C-HRs on the motorway

[Trewithy]

I did many miles on a motorway yesterday, cruising in my Corolla at 65mph.  I didn't see another Corolla but I lost count of the number of C-HRs that passed me and I was surprised at the speed a lot of them were travelling at.  I guess economy is not on everyone's mind.  

[forkingabout]

I do see a lot of C-HR ( plus Yaris ) around locally but very few Corolla.

Plus not everyone buys a hybrid Toyota for it's economy, some people buy them for peace of mind reliability & ease of ownership experience. 

[DavidinDerbyshire]

If I am typical then I defend myself by saying that the difference in economy at an average 65 and an average 70mph is marginal. But the difference in driving is immense. I find that there are few occasions on motorways when a relaxed cruise is possible and, being a police-taught defensive driver, I vary my speed according to the needs of the traffic and other conditions. This often ,means going at 70 or even a little more, to break out of clusters  where in most cases people are travelling too close together, lorries are bunched in the slower lanes and forward visibility is limited.  I count the pennies, but I put safety first as I'm sure you do, too. A principal reason for choosing motorhomes over caravans (I owned several of both) was the restriction on lane 3/4 and the 60mph limit. Far too often I'd be stuck for miles behind a driver doing 50 - 55 who never looked in their mirror and refused to move over.   (And, yes, with a properly set up rig a car and caravan are quite safe at 60!) Although I rarely did 70 in a motorhome in the UK, abroad was a different question....and economy lost out to the need to cover long distances as quickly as possible.   Finally I should add that having driven the C-HR Excel Hybrid for five months I think its speed and economy are outstanding.  

[JillG]

Do you have the 1.8 or the 2.0?  What sort of mpg do you get? We are letting go of our RAV4 Excel - too big for us now replacing with a C-HR 1.8 but 2.0 was tested.

[Roy124]

Jill, how much luggage space do you need? I only know the Corolla but you loose a significant amount of boot space with the 2.0.  We have a 1.8 with a spare wheel so our boot floor is raised but we value the flat load area over a deeper boot. 

Yesterday we were stuck behind a tractor and needed quick acceleration to pass. First opportunity I selected Sport mode. Pressing the accelerator pedal the car was transformed. That opportunity passed and I dropped back to Normal, acceleration 25 to minimum time exposed was short, dropped back to 60 A road and resumed Eco mode. 

Motorway cruising you simply do not need that power surge. A 2 hour journey on mixed roads yesterday we got 64 mpg, EV time was 52%, EV distance 40% and my driver score 84. During the day with town driving consumption varied between 57 and 67.  When we got 57 we were in EV 75% of the time. 

If we buy a similar car we shall opt for high boot floor but 1.8 engine. 

[Roy124]

DavidinDerbyshure, with you all the way there.  Most comfortable driving is the A1, in lane 1 with an HGV a quarter mile ahead.  In lane 2 another HGV overtaking at 0.1 mph and a line of cars each at one length spacing. 

Once the block is cleared the queue speeds up to the next HGV. 

Interesting yesterday, Audi right up my chuff, dual carriage way and speeds up to 70.  She shot passed me to the next hold up.  After that cleared there she was, up my chuff again.  This went on for 12 miles as she consistently chose the wrong lane.

[DavidinDerbyshire]

1 hour ago, JillG said:

Do you have the 1.8 or the 2.0?  What sort of mpg do you get? We are letting go of our RAV4 Excel - too big for us now replacing with a C-HR 1.8 but 2.0 was tested.

Mine is the 2 litre.  Our consumption is varied but averages 58mpg overall in the summer months  (i.e. all the five months we've had it) and on some trips I have had it as high as 84 mpg but on cold days, like the other hybrids we have had, it drops to about 48 on town trips.  On a recent motorway trip it did 67mpg over 200 miles but I was using cruise control for long distances. 

[JillG]

3 hours ago, Roy124 said:

Jill, how much luggage space do you need? I only know the Corolla but you loose a significant amount of boot space with the 2.0.  We have a 1.8 with a spare wheel so our boot floor is raised but we value the flat load area over a deeper boot. 

