the ‘c-shape’ lights have been used on the new Prius, which we no longer get in Australia, for example.

The black roof was also available on the previous generation, where this car has carried over the ‘egg-like’ silhouette from.

The overall relatively aquatic styling and shape must be for aerodynamic advantage - its chief engineer told us the drag coefficient is just 0.318Cd - but the removal of the rear wiper to lower drag might have been unnecessary for a city-focused small SUV.

The cabin isn’t as wild as the outside, which may be a let-down in some ways, though it’s still a little more visually interesting than its more mainstream stablemates.

The 64-colour ambient lighting changes based on settings including time of day or drive mode, but can be set to a specific single colour if you wish.

The centre stack on the dash is gently angled towards the driver with a small separation between it and the passenger, creating a slight ‘cockpit’ feeling.

Seats are made from different materials depending on the grade, though no real leather is used even in the GR Sport, where synthetic suede and leather are the main upholstery.

The cloth textiles are made from entirely recycled materials, while the synthetic suede is made from a little less than half recycled materials.

They don’t look cheap, but they also don’t look particularly luxurious.

That Lagoon Blue paint. As mentioned above it’s only available on the hybrid and in the metal the colour is so stunning and different that right now from my desk I can see people rubber necking at it parked out the front of my house. The hue, combined with the ‘e-boxer’ badges, makes for an intriguing package, which, from where I sit, is generating a stack of interest. That was always Subaru’s intention, I guess.

Other hybrid-only design features include the frosted silver elements around the fog lights, the slim-line roof rails and, of course, those ‘e-boxer’ badges.

Those are the only styling differences between the Hybrid and the other XV family members.

Not having the chunky roof racks means the overall height is 20mm lower, at 1595mm, but the rest of the dimensions are the same as a regular XV, at 4465mm long and 1800mm wide.  

The XV is a small SUV, but larger than most of its rivals – it’s about 200mm longer than a Honda H-RV, and similar in size to a Kia Seltos or Nissan Qashqai. That said, its cargo capacity isn’t the best – but more on that in the Practicality section below.

We’re just talking about appearances here and the XV hybrid is cute and angry looking at the same time, with its Pokémon-like face.

Nothing has changed about the overall exterior styling since this new-gen XV was introduced in 2017. And that goes for the interior, too, which is a highlight of this SUV.

There’s no other small SUV in the price range with a cabin that feels this good – the craftsmanship is superb, the fit and finish is excellent and the materials (even the plastics) feel gorgeous. I never use the word gorgeous, but you won’t find a more comfortable and luxurious cabin this side of a Lexus.

That said, the small display screen lets things down, and so does the featureless hard plastic on the back of the centre console, which stares at the rear passengers.