Toyota couldn’t be later to the subcompact-crossover party, finally unveiling the production version of its 2017 C-HR at the Geneva auto show last February, with the vehicle set to hit dealerships later this year. Looking just as extreme as any of the C-HR concept cars that previewed it, the production C-HR will attempt to snatch contrarian customers from the Nissan Juke and Kia Soul seemingly by out-weirding them in the looks department. But in the C-HR, how deep does weird run? Were the interior designers smoking the same stuff as the exterior designers? While the Geneva show car lacked a production-grade interior, Toyota of Europe has now released official photos, giving us our first peek at what awaits C-HR occupants once they open the door.
Happily, the cabin appears to offer a retinal reprieve from the tortured bodywork. While most of the interior panels and trim pieces visible in these images are expressively styled, the aesthetic is more BMW i3 than lunar rover. The dashboard consists of multiple horizontal design elements, each highly three-dimensional, and the infotainment screen stands proudly atop the dash in a trapezoidal frame. Perhaps the most interesting item is the ribbon-like blue trim that appears to have been draped from the middle of one door, across the dashboard to the other door. This particular vehicle’s charcoal/pale purple upholstery (along with what appear to be some regrettable geometric door inserts) is almost certainly not the only color scheme to be offered. It’s also unclear how many of this hybrid model’s design elements will be shared with non-hybrid versions and/or lower-spec trims, or how much of what we’re seeing is individually customizable.
Toyota has yet to provide information regarding what features will be offered on the U.S.-spec C-HR, but the general paucity of buttons and switches visible in this particular car suggests that many functions are now being handled via the touchscreen interface, steering-wheel controls, or voice activation. What few buttons remain are clustered beneath the center vents, mounted at a slight angle toward the driver. Given the exterior’s insane styling, we expected more interesting designs for the steering wheel and the gauge cluster, but those are small nits to pick.
Once we score some seat time in the C-HR, we will be able to tell you more. At the very least, these images give us reason to be optimistic for Toyota’s future interior-design efforts.
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