Yesterday we were stuck behind a tractor and needed quick acceleration to pass. First opportunity I selected Sport mode. Pressing the accelerator pedal the car was transformed. That opportunity passed and I dropped back to Normal, acceleration 25 to minimum time exposed was short, dropped back to 60 A road and resumed Eco mode. 

Motorway cruising you simply do not need that power surge. A 2 hour journey on mixed roads yesterday we got 64 mpg, EV time was 52%, EV distance 40% and my driver score 84. During the day with town driving consumption varied between 57 and 67.  When we got 57 we were in EV 75% of the time. 

If we buy a similar car we shall opt for high boot floor but 1.8 engine. 

We cruise a lot and needed a car with a lot of space. Now as we are getting older have decided to go to Southampton by taxi.  The RAV4 is a lovely car and plenty of power 2.5, we just don't need either.  I prefer not to travel on motorways! and found our RAV4 very economical on A&B roads still returning 60+ mpg.  We hope the C-HR will do a little more in the summer months of course.

[Yugguy1970]

3 hours ago, Roy124 said:

Audi right up my chuff, d

Audi in "2 inches off the car" in front shocker.  😁

[MyOpinionIsWorthless]

On 9/3/2021 at 1:34 PM, Trewithy said:

I did many miles on a motorway yesterday, cruising in my Corolla at 65mph.  I didn't see another Corolla but I lost count of the number of C-HRs that passed me and I was surprised at the speed a lot of them were travelling at.  I guess economy is not on everyone's mind.  

Glad I didn’t pass you in my Prius 🙂

[Cyker]

Yeah, I have seen a few Yaris Mk4's and a few Corollas (More estate ones than hatchbacks for some reason!) but they are dwarfed by the number of C-HRs!!! Why do people love SUVs so much?! I don't get it!

 

[TonyHSD]

18 hours ago, Cyker said:

Yeah, I have seen a few Yaris Mk4's and a few Corollas (More estate ones than hatchbacks for some reason!) but they are dwarfed by the number of C-HRs!!! Why do people love SUVs so much?! I don't get it!

 

Haha, because the seating position that gives them fake feeling of extra security although suvs are easier to flip over when at high speeds , the other reason is because suv can easily jump over speed bumps, and goes over kerbs for parking in overcrowded places. Most people in UK does not need an SUV, a simple estate can do the job as well or even better, cost less to buy and maintain, it’s more comfortable and refined to drive, more efficient too. SUV mania, it’s same as it was the diesel mania, Diesel engine in anything that has wheels and drives., even smart for two with 0.6ltr Diesel engine 🤣🤭 same for suvs, There is only one good reason to buy an suv over a standard car and this is for the easy get in and out, although latest models not all of them are easy on that matter. 

 

[DavidinDerbyshire]

1 hour ago, TonyHSD said:

Most people in UK does not need an SUV,

This person found that getting in and out of the Auris was getting harder due to height (6ft) and arthritis (Forestiere's Disease) but the C-HR give a few centimetres more headroom.  It may be called an SUV but in reality it's just a slightly taller saloon/hatchback.  And there is none of that instability you talk of.  In fact my first Yaris (in 1998 when they first came out) was very unstable, as I found out when I had to take avoiding action from a truck crossing my path and the swerve nearly had me flipping over.  I have long held the view that Range Rovers and most super-minis are lethal in their instability, the latter being inclined to bounce like tennis balls when the driver loses control at high speeds, something that young drivers don't appreciate, especially in the wet.  Even police drivers have been caught out with Range Rover instability at high speed with, sadly, fatal consequences. I confess that some years back my first choice of car would not have been a Toyota C-HR but for anyone  who doesn't want or can't get the best out of an expensive prestige car due to age and financial constraints the Excel gives comfort, economy and reliability and as my 54th motor vehicle I'm very content. By the way, when we had the Yaris, my wife's commuter car, I was getting around in a VW T4 camper with the Audi 5 cyl 2.4 litre turbo diesel engine which was my business transport. Now that WAS a great drive!

[Yugguy1970]

I've put this elsewhere but it bears repeating.

When we first started travelling on horses we were nice and high up so we could see what was going on. 

We attached carriages, still nice and high up so we could see what was coming.

They were also very easy to step into, rather than down to.

