What's this then?
It's the Toyota C-HR, a concept that's a pretty big hint at what Toyota has planned for its upcoming Qashqai rival.
I thought Toyotas were supposed to be dull and beige?
True, but this one is kind of... nice. Even a touch exciting? Allowing for the fact that the styling will be toned down a bit for production (and that rear end will have to be significantly less swoopy or it'll be hopelessly impractical), Toyota at long last seems to be breaking away from its corporate dull-ness.
Underneath lies a new platform that will go on to underpin future Avensis, Auris and Corolla models. Toyota has been accused of falling behind the likes of Volkswagen in the multi-use, versatile platform world - consider this the beginning of the catch up.
No official word on what's under the bonnet, but Toyota says it's a hybrid, so it's likely a development of the existing 1.8-litre Miller-cycle engine and battery-electric drive of the current Prius and Auris Hybrid. Diesel versions, using Toyota's own 2.0-litre D-4D and the 1.6-litre engine it shares with BMW, will presumably also be earmarked for the production version.
Interestingly, Toyota also wants to seriously ramp up its handling and dynamics game and is using European rivals as its basis. "Toyota recognises that Europe is the most demanding market for small and mid-size vehicles, so uses the region as the benchmark when defining its future cars for the A, B and C-segments. Toyota Motor Europe has also become the company's skill centre for diesel engines, perceived quality and vehicle dynamics."
When can I buy one?
You can't, it's a concept. But you should be able to snap up the production version late next year.
Neil Briscoe - 5 Oct 2014