Toyota spent years moving slowly on EVs. I drove its new, affordable C-HR to see whether the wait paid off.

Let's spell backmost to 2023. GM is rolling retired a twelve EVs, Ford has borrowed the iconic F-150 and Mustang nameplates for all-electric vehicles, Polestar looks for illustration a potential up-and-comer…

And Toyota — agelong heralded arsenic 1 of the much environmentally conscious automakers aft the runaway occurrence of the Prius hybrid — isn't really competing. Its azygous EV, the bZ4X, is simply a small weird-looking, charges slowly, and won't scope 300 miles connected a afloat battery.

Toyota's slow attack amazed manufacture watchers. Environmentalists blew up my telephone astatine the time, complaining that the world's largest automaker was leaning heavy connected hybrids that still sewage astir of their powerfulness by burning dinosaur juice.

Fast-forward 3 years. The industry's rosier EV predictions person succumbed to billion-dollar write-downs, a large graveyard of discontinued models, and Polestar's removal from the US market.

Simultaneously, and almost inexplicably, Toyota's user EV lineup successful 2026, caller disconnected a business pinch Subaru, has much nameplates than Tesla.

That reversal is what made maine peculiarly funny astir the caller C-HR.

Handsome. Efficient. Kinda… ace sporty?

I drove astir 200 miles done New York City postulation and New Jersey's highways successful a 2026 Toyota C-HR XSE. And man, ohio man, did I for illustration my clip successful the driver's seat.

Let's commencement pinch pricing. Starting astatine $37,080, the C-HR isn't Toyota's astir affordable EV — that favoritism goes to the bigger, $34,980 bZ.

The C-HR is, however, the cheapest measurement to get into an all-wheel-drive Toyota EV. AWD comes modular connected the guidelines $37,080 C-HR, while it's a $5,000 upgrade connected the bZ. My tester, pinch two-tone exterior paint, oomph-ier speakers, and immoderate different goodies, topped retired astatine $43,429.

The car was wildly efficient. The EPA says the XSE tin compression 273 miles from a afloat battery.

I would person easy outperformed that during my week. I grabbed the EV pinch its artillery astatine 89%, and aft driving astir 170 miles without charging, it ne'er dropped beneath 40%. That suggests I would person gotten astir 400 miles connected a charge.

On respective drives, the car reported ratio successful the high-5s and low-6s successful miles per kilowatt-hour. Those numbers, if existent and consistent, are phenomenal. It reminded maine of my clip successful Lucid's cars, a high-end EV shaper practically obsessed pinch engineering each imaginable mile from a battery.

Efficient is not a synonym for boring, and the C-HR makes that ace clear. Toyota says the car tin jump from a opinionated commencement to 60 mph successful 4.9 seconds, which would make it the third-quickest car successful Toyota's lineup, matching the clip of the sport-oriented GR Corolla.

Once it merged onto the highway, though, it acted much Toyota-like: composed, comfortable, and whisper-quiet.

A Tesla Model Y proprietor joined maine for astir 2 hours, riding mostly successful the backmost seat.

They entered the C-HR profoundly skeptical that an EV from a bequest automaker could clasp a candle to their Tesla — and besides walked distant impressed pinch the airy interior and back-seat comfort.

Lastly, aesthetics. I deliberation the C-HR looks for illustration it's astir to pounce, moreover erstwhile parked. Its smoothed-out edges make it easier connected the eyes than Toyota's larger bZ, without falling into the look-at-me-I'm-a-weird-EV styling trap that has befallen plentifulness of battery-powered cars.

My demerits database was small, though perchance important for immoderate buyers. There's nary glovebox, cramping front-seat storage. My Model Y-owning rider is astir 5-foot-8 and had plentifulness of headroom successful the back, but anyone who regularly lugs gangly adults astir whitethorn person to do immoderate cramming. The trunk is smaller than the bZ's, there's nary frunk, and the infotainment occasionally lagged while the car booted up.

Still, by the extremity of the week, I did thing I've seldom done aft reviewing astir 75 cars successful my career: I imagined my ain life pinch the C-HR.

I was genuinely sad to spot the car go. That's not common.

Was it worthy the wait?

Showing up precocious did person advantages.

The biggest is charging: The C-HR comes modular pinch a NACS charging port, the wide accepted charging modular developed by Tesla. That lets Toyota skip immoderate of the awkward charging larboard transitions different automakers person had to navigate.

It besides helps Toyota debar immoderate of the costly EV bets that led rivals to their billion-dollar write-downs. The C-HR, for illustration each of Toyota's different EVs, was jointly developed pinch Subaru, allowing the companies to stock improvement costs successful a period of car manufacture decluttering.

Most of what makes the C-HR truthful bully feels very Toyota: beardown efficiency, a comfortable ride, coagulated first quality, and an easy-to-live-with interior. Those are not caller competencies for the company.

The hold paid disconnected pinch a awesome EV.

Did Toyota request to hold this agelong to build it? Maybe not. I'm still gladsome we sewage here.