The people have spoken, loudly and repeatedly: they want good electric vehicle options from Toyota. Evidently, Toyota is starting to listen (and pay attention to its growing EV sales worldwide) with several new battery-powered models planned to launch between now and the end of 2026. The Toyota C-HR+ will be the car that kicks this off.
And while it was unveiled in Europe with specifications only for that market for now, it seems poised to be a hit in the United States as well if it comes our way.
Photo by: Patrick George
Toyota revealed the new C-HR+ at its Kenshiki Forum event in Brussels last week along with the upgraded bZ4X, with which this car shares a lot in common. American readers may remember the C-HR as a quirky, gas-powered compact crossover sold here between 2018 and 2022. It was discontinued in the U.S. market after that but carried on in Europe and elsewhere for its current second generation as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid.
Since the new C-HR+ is all-electric, you might think it’s just that car stuffed with batteries. But you’d be wrong. Instead, the C-HR+ is a mechanically unrelated car that uses the updated bZ4X’s e-TNGA 2.0 platform and thus has dimensions similar to it.
It has an overall length of 177.9 inches (4,520mm) and a wheelbase of 108.2 inches (2,750mm), compared to the 184.6-inch (4,690 mm) length and 112.2-inch (2,850 mm) wheelbase of the bZ4X.
Photo by: Patrick George
While they are visually similar, the C-HR+ does have a unique front bumper, grille and headlight setup. The biggest difference between the two is the C-HR+’s coupe-like roof. “It presents a clean, vital appearance that is fundamentally simple, yet has a strong emotional quality to appeal to both the heart and mind,” Toyota says.
What I can tell you is that I sat in the back and my 5-foot, 11-inch (180 cm) frame fit without any issues, but I wouldn’t want to be a lot taller than I am back there. So if they’re of fairly similar sizes, what’s the target audience for each?
“The targeted customer is different. The C-HR+ is more for singles or couples or small families,” Chief Engineer Masaya Uchiyama said in an interview. “The bZ4X has more space, so I’d say it’s more of a family car. I hope people will start with the C-HR+ and then, if they have a family, please move to bZ4X.”
Photo by: Patrick George
More importantly, the C-HR+ carries over nearly the same specs and upgrades as the new bZ4X. It comes with two battery options, a 57.7 kWh unit and a 77 kWh unit. Its maximum driving range is said to be 373 miles (600 km) on Europe’s WLTP testing cycle, which puts its highest-range version on par with the outgoing generation of Tesla Model Y. Range-wise, that’s good company to be in. Toyota has not disclosed the exact range range estimates for all versions of the C-HR+ yet.
Like the bZ4X, it can be had in front-wheel-drive or dual-motor, all-wheel-drive versions. The latter C-HR+ puts out up to 343 horsepower, so Toyota says it’s good for a brisk zero to 62 mph (100 km) dash in just 5.2 seconds. This makes it one of the quickest cars in Toyota’s European lineup outside of the dedicated GR performance cars. The FWD variants offer 167 hp with the smaller battery and 224 hp with the larger one.
Photo by: Toyota
An 11kW onboard charger AC is standard, while a 22kW unit is available on the upper trim levels. Like the bZ4X, its DC fast-charging is rated at up to 150kW.
That hasn’t been terribly impressive on the old bZ4X, but Toyota says it’s improved the charging curve of both models, so it should fast charge better than we’ve seen before—and most notably, better in cold weather. Toyota’s EVs are selling extremely well in places like Norway, so engineers told InsideEVs that low-temperature performance was a top priority with its newest EVs.
Photo by: Patrick George
2026 Toyota C-HR+ Live Photos
Inside, the C-HR+ packs a bZ4X-ish vibe with a rotary gear selector knob, a 14-inch multimedia display and a good amount of buttons and other physical controls. Also like the bZ4X, Toyota says that route-planning and charger station-finding has been vastly improved from previous EVs, so it should be better at getting around and finding juice than we’ve seen from this automaker before.
And at least in Europe, Toyota’s warranty program guarantees the battery will retain at least 70% of its life after up to 10 years of driving.
Photo by: Patrick George
2026 Toyota C-HR+ Live Pics
The C-HR+ is due to go on sale in Great Britain and Europe in late 2025. Will it come to the U.S.? Toyota’s other EV in Europe, the tiny Urban Cruiser, clearly doesn’t feel suited for American highways. But the C-HR+ is a different story.
Size-wise and spec-wise, it feels like it could be a hit here, especially if it comes in meaningfully below the bZ4X’s current $37,070 price tag. We’ll know more soon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the next car to bolster the Toyota electrified lineup in the U.S.
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Patrick George
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