Used Toyota C-HR review and buying guide (2016 to 2023): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Toyota C-HR should you buy?

There's no known fault that makes either the 1.8 hybrid or the 1.2 turbo petrol the riskier C-HR, so pick the individual car rather than the engine. It's one generation, sold from 2016 to 2023, and each engine was recalled once, so a car with proof that work was done beats one without it.

Cars from 2016 to 2018 carry the most to chase. Hybrids from those years were recalled because an engine wiring harness could rub against a connector cover and short out, and several early cars had windscreens crack on their own. Later cars, up to 2023, don't appear in the reports at all, which means the record's thin, not that they're trouble free.

Sit in the back before you commit. Rear head and leg room is tight for adults and the rear seats don't fold flat, so it suits someone who mostly drives alone or with one passenger. If you regularly carry grown-ups in the back or need a flat load floor, take your own passengers and luggage to the viewing.

Which C-HR engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

Neither engine has a known fault on record, so judge each car by its history. On the 1.8 hybrid (2ZR-FXE) that means oil changes: it's chain driven with no scheduled chain replacement, and chain wear follows neglected oil rather than mileage. Toyota treats the hybrid transaxle fluid as sealed for life, but dealers and hybrid specialists advise a drain and refill at 60,000 miles, so ask whether a car past that has had one.

The 1.2 turbo petrol was recalled in 2017 for new electronic handbrake software. Its control unit could mistake a small rise in the motor circuit's resistance for a break and light up the warning lamps. Toyota GB recalled about 4,200 Turkish-built 1.2 cars for it, and the hybrid wasn't affected.

One owner of a 2017 1.2 petrol had the revs die after sweeping bends until the car stopped, then run normally after a restart. It spent seven weeks at the dealer waiting for a wiring loom part, the fault returned within a week, and new injectors and coil packs didn't cure it, so the dealer cleaned carbon off the valves next. That's one car, not a pattern.

What should you check when viewing a used C-HR?

The windscreen comes first: look right across it for cracks. Several early C-HRs had screens crack by themselves, blamed on the DAB aerial built into the glass, and Toyota UK admitted a manufacturing problem to one owner. Ask whether it's been replaced and when. One owner's car also needed a new fuel tank, a six-week dealer job that wasn't on the DVSA recall list, so ask whether any tank work's been done.

Ask for proof the recall work's done: the engine wiring harness on a 2016 to 2018 hybrid, the handbrake software on a 1.2 petrol. On a hybrid that's covered low miles, get the 12-volt battery tested. One owner's 2016 car had a failed one at 9,000 miles, and at its second service the dealer put it down to the car not covering enough miles.

On the drive, take a 1.2 petrol through a few long bends and watch for the revs dropping away. Look for misting behind the sat nav screen, which came back on one owner's hybrid after a warranty replacement, and ask whether the pre-collision warning and city braking have ever played up, since another owner said theirs didn't work.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.

What does a used Toyota C-HR cost to run?

What do C-HR owners like about them?

It handles tidily and rides comfortably at the same time, so it doesn't feel soft or wallowy through corners and it doesn't crash over poor roads. The cabin's well put together too, and it feels solid rather than built down to a cost.

The automatic brake hold makes stop-start traffic far less tiring. It keeps the car still at a standstill, then lets it pull away smoothly with no jolt when you press the accelerator, and you can move the selector from N to D without touching the brake pedal, which takes the fiddle out of queues and car parks.

• The C-HR demonstrates excellent handling characteristics and provides a comfortable, smooth ride quality.
• The interior of the C-HR is noted for its good build quality and solid construction.
• The C-HR is equipped with a very high level of standard features and equipment.
• The automatic brake hold feature is excellent, allowing smooth movement from N to D without braking and exceptionally smooth take-offs.