Toyota C-HR has the goods for paved, off-road surfaces

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- You can miss a lot reviewing a brand-new motor vehicle model.  My take on the new-for-2018 Toyota C-HR is a good example.

To be sure, I liked what I experienced a couple years back:  Surprisingly spacious interior, good-looking 18-inch alloy wheels and nicely equipped for the price.  For a subcompact crossover sport-utility vehicle, it had a lot going for it.

And that still applies to the recently tested 2020 Toyota C-HR Limited.  This time around, however, I was struck by the vehicle's saucy exterior lines and its obvious off-road capabilities.

So, at second glance, this C-HR in 2020 form is a head-turner with aggressive sculpting from bumper to bumper. Odd as it sounds, it looks like designers took the last of the Volkswagen Beetles and injected it with steroids from the National Hot Rod Association.

The front fascia has been retooled for 2020, and the little sport-ute now looks capable of taking on some rapid street machines ... not saying that sort of thing goes on in California, mind you.

But I digress.

Toyota claims that its designers fused a sport coupe, hatchback and compact crossover to come up with the latest C-HR.  OK, I'll bite.  No matter how you phrase it, my ride looked good.

Power comes from a 2-liter 4 with 144 horsepower -- not a rubber-burning power plant but capable and efficient for this particular model.

And yes, you can take it off-road.  You'd think I would have been more aware of that two years ago, since one of the multiple labels for the "C-HR" is "Coupe-High Rider."  Close inspection shows that the C-HR does have a good right height for going over rocks, branches and dirt road ruts.

Suspension hardware also is up to task, courtesy of an independent MacPherson strut with stabilizer bar on the front and a rear multi-link with coil springs on the back end.

LED lights all around are anchored by high-performance LED fog lights. Front seats are leather-trimmed, heated buckets -- good for cold morning comfort on the paved surfaces or off-road.

Throw in a max five-star federal government overall safety rating and excellent fuel economy -- 27 miles per gallon in the city and 31 mpg on the highway -- and you're getting a lot in a compact package.

And priced at $28,435, the tester shaped up as a bargain as well.