Toyota C-HR Predictions For 2017 - When Will It Surpass Honda HR-V?

The subcompact crossover market will have a new member this spring. Will the 2018 Toyota C-HR overtake the Honda HR-V?

The subcompact market is presently led by the Chevy Trax and Honda HR-V, both with sales over 8K units in November. The subcompact car-based economy crossover was exactly what the market wanted and Chevy and Honda hit the mark perfectly. The slightly more upscale Buick Encore is close behind the two leaders with sales of about 7K units per month. The CX-3 from Mazda, which Car and Driver pegged as the performance champ in the group, trials behind with sales that have not broken 2K units per month.

Mazda suffers from having a small footprint in the U.S. market, something that Toyota surely does not have as a problem. Can the all-new Toyota C-HR catch the Honda and GM crossovers it will go head to head with?

If performance and sportiness is the hallmark of the Toyota C-HR, and its press releases sure make it sound like that, the evidence is that it will not do well. However, press releases tend to exaggerate the fun a new model will bring. The truth is, this segment doesn;t want fun, it wants content. Here Toyota may be ahead. Particularly in the safety content area. Toyota's 2018 C-HR will launch with standard forward collision prevention and adaptive cruise control. The question is, how many subcompact buyers are family shoppers looking for safety, and how many will be the "young, active, multi-cultural professionals" that Toyota claims are the vehicle's target? Young people don't tend to shop safety.

If looks are any indication of success, we need only look to the Nissan Juke, which the C-HR seems to emulate in styling. Bad news here for Toyota. The Juke is now selling at less than 1,500 units per month on average. We'd like to say that the Toyota C-HR will overtake the Honda and GM offerings roght out of the gate, but it looks like the chips are stacked against that.