Let’s face it, the Toyota C-HR has received a bit of a bad rap since its introduction in 2018, and we weren’t exactly kind to it either. First and foremost, it’s extremely lacking in the performance department and is in dire need of a turbocharger or a better engine and transmission setup altogether. But with that out of the way, we actually found that Toyota’s weird little crossover has some redeeming qualities during the time that we have spent with it. Here are five of them.

The Toyota C-HR has an eccentric sense of style

Form the black contrasting roof to the high-placed rear door handles, it’s safe to say that Toyota gave the C-HR a very unique sense of style. Its bold wheel arches and high belt-line give it an athletic appearance, but it’s heightened stance makes it look like a capable crossover. Although do note it’s really the size of a smaller hatchback.

Supportive front seats

We have touched on them before, but we’ll talk about them again, the front seats in the Toyota C-HR are surprisingly good. They’re not Volvo good, but for a small commuter car that’s in the $20,000 range, they are supportive in the right areas and we really like the way they look. While it might seem trivial, front-seat comfort is extremely important considering that’s the place that you’ll spend the most time in the car over the course of your average 3-5 years of ownership.

An intuitive infotainment system

We’re suckers for really good infotainment systems because, aside from the steering wheel, that’s where your right hand is mostly going to be spending time.  Therefore, it’s nice when an automaker gives you both a volume and tuning knob for scrolling ease, along with intuitive menus to navigate through. The fact that it comes standard with Apple Carplay capability is an added plus as well. We can’t believe they didn’t make that standard in the first place.

A smooth ride

Toyotas, in general, have also been known for having soft, smooth rides and the C-HR is no exception. It makes sense, considering driving a Camry makes it feel like you riding on a cushy sofa, and driving an Avalon makes you feel like you’re floating on a cloud. And those soft touches carry over to the smaller C-HR as its ride is smooth enough to fall asleep on long highway road trips. Assuming that you’re in the passenger seat, of course.

The C-HR fun at low speeds

While we can’t say that the Toyota C-HR is fun to drive at higher speeds as it takes a better half of a Stephen King novel to even get up to 60 mph, it’s actually fun to toss around at slower speeds. While it’s not that fun to drive this slow car fast, it does have nimble, and dare we say “agile,” handling characteristics to make parking-lot driving feel almost go-kart-like.

The Toyota C-HR isn’t all too bad

For what the Toyota C-HR lacks in acceleration and power, it makes up for it in style and personality. Sure, we wish it was faster, but if you can overlook its terrible performance stats, there there’s actually some redeeming qualities to the Toyota C-HR.