C-hr rear visibility

[Chas G]

I currently own a 72 plate Yaris Cross Icon and am considering changing to a 23 C-hr Design.

I like the look of the car and the interior is in my opinion much nicer and it has more supportive  seats than the Yaris Cross.

A friend has got a C-hr and he really doesn't like how dark it is in the back and the very poor rear visibility. I wondered if this is criticism shared by other C-hr owners. 

Opinions welcome thanks Chas

[Big_D]

Hi Chas.

I have a 23 GR Sport. I drive the car, rather than sit in the back. How often are you likely to sit in the back of the C-HR, and how often are you likely to carry passengers in the back. I have had adults sit in the back and have asked them how they find it. No-one has complained.

As for the rear visibility, I have no problem with this. I use the rear windows, which I find more than sufficient for me.

I would suggest taking one for a drive and making up your own mind. 

[Cyker]

I don't know about the Cross and the CH-R but the rear visibility in my Yaris Mk4 is practically non-existent; I have to rely on the blind spot monitors more than I'd like because there's literally no point in me looking behind me - 80% of what I can see is B-pillars, C-pillars, headrests and roof!

 

[asinrutee]

we bought a new CHR when they first came out, when it came to change the car we thought we would have a different car so ordered a Yaris Cross, but in the end cancelled that because having looked at the YC in more detail, thought the matrials in the CHR were superior, so we boughta nearly new CHR GR Sport. I don't have a problem with the rear visibility and no one has ever said it felt dark in the back.

[Max_Headroom]

1 hour ago, asinrutee said:

I don't have a problem with the rear visibility

It annoys me when reviewers say "rear visibility is poor and the C pillars block your view when reversing"  then go on to say "you have a camera and parking sensors to help you reverse"   talk about stating the bleeding obvious.  🤬

[Cyker]

To be fair, the reverse camera is no substitute for being able to look with your eyes directly - I find it very hard to judge distances with the camera alone due to the fish-eye effect and its 2D-ness.

I have to be a lot more cautious in the Mk4 due to the lack of spacial awareness, compared to me previous cars where I had much better awareness of the space in the rear 270 behind me.

In my previous cars, I could do a long reverse down a narrow street with a bend in it at idle pace without even being close to hitting anything and being fully aware if a pedestrian/cyclist/child etc. was around, but in the Mk4 by comparison it's like being blind so it takes me much longer to go down a similar road!

 

[Max_Headroom]

5 hours ago, Cyker said:

To be fair, the reverse camera is no substitute for being able to look with your eyes directly - I find it very hard to judge distances with the camera alone due to the fish-eye effect and its 2D-ness.

The red line is 1.5 feet from whatever object is behind you so no need to go closer, to help further they also fit sensors if you manage to reverse into something with both a camera and parking radar you really shouldn't be driving. 

 

 

 

[Haliotis]

WE have a 2021 C-HR.  As there a re only the two of us, it’s OK, but if I regularly carried rear passengers, then the C-HR would not be for me.   I like the dark head lining as this greatly prevents glare inside the car from following headlights.  Rear view through the rear windscreen is appalling but, from my years of caravanning, I tend to use the exterior side mirrors for my rear view anyhow.

[Max_Headroom]

16 hours ago, Haliotis said:

 Rear view through the rear windscreen is appalling but, from my years of caravanning, I tend to use the exterior side mirrors for my rear view anyhow.

Why worry about what is behind you when driving forward i have never driven a car with  no rear view so a little is enough you only need a clear view behind when reversing and the camera gives you that.

[Cyker]

20 hours ago, Max_Headroom said:

The red line is 1.5 feet from whatever object is behind you so no need to go closer, to help further they also fit sensors if you manage to reverse into something with both a camera and parking radar you really shouldn't be driving. 

That's another thing - In London, 1.5ft is a LOT of space - If you stopped at that you'd *NEVER* get your vehicle into a street parking space. When we park cars here, we are working with INCHES of clearance, not FEET!!

These systems are just not set up correctly for urban use.