The car required us to be lower as it needed a low centre of gravity. 

It can be a struggle for the old or infirm.

Early SUVs suffered from a high centre gravity, the latest ones don't. 

My RAV takes up less ground space than a 5 series estate or V60.

I would flip the question completely on its head.  Why would you NOT want a car that is easy to get in and out of and gives you excellent visibility?

 

[Roy124]

Some people like the sensation of seat of the pants driving.

[Yugguy1970]

And many more don't.  That's not an argument against SUVs.   That's an argument against anything that isn't a sports car.

To get a car to handle well, which also doesn't have to mean rock hard, you either need a low centre of gravity or trick engineering.  Early SUVs had neither so they rolled horribly.

That's not the case anymore.  The RAV and chr have the tnga which as I understand it gives intrinsically low centre of gravity.

So given that a modern Toyota SUV isn't bigger than the equivalent estate and handles well the argument against them goes away.  In fact the chr is shorter than the 2008 Mondeo hatch my inlaws are trading in for.it.

I was also a long time hater of SuVs and yes, there are a lot of them that waste the size they have with stupid rooflines and tiny windows and I had my heart set on a Corolla estate but the RAV was a total eye opener. 

It goes round corners supple and flat as fast as anyone needs to go 

[Spo2]

On 9/3/2021 at 1:34 PM, Trewithy said:

I did many miles on a motorway yesterday, cruising in my Corolla at 65mph.  I didn't see another Corolla but I lost count of the number of C-HRs that passed me and I was surprised at the speed a lot of them were travelling at.  I guess economy is not on everyone's mind.  

Noticed same thing. Also realised several of them were 1.8l hybrid but they were driving them quite fast. Perhaps not bothered of economy or they might be getting a better economy despite that kind of driving due to 1.8l engine. 

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Spo2 said:

Noticed same thing. Also realised several of them were 1.8l hybrid but they were driving them quite fast. Perhaps not bothered of economy or they might be getting a better economy despite that kind of driving due to 1.8l engine. 

High speed and efficiency are never together although the 1.8 it’s always more economical than 2.0 because of the smaller displacement., even you trash it you still gonna get 50+ mpg where the 2.0 if pushed 40 + instead. 

[Cyker]

These are probably the same people that appear for one post complaining about the bad mpg of their hybrid then we never see them again  

 

[Roger F]

I did  a 130 mile round trip in my 2 litre Corolla. Varied between dual carriageway, m way and 30 miles on B roads. On the trip out I stuck to speed limits and drove very carefully. Averaged around 55 mpg. Coming home got bored just wanted to get home quickly and was at 80mph a lot of the time on   Dual and m way. Average mpg was still at 55mpg. 😄

[Cyker]

That's the beauty of a genuinely efficient car - You can have a bit of fun sometimes without getting punished for it at the pump!  

 

[Big_D]

I love m C-HR on the motorway. It's fun to drive, and gets good mileage.

Before I bought mine, I tried the 1.8 and 2.0 on a motorway and local roads. The 2.0 won hands down on all counts.

[Spo2]

On 3/13/2022 at 4:16 PM, Big_D said:

I love m C-HR on the motorway. It's fun to drive, and gets good mileage.

Before I bought mine, I tried the 1.8 and 2.0 on a motorway and local roads. The 2.0 won hands down on all counts.

I didn't even bother to try 1.8. I used to drive diesel which was very torquey, then switched to 1 litre turbo which had more torque than 1.8 toyota hybrid. That felt so sluggish that i decided to go with 2 litre hybrid. However i may be wrong as 1.8l hybrid with motor torque might be faster. Intresting i drive 2 litre hybrid in ECO mode for my local town driving. 

[Roy124]

15 hours ago, Spo2 said:

. Intresting i drive 2 litre hybrid in ECO mode for my local town driving. 

AFAIK, the mode do not change engine performance but adjust other software controlled functions such as throttle response or feedback. 

Anyone care to comment on what the different modes do? 

[Spo2]

3 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

AFAIK, the mode do not change engine performance but adjust other software controlled functions such as throttle response or feedback. 

Anyone care to comment on what the different modes do? 

I am under the impression that ECO mode is most fuel efficient!