TOYOTA C-HR HYBRID

UK roads reveal if the new version has the dynamic ability to match its design flair

- MARK TISSHAW

The Toyota C-HR looks like a trainer you would see on display in a shopping outlet, carrying the logo of a well-known brand but with a funky design and in a garish colour. Do you buy it for the brand and live with the design? The looks will be polarising but credit to Toyota for managing to give the second-generation C-HR even more character than the first, in addition to proportions that can be appreciated by anyone.

This is our third go in the C-HR but our first in the UK. On our roads and in its final UK spec, it excels dynamically and is one of the better and most interesting small SUVs you can buy in a class full of identikit options.

At which end of the class the C-HR sits depends on your perspective. It's either a bigger alternative to the likes of the Ford Puma or a smaller one to the Nissan Qashqai.