The new CH-R is the best a Toyota SUV has ever been (even if it doesn't live up to its looks)

The city, after a classical music performance at Llewellyn Hall, is among the most dangerous places on earth.

It’s nothing to do with the performance itself. The Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s recent rendition of Beethoven’s 9th, for instance, nigh well blew the roof off. More people my age should go and savour the fine arts.

But that’s the thing. The car park becomes a minefield of lost seniors in Subaru Outbacks and Mazda 3s, all bustling to return home to striped pyjamas and a warm cup of cocoa.

I was in the new Toyota CH-R and, in a way, I blended in. This is a crossover – or ‘Compact High-Rider’ – so exactly the sort of car our elders love for ease of entry and egress.

The car park was chock-full , which meant I could also use its higher ground clearance to … let’s say, make my own car park.

But in another way, I didn’t blend in.

There is already – count them – the Yaris Cross, the Corolla Cross, the RAV4, and now the electric bZ4X as the small to mid-size SUVs in the Toyota range, but the CH-R is designed to target a very different market. A more youthful market.

It certainly looks very sharp, especially in a two-tone colour scheme of metallic orange and black. Toyota’s new hammerhead-shark front end is here, complemented by creased flanks and fins jutting out over the sloping rear window.

The pop-out door handles are neat too, even if the loud clunk they make as they fold back in will make you think you’ve just hit something.

Inside continues along the same lines. The seats wouldn’t look out of place in an Aston Martin, and there are plenty of pleasant touches like two-tone stitching, suede inserts, and ambient lighting strips to help distract you from the hard plastic everywhere else.

You’d expect the sporty edge to continue when you push the start button.

But no. A few metres down the road and it’s the same-old Toyota experience. A silky smooth petrol-electric hybrid arrangement and supple suspension, but push harder and the steering feels vague and the body roly-poly.

You’re not having fun. You’re an object comfortably moving through space – that is all.

Of course, this is just a me-problem. Toyota knows its target market and gym gals won’t particularly care for deft handling. From that perspective, the CH-R is an ideal package.

The digital screen graphics are the best iteration we’ve seen yet in a Toyota – easy to read and not stupidly chaotic.

Space is tight in the back, and boot space not brilliant, but you knew this. It still swallowed our two child seats and a modern pram the size of a small forklift with a bit of squishing.

And despite a mix of exuberant around-town errands and highway slogs at 110 km/h, the average fuel consumption stubbornly refused to shift from five litres per 100 km.

I didn’t even feel compelled to turn off all the safety aids. They’re all here, of course, but more subtle than I’ve come to expect from Toyota.

To the price then. There are three models, starting at $46,519 driveaway for the GXL, going up to $53,519 for my Koba and then up again to $58,721 for the GR Sport.

So yes, there is a more sporty option with a 2.0-litre engine, suspension tuned by Toyota’s Gazoo Racing (GR) arm, and “GR-branded brake callipers and sporty interior trims” to match. It’s just a pity you’re paying close to $60K to get it.

Meanwhile, the Corolla Cross starts at $39,434 driveaway, which means you’re paying nearly $10K extra for the CH-R’s body and sports seats.

Worth it? Still yes. There’ll be a time for the other SUVs years from now when you appreciate nothing more than a nice sit-down and warm cup of cocoa.

2024 Toyota CH-R Koba

• $53,519 driveaway
• 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, electric motor, 103 kW / 142 Nm
• Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), front-wheel drive (FWD)
• 4.0 litres per 100 km claimed fuel consumption
• 5-star ANCAP safety rating

Thanks to Toyota Australia for providing this car for testing. Region has no commercial arrangement with Toyota Australia.