The new Toyota C-HR is one of the most radical things the Toyota brand has done in years. But although the Euro-focused crossover will be making it to the United States next year, we won?t be getting its 1.2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or hybrid powertrains. We initially reported this news in our first-drive review of the Europe-spec version, but there’s more background on the decision.
Chief engineer Hiroyuki Koba told us at the launch that the only engine for the U.S. will be a 144-hp naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder that will work solely in conjunction with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). That?s a higher output than the new 114-hp 1.2-liter unit can muster, but the older 2.0-liter engine?s relative lack of torque?its peak of 139 lb-ft arrives at a high 3800 rpm, while the turbo?s 137 lb-ft is available from just 1500 rpm?means that Toyota claims near identical zero-to-62-mph times for both cars (11.1 seconds for the front-drive turbo, 11.0 seconds for the front-drive 2.0-liter).
The lack of a gasoline-electric model for the U.S. is acknowledgment of how tough it is to sell hybrids at the moment. The C-HR sits on the same global TNGA-C platform as the new Prius, and Koba confirmed there is no engineering reason to prevent the hybrid from being sold in the States; Toyota simply thinks that demand isn?t there. The hybrid uses the familiar Atkinson-cycle 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine in conjunction with a 70-hp electric motor...