A new Toyota this week – a refreshingly different compact SUV from our top-selling car company. The Toyota CH-R radical in design – CH-R standing for compact High Rider – a mix between hatch, coupe and SUV. This is Toyota’s first compact SUV – it’s positioned at the premium end of the segment starting at $26,990 for the 1.2-litre 85kW six-speed manual turbo petrol front wheel drive, CVT or continuously variable automatic adding $2,000 while an all-wheel- drive variant in auto adds another $2,000. Keep in mind the big seller in compact SUV’s is the 2.0-litre Mazda CX-3 which starts appreciably more affordable at $19,990 – having said that the Toyota is highly equipped with three drive modes and a host of safety and convenience equipment. The Toyota a style setter, very distinctive in fact I’d have a yellow one. I missed the launch but colleagues tell me the 1.2-litre turbo lacks a little punch from rest, especially in the heavier all-wheel- drive version. Importantly, the Toyota CH-R gained a five-star ANCAP crash safety rating this week, and it comes standard with active cruise control, lane departure warning, pre-collision warning with autonomous braking, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors and seven airbags. While as I said, it has three drive modes Eco, Normal and Sport. It comes with a first for Toyota – a capped price service deal for five years at $195 per service, every 12 months or 15,000k. Warranty is 3-years,100,000kM. I’m David Berthon

Download this podcast here