My GT7 Log: Crossover The World

The crossover SUV market is as ever-growing as superhero movies in theaters, and Toyota continues to buck the trend with the compact SUV C-HR. In Gran Turismo 7, I uncovered this mega-popular but short-lived compact crossover.

So, what's it all about the Toyota C-HR, the compact crossover that became an immediate hit on its home turf, only to get shortlived after nearly a decade?

Introduced in late 2016, the Toyota C-HR is designed to entice customers with its coupe-like styling, efficiency as an eco-car, and dynamics supposedly inspired by the Nurburgring—although many would argue this is theoretical. The styling, which takes its cues from the 2014 concept car, gives the C-HR a coupe-like look that some believe makes it a high-clearance sports car.

This subcompact SUV shares the TNGA platform of the Prius and is available with a 1.2L turbocharged petrol engine with all-wheel drive, or a 1.8L hybrid with front-wheel drive. Both choices are paired with a CVT. The model featured in Gran Turismo 7 is sadly the latter.

In 2017, the Toyota C-HR was one of the best-selling cars in Japan until the arrival of the Daihatsu Rocky-based Toyota Raize in late 2019 outsold it. As a result, the C-HR was discontinued in 2023.

A pre-production prototype raced in the 2016 Nurburgring 24-Hour Race and achieved 3rd place in the SP2T class. In 2019, GAZOO Racing Team Thailand raced two C-HRs in the SP3 class with one of them finishing 3rd in the said class while the other failed to start.

I went to the Nurburgring to see if the Toyota C-HR's dynamics, thanks to its TNGA platform and meager hybrid powertrain, can keep up with the world's most punishing racetrack, just like in the past. Let's roll the tape.

How's my driving with the C-HR Hybrid at the Nurburgring? Well, despite its weak performance, it feels too easy to drive even in the Nurburgring and I managed to post a 10m20.835s lap time. Not much but it's clear that the C-HR's TNGA platform and sporty dynamics are not too shabby for a coupe SUV of this size. Why would Toyota stop making one?

The Toyota C-HR is an unconventional crossover that serves as both a practical daily vehicle and an underappreciated performer at the Nurburgring. Although no longer with us, the C-HR proved that it can, as the commercials said, Crossover The World.

Keep Yourself Alive.