An Efficient Electric C-HR Still Came Up 30 Miles Short

A week-long test of the 2026 Toyota C-HR XSE beat the electric SUV’s official efficiency rating by about 12%, yet the car still projected roughly 30 miles less range than its 273-mile estimate.

The tester averaged 3.7 miles per kWh, equal to about 125 MPGe, against the EPA’s combined rating of 112 MPGe, which is split between 122 MPGe in the city and 102 on the highway. Even so, the observed range worked out to about 243 miles, around 11% short of the XSE’s official figure.

The numbers come from SlashGear’s review, which drove an XSE in Tandoori with a Midnight Black Metallic roof around southwestern Virginia, including interstate runs on I-81 and I-581 to the Roanoke Amtrak station and a 60-mile loop to the Draper Mountain Overlook. The review noted that air conditioning use and outside temperature both affect range, and its test car came to $43,429 as tested.

SlashGear liked the C-HR’s composed, comfortable ride, its strong acceleration and its quiet cabin, and it pointed out that the electric model has more than double the horsepower of the 2022 gas C-HR along with more cargo space. Its complaints were the missing front trunk, limited interior choices, a manual front passenger seat on the SE, tight rear legroom and a price that runs higher than the Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan Leaf and Toyota’s own bZ. The reviewer also said they’d like to see more than 300 miles of range, though its verdict was positive, and it called the C-HR "a welcome return for the nameplate."

The XSE’s 20-inch wheels are part of the story. Toyota rates the SE, on 18-inch wheels, at 287 miles, while the XSE is rated at 273 miles on the same 74.7-kWh battery, according to Toyota.

The Toyota Report Take

Beating an efficiency rating while missing a range estimate sounds contradictory, but it mostly says that real-world range depends on how much of the battery a driver is willing to use and how the trip is driven, and one week in the Virginia mountains is a small sample. The bigger takeaway for shoppers is that 243 real miles is enough for most daily driving but not much of a cushion on a road trip, and anyone who regularly drives long distances should look hard at the SE, whose smaller wheels buy 14 more miles of rated range for less money.