Toyota CH-R crossover SPIED testing in India

Toyota’s latest addition to their line-up was the Urban Cruiser which was essentially a rebadged Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Surprisingly, Toyota managed to sell more Urban Cruisers than its own vehicles such as the Innova and the Fortuner. You can read more about this in detail by clicking here. Toyota might have realized that the SUVs are in great demand due to which they might be planning to launch more SUVs in the Indian market. Recently, Toyota C-HR was spied being tested on Indian roads. This is not the first time that the C-HR was spied on our roads. There are numerous occasions when the crossover has been spied over the past couple of years.

The C-HR here was spied in Banglore and it was being driven by people from Continental tyres. The tyre manufacturer has been using the C-HR as a test vehicle to develop their systems and tyres. The SUV was going from Continentals Corporate office to their factory which is located in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Another C-HR has also been spotted in Noida where there is also a corporate office of Continental Tyres. So, it seems that the car really belongs to Continental Tyres and not Toyota.

The C-HR is available with many engine options. There is a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 144 HP of max power and a peak torque output of 188 Nm. The engine is mated to a CVT gearbox. However, the model that was spied was powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine that comes with electric motors. So, it produces 122 PS and is mated to a CVT automatic gearbox. It is highly unlikely that Toyota brings the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine to India because it would not be cost-efficient for them. The 1.8-litre unit that they are using is shared with the Prius.

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The crossover is underpinned by the Toyota New Global Architecture platform. Due to this, the crossover will be expensive to manufacture unless investment is done on extensive localization. Toyota could also import the vehicle, but that would increase the cost. Ideally, the C-HR competes with the SUVs like Kia Seltos, Tata Harrier and the Hyundai Creta. However, if it is imported then it will be competing with the likes of Jeep Compass.

As we know that Maruti Suzuki and Toyota have agreed to be in a partnership which allows Toyota to share Maruti Suzuki’s models. This is beneficial for them as we have already seen from the sales of the Urban Cruiser. We know that Maruti Suzuki and Toyota are working on a Hyundai Creta rival. Launching this new SUV makes more sense as it will be specifically made for the Indian market and both the manufacturers will be able to share costs. This means that the SUV could be priced very aggressively in the market.

The new Seltos rival will be 4.3-metres long and will be based on Toyota’s DNGA platform. It is expected to be powered by a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that we have seen on other Maruti Suzuki models. The engine produces 103 bhp of max power and 138 Nm of peak torque. According to recent reports, Maruti is working on bringing back the 1.5-litre diesel engine in its BS6 form. So, the new SUV will also get the 1.5-litre diesel engine. The engine was known as DDiS 225 and produces 94 HP of max power and 225 Nm of peak torque. We think that there is also a slight possibility of a turbocharged petrol engine on offer as Hyundai Creta and the Kia Seltos offers one.

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