The funny thing is, in my old cars I could get them into much tighter spaces far easier than I can the Mk4 - They didn't have any fancy parking sensors or cameras; What they had was decent all-round visibility. I find the Mk4 much harder to get into a space because the camera is only useful for distance at the lines, but beyond that it's no help and the wonky perspective messes with your angles, but because the rear 270 visibility is much worse I have far less reference points and spacial awareness. Also because it beeps incessantly and throws off my concentration when I'm trying to look everywhere.

It is sooo much easier when you have good visibility and things aren't beeping at you and stealing your focus and concentration!!

 

[Chas G]

40 minutes ago, Max_Headroom said:

Why worry about what is behind you when driving forward i have never driven a car with  no rear view so a little is enough you only need a clear view behind when reversing and the camera gives you that.

Yesterday I was in a service road with my car almost parallel to the main road with traffic coming from my right. I could barely see the traffic coming from my right in the mirror in my Yaris Cross. The only vision I had was over my right shoulder.

I ended up reversing, turning left into the side road and doing a u-turn and coming back to the junction before turning left. 

 

[Max_Headroom]

24 minutes ago, Cyker said:

That's another thing - In London, 1.5ft is a LOT of space - If you stopped at that you'd *NEVER* get your vehicle into a street parking space. When we park cars here, we are working with INCHES of clearance, not FEET!!

Its the same where i live too many cars too few places so i go to the red line knowing i have more room then move a little more knowing i will not hit the car, this is the first car i have owned with camera and parking sensors and i wouldn't go back to having neither again. 

Quote

It is sooo much easier when you have good visibility and things aren't beeping at you and stealing your focus and concentration!!

Well that point is pretty much  irrelevant as we chose to give up good rear visibility when we moved on mass to SUV's meaning they have had to make them safer to reverse  by adding a camera and sensors, as for distractions if you are put off reversing by a few beeps when you get close to another car i will say again maybe you shouldn't be driving! 

[Max_Headroom]

On 3/10/2024 at 1:45 PM, Chas G said:

Yesterday I was in a service road with my car almost parallel to the main road with traffic coming from my right. I could barely see the traffic coming from my right in the mirror in my Yaris Cross. The only vision I had was over my right shoulder.

I ended up reversing, turning left into the side road and doing a u-turn and coming back to the junction before turning left. 

 

Sorry but that is  down to bad driving not the cars design, if you had followed the red line below  you would have ended in a safe position where you would have been able to see in both directions.

[Chas G]

35 minutes ago, Max_Headroom said:

Sorry but that is  down to bad driving not the cars design, if you had followed the red line below  you would have ended in a safe position where you would have been able to see in both directions.

 

 

Thank you for your response. Shame you weren't sitting in my passenger seat as navigator. 

The separation between the service and main road was only the width of a pavement and once I realised I couldn't see anything I did turn the car round on the side road.

[Cyker]

On 3/10/2024 at 1:45 PM, Chas G said:

Yesterday I was in a service road with my car almost parallel to the main road with traffic coming from my right. I could barely see the traffic coming from my right in the mirror in my Yaris Cross. The only vision I had was over my right shoulder.

I ended up reversing, turning left into the side road and doing a u-turn and coming back to the junction before turning left. 

 

I've had situations like that where I've had to either re-angle the mirror or wind down the window and lean out!

Can't beat the Mk1 Eyeball...

On 3/10/2024 at 1:46 PM, Max_Headroom said:

if you are put off reversing by a few beeps when you get close to another car i will say again maybe you shouldn't be driving! 

I think that's a bit harsh and very disingenuous; I bet you'd jump if you were doing a tricky manoeuvre and someone suddenly started shouting in your ear! It's no different.

Anyway, the issue is they make you second-guess yourself; I know I have space but it makes me think I'm about to hit something so I hesitate and have to check again, when in fact as you say I'd still be 1.5-3ft clear!

[Max_Headroom]

4 minutes ago, Chas G said:

Shame you weren't sitting in my passenger seat as navigator. 

