Toyota C-HR interior, tech and practicality

Front-seat passengers have little to complain about in the C-HR. There's a good range of adjustment in the seat, and tall adults should be able to push the base far back enough to comfortably accommodate their legs. As we'll discover in a moment, however, the same can't be said for rear passengers.

At least it's easy to find your way around the C-HR's dashboard. Toyota has resisted the trend of slapping most major controls into a car's touchscreen, and the car's ease-of-use benefits as a result. All the key driving features including the gear shifter, drive mode selector and brake auto-hold are physical controls. This also extends to the climate controls and the stereo volume, with everything positioned just where you expect it to be.

Visibility is poor by the standards of the class – an inevitable result of the C-HR's exaggerated body shape. Rear-side windows are small and the C-pillar behind them is very thick, which obscures your over-the-shoulder view. The rear windscreen itself is similarly compact so you can't see much behind the car. On the plus side, every version gets a reversing camera, while Design trim and up also get parking sensors.

The C-HR range kicks off with Icon trim. This lacks the visual pizzazz of higher versions but still includes most of the important features you want. You get alloy wheels, climate control and active safety aids including adaptive cruise control. There's also an infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Next up is Design trim. This gains bigger alloy wheels, a larger infotainment screen, a powered bootlid, all-round parking sensors, heated front seats and dual-zone climate control.

Excel is a high-end trim featuring luxuries like even larger 19-inch alloys, a panoramic glass roof, a 360º parking camera and automatic high beams. You also get part-suede and faux-leather upholstery.

Finally, GR Sport brings a meaner edge to the C-HR with 20-inch alloy wheels, sporty front grilles and GR badges. There's also front sport seats and an upgraded JBL nine-speaker stereo.

There are two infotainment setups available on the C-HR. Entry-level Icon cars include an eight-inch central touchscreen with a seven-inch display for the driver's dials. Design models and up get a larger 12.3-inch centre screen and another 12.3-inch screen for the driver's dials.

We can't fault the function of the setup in Icon cars, but it looks cheap compared to the rest of the range. The graphics on the driver's screen aren't very sharp, and the smaller central screen sits in the same-sized frame as the larger version, leaving thick, ugly plastic bezels on either side.

Stepping up to the upgraded setup means the centre screen actually fills the space it takes up. Plus, the extra visual real estate means menus and on-screen buttons can be larger and, thus, easier to hit. The enlarged driver's screen is much sharper and more modern looking than the smaller unit. However, the random mish-mash of graphics and fonts vying for your attention makes it harder to read in practice.

This is an area where the C-HR falls quite far short of class standards. That dramatic, sculpted body means less space can be made available for people and cargo, and this will definitely be felt by rear-seat passengers.

Any front occupants over average height will have to push their seats back and encroach on rear-seat legroom. As a result, you might need to find an uncomfortable balance between front and rear space if you'll have regular rear-seat passengers.

Sadly, that's not even the worst problem. That dishonour goes to rear headroom, which would be poor by the standards of several smaller car classes, let alone the C-HR's direct rivals. The sloping roof eats into headroom of course, but it also makes the rear door opening a slightly awkward shape and means the rear-side windows are small and claustrophobic.

Entry-level 1.8-litre self-charging-hybrid C-HR's have a headline boot space figure of 388 litres. That's probably enough for the average driver but, like the passenger space, falls some way short of the best in class.

That figure drops to 364 litres for 2.0-litre self-charging-hybrid models, and down to 310 litres for 2.0-litre plug-in-hybrid cars. Those losses are mainly felt in the underfloor space, but you might miss the extra few litres if you're loaded up for a family holiday.

Not only is the overall capacity fairly underwhelming, but the C-HR's boot isn't great for tall or awkwardly shaped items. That sloping roofline substantially cuts storage space above the parcel shelf, so a trip to the garden centre might see you loading the footwells rather than the boot.