Toyota CH-R review: It's bigger and bolder, but is it better?

I was always a big fan of the Toyota CH-R. It looked better than it strictly needed to, it drove well, it was spacious enough, and surprisingly economical with the right drivetrain.

Bundle in Toyota's legendary build quality and reliability and you had the perfect package. And then the new one came along.

I was initially a bit taken aback. The styling appeared to be a bit too daring, you could only spec it with a hybrid or plug-in hybrid system, and it's noticeably bigger.

That said, all of this can be chalked up to progress and demand. Toyota enjoyed huge success with the previous CH-R, so it would have been a bit of an injustice if this was just a lukewarm rehash. It deserves to make a bold statement.

And it does. The funny thing is, now I've seen it properly, lived with it for a few days, I really like the styling. Perhaps not as much as I liked the first one, but there's still time for it to grow on me.

It isn't really that much bigger, either. It's not as big as the Rav4, it's not as boxy as the likes of Seat's Ateca and Skoda's Karoq, and it's much more attractive than the smaller Nissan Juke.

The interior design is far less controversial than the exterior, but that's not to say it's dull. Far from it.

Its sculpted around the driver, which I like. The infotainment screen is a perfect size and shape, and all the ergonomics just work really well. It has physical buttons for the climate control, too. Hoorah.

The rear cabin is perhaps the weak link. Fiddle with the slightly clumsy and totally unnecessary retractable door handles and you'll open into a space that feels enclosed, thanks to that sharp slope of the rear pillar. There's plenty of legroom, that's not the problem, it's the headroom and the lack of light.

Rear visibility is hampered a tad by the high waistline, but the boot isn't too bad, with up to 388 litres available, depending on the drivetrain.

And that brings me on to engine choices. There are two petrol engine options, a 1.8-litre and a 2.0-litre, with a plug-in hybrid option for the bigger unit that bundles in a 16kWh battery serving up more power and a 41-mile WLTP range.

Obviously, this is the best option to go for, if only on paper. The problem is, it costs quite a bit more.

While a base-spec 1.8 petrol CH-R Icon will cost £31,300, the plug-in options get comfortably into the £40k mark.

Having said that, spec levels are suitably generous, so you wouldn't be losing out hugely by going for the cheapest option.

Across the range, economy is strong, reliability should be market-leading, it drives perfectly nicely, and has the best CVT gearbox I've ever tested.

Some of the safety aids are a bit incongruous, and they all turn themselves back on when you restart it, I almost wish it had a basic, bargain non-hybrid version to choose from, and it can look a right dog's dinner in the wrong colours.

Overall it's a really likeable thing. I'm not as bowled over by it as I was with the original CH-R, but I did enjoy it more the more time I spent with it.

Whether it'll be as big a success as the last CH-R remains to be seen. It's a crowded space now, and not everyone wants to shell out for a hybrid.

But I hope it does really well. It deserves to.