2026 Toyota C-HR Revives Brand's Smallest SUV as 338-HP EV

The C-HR grows up, and now has performance to match its looks.

Toyota on Wednesday announced the return of one of its more recent SUV nameplates. After a few years off, the C-HR is back, bringing the brand's SUV/crossover count back to 10, but slotting into a very different role—and not just because it's fully electric.

The original Toyota C-HR was not, to use an all-too-common bit of corporate-speak, set up for success. While other markets saw all-wheel drive and/or hybrid powerplants, North America saw neither. It disappeared shortly after the Corolla Cross debuted on these shores, which better addressed the needs of the segment. The C-HR has since continued on in other parts of the world, with powertrains largely similar to those of our Corolla Hybrid and Prius, but this 2026 model is unrelated.

We caught a glimpse of this model as the C-HR+ that debuted earlier this year, itself an evolution of 2022's bZ Compact concept. While the '26 shares the original's swept-back roofline and hidden rear door handles, that's about where the similarities end. This model rides atop the e-TNGA platform, the same one underpinning the recently updated 2026 bZ. Like that model, the C-HR features Toyota's "hammerhead" front-end design, though the taillight treatment is quite different. Available 20-inch alloy wheels fill the arches well too; 18s are standard. The C-HR debuts two new colors—Tandoori (seen here) and Overcast—and will be available in Cement, Midnight Black, and Wind Chill Pearl as well. The XSE can be had with a black roof as well.

At 177.9 inches (4,519 millimeters) from tip to tail, this will no longer actually be the smallest SUV in the 10-strong lineup, stretching past the Corolla Cross (176.1 in / 4,473 mm) and nearly matching the soon-to-be-replaced RAV4 (180.9 / 4,596 mm). Think of the C-HR as a coupe-over alternative to the bZ, really: Toyota is positioning it as the sporty option, with only SE and XSE trims at launch.

That connection extends inside, where the C-HR cabin is all but identical to the updated one in the 2026 bZ. A deep-set instrument cluster splits the difference between a traditional setup and a head-up display, while a 14.0-inch touchscreen perches atop the dashboard. A wide center console houses twin wireless phone chargers and a lower storage section. We particularly like the low cupholder placement: nestled there, drinks should be that much harder to knock over. Toyota hasn't dropped all the interior measurements yet, but does say the C-HR has a useful 25.4 cubic feet (719 liters) behind its 60/40-folding rear bench.

The C-HR will use just the larger 74.7-kilowatt-hour battery pack from the revised bZ, and only the dual-motor setup. That translates to 338 horsepower, enough to push this EV to 62 mph in a hair over 5 seconds. Estimated range is 290 miles (467 kilometers), though Toyota did not specify which wheel size that would require. Also like the bZ, the C-HR will also arrive with the North American Charging System (NACS) port, giving it native access to Tesla Superchargers. Ideal fast-charger conditions should allow for a 10-to-80 percent recharge of around 30 minutes, while an 11-kW on-board AC charger is included as well.

Standard kit includes a power liftgate, rain-sensing wipers, heated front seats and steering wheel, and three USB-C ports to augment the dual wireless chargers. Cloth and SofTex seats are standard on the SE; the XSE trades them in for faux-suede and SofTex, while also adding a power passenger seat, driver memory seat, digital rearview mirror, 360-camera, and more. Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 is standard on both trims.

The 2026 Toyota C-HR will begin arriving in dealerships next year. We expect more details including pricing ahead of that, and to see it in person next week. Stay tuned.

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