I could only base my thoughts on your drawing if the road was narrow you should have taken a shunt to level your car up and used the full width of the road to make your exit safe, i drive a large vehicle for a living this is the sort of challenge we have every day with inconsiderate parking.

[Max_Headroom]

15 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I think that's a bit harsh and very disingenuous; I bet you'd jump if you were doing a tricky manoeuvre and someone suddenly started shouting in your ear! It's no different.

My comment was a little tongue in cheek.  😉

There is a huge difference between both scenarios,  i would not be expecting a stranger to suddenly start shouting at me when reversion so i would be startled,  i do expect to hear a beep when i am getting close to the vehicle behind so i would not be startled.

[Cyker]

Ah, fair enough; You need to use the smileys, it's hard to tell that on internet text!  

[TonyHSD]

Chr all models including the latest ones are really dark and claustrophobic inside, particularly rear seats. Shame really, as outside look as a good car. The other day I seen a latest model in black , probably design spec and I really liked it but inside it’s like a cave. Corolla hatchback very similar. Yaris, Yaris cross, and rav4 particularly have much better interior head room space and better visibility, actually rav4 is so good, high driving position and large windows all around. 👌

[Max_Headroom]

7 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Chr all models including the latest ones are really dark and claustrophobic inside, particularly rear seats. Shame really, as outside look as a good car.

I am buying the car to make getting in and out easier i dont carry rear passengers often and if i did i wouldn't be put off buying a HCR due to it being a bit dark in the back on the odd occasion i do carry my son he spends the whole journey glued to his smartphone i doubt he would even notice.

[Cyker]

47 minutes ago, Max_Headroom said:

i drive a large vehicle for a living this is the sort of challenge we have every day with inconsiderate parking.

Oooh are you one of these truckers with a youtube channel??  

I watch a few and it boggles the mind seeing some of the locations they get sent to - How the heck they manage to get through some of the narrow roads and turns without a scratch or taking out a car or street furniture is miraculous!  

[Max_Headroom]

I dont have a YouTube channel but do drive in the situations you mention every day if people obeyed the highway code and parked properly especially at junctions my life would be a lot less stressful   

[Chrisg99]

17 hours ago, Cyker said:

I've had situations like that where I've had to either re-angle the mirror or wind down the window and lean out!

Can't beat the Mk1 Eyeball...

 

I think that's a bit harsh and very disingenuous; I bet you'd jump if you were doing a tricky manoeuvre and someone suddenly started shouting in your ear! It's no different.

Anyway, the issue is they make you second-guess yourself; I know I have space but it makes me think I'm about to hit something so I hesitate and have to check again, when in fact as you say I'd still be 1.5-3ft clear!

 

Try driving a 40-foot artic.

 

[Max_Headroom]

8 hours ago, Chrisg99 said:

Try driving a 40-foot artic.

 

 

HGV drivers get a bad rap usually from  impatient inconsiderate drivers who think they have more right to be further down the road because a truck doesn't accelerate as fast as their car.

If car drivers knew how difficult driving a HGV can be they would be more patient.

 

 

 

[Cyker]

10 hours ago, Chrisg99 said:

Try driving a 40-foot artic.

 

No way, the one time I towed a caravan I had enough trouble getting my head round the mechanics of reversing that!!!  

As far as I'm concerned truck drivers are in possession of some kind of physics bending voodoo magic that I want nothing to do with!!  

 

2 hours ago, Max_Headroom said:

HGV drivers get a bad rap usually from  impatient inconsiderate drivers who think they have more right to be further down the road because a truck doesn't accelerate as fast as their car.

To be fair, there are bad HGV drivers too - I had one honking me and trying to bully me when I'd stopped to let a pinch point clear ahead of me; I'm like, mate can you not see what's going on over there? If I had gone and he'd followed it would have gridlocked the junction but they seemed oblivious to this.

I think generally people appreciate HGV drivers, it's just a few bad ones that spoilt it for the rest.