Toyota C-HR gets TRD makeover for Tokyo Auto Salon

What kind of topsy-turvy world are we living in when the most boldly designed, visually-exciting car from Toyota is a 1.2-litre compact SUV?

To cap off a 2016 that has already delivered plenty of surprises, here’s one more courtesy of Toyota’s tuning arm TRD – a plethora of add-on body bits for the C-HR that actually, dare we say it, inject some real brawn into the little SUV’s already adventurous shape.

Revealed ahead of their first public showing at next month’s Tokyo Auto Salon, TRD’s C-HR offerings encompass two different bodykits, the “Aggressive Style” and the “Extreme Style”. The names say it all.

The Aggressive Style kit features catseye-scraping bumper lip extensions, body-colour sideskirts, front bumper blackout sections, gunmetal alloy wheels, a rooftop spoiler and a cheeky ducktail spoiler on the tailgate.

Meanwhile, the Extreme Style bodykit takes the same double-wing arrangement as the Aggressive Style and combines it with a more subtle front bumper lip extension, massive black plastic overfenders and a set of TRD-branded rally-spec mudflaps.

There are no genuine performance-enhancing upgrades, though accessories like TRD-branded door handle protectors, ignition switches and chassis bars are also debuting at Tokyo Auto Salon.

Two other bodykits will be offered in Japan under Toyota’s Modellista accessories sub-brand, with even lower-hanging bumper extensions and skirts than the TRD kit.

The regular Toyota C-HR range is due to launch in Australia in February 2017, however there’s no clarity on whether these TRD kits will be available for local fitment.