Electric car lease review: Toyota C-HR HATCHBACK 1.8 Hybrid Excel 5dr CVT [Leather]

The UK’s favourite hybrid leasing deal?

The Toyota CH-R has to be one of the bestselling hybrid vehicles of 2019 and has helped push Toyota out of its peripheral manufacturer role (in the UK) and into a leading option for personal and business customers alike.

In many ways Toyota and Lexus, have been revolutionary with their commitment to the hybrid platform when other vehicle producers were more concerned with diesel options. Unlike the last 2 years, the UK public was very much unaware of the range of combustion, and non-combustion, engines available to them. It has taken a number of key events – dieslgate, WLTP, company car tax changes, emission zones, clean air zones – to make the general public more conscious of what vehicle they operate. The general consensus is that alternative forms of fuel are acceptable and, in many cases, are now more preferable than traditional routes.

The Hybrid Toyota being delivered to our customer

Should I have a hybrid or PHEV – which is better?

There is no “better” as such; with any vehicle and fuel type, it is about you deciding to operate something which meets your needs and requirements. The way that vehicles are developing is that there is no one size fits all solution just yet; we are still in an early adoption stage. Whether you go for hybrid or PHEV will depend on a number things: for example, your annual mileage, attitudes (and availability) towards charging, budget and whether you are a company car user or are doing this personally.

With a hybrid, you are looking to get a vehicle with a petrol (and limited cased diesel) engine coupled with a small electric motor. The two elements can work independently of each other or they work in conjunction with each other. The idea is that you can achieve lower fuel consumption, lower tailpipe emissions and enjoy some very short electric-only driving. The electric element can also help provide additional acceleration and speeds. For a company car user the added benefit of lower CO2 can result in BiK savings. For personal contact users, the hybrid can be a great stop/start solution and offer enhance consumption for lower mileage style driving.

The key point to note with a hybrid is that it does NOT require external charging; you don’t need to plug this into your socket at home to some dedicated charging solution at work or out and about. The electric element will charge as the vehicle moves and brakes (brake regeneration). You will see more and more references to “self-charging” and “mild” hybrids being used across a variety of manufacturers. The main advantages of the hybrid are that they generally do not cost much more than a combustion alternative, they require no external charging and you can benefit from some enhanced CO2 and MPG.

On a PHEV (a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle) there is the added benefit of a bigger lithium-ion battery which provides a much better electric-only range. In contrast to a hybrid (which has a couple miles of electric driving) a PHEV can offer anywhere between 15 to 40 miles on an electric charge. There is much more investment going into PHEV technology as this is being viewed as a great solution to the “combustion to electric” transition. The key difference between a PHEV and a hybrid is that it needs to be charged externally; the bigger battery cannot fully charge via propulsion and regenerative braking.

You, or the business, will need to look at a home or workplace charging solution in order to maximise the advantages of the electric element. If you don’t charge it, the engine will operate still but it will not achieve the MPG or CO2 stated. As many of the options are petrol (diesel is starting to be released), you run the risk of paying a premium for a petrol vehicle.

If you do genuinely want to improve your MPG and do more for the environment, you need to charge regularly. With a 7kW charge point being able to provide a full charge in 2-3 hours or 30 mins for some 22kW solutions, this is not a huge commitment (unlike a pure EV). The advantage is that you will get a far better CO2 from a PHEV, so it’s great for company car users and for the environmentally-conscious, plus the addition of enhanced MPGs. However, a PHEV is generally more expensive than a petrol/diesel option, so you have to ensure this is going to fit your budget – make sure you use a whole of life costs analysis and not just the monthly rental when making this calculation.

Choosing the right car

As ever, make sure you consider the full picture before committing to your next vehicle and do your research. There are now dedicated electric car review websites, which can help you understand how the products works and what to expect from the vehicles that have been released or are due to be released in the near future – see Fully Charged for more info.

Standard equipment for the CH-R Excel

In terms of the car shown, the Toyota C-HR HATCHBACK 1.8 Hybrid Excel 5dr CVT [Leather] (Petrol Hybrid/Automatic), this is based on the following configuration:

• Decuma Grey Metallic Paint
• Leather - Black
• 18" 10 double spoke black machined face alloy wheels

As standard the car includes rain sensitive wipers, privacy glass, ESP, hill start assist control, vehicle stability control, Bluetooth, adaptive cruise control, intelligent parking assist with front & rear parking sensors, lane change assist, blind spot monitor, lane departure alert with steering control, pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, rear cross traffic alert, reversing camera, 7” TFT, 8” touch screen, road sign assist, navigation system, automatic retractable door mirrors, electric folding/heated door mirrors, DAB radio, wi-fi connectivity, body coloured externals, automatic headlight levelling, LED daytime running lights, air conditioning, ambient lighting, parking pack, road sign information display, heated driver and passenger seats, smart entry and start, immobiliser and intrusion alarm.  In terms of additional options, consider adding the sports pack, or the 18” alloys.

Technical data on the hybrid Toyota

In terms of the technical information, company car and business users can note the P11d at £29,065.00 and CO2 at 86g/km. The 1798CC 1 speed auto delivers combined MPG of 55.4 (WLTP), 122ps and 0-62 times of 11 seconds.

So would the hybrid vehicle be your select leasing option? Or would the PHEV or pure EV be for you or your business?

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