Toyota’s latest entry to the small SUV segment is the new C-HR, which name might confuse some of you a little with the Honda HR-V. Both are from the same segment and motoring is beginning to sound like a Japanese human resources department!

The name comes from Coupe High Rider and if this was spelled out in full then it might confuse with Clint Eastwood’s latest western film.

But despite the banter it is a good looking car and it looks to have finished off a car which Nissan started when it first built the Juke some years ago.

And the C-HR has been built to take on not just the Juke but the Qashqai, the SEAT Alteca and the Honda HR-V. It’s certainly getting a bit tight in that market place.

The C-HR has been built with both British and European drivers in mind so the suspension has been designed to cope with our roads and it is similar to the latest other Toyota models.

On board is the latest Toyota New Global Architecture, which underpins the new Prius hybrid and makes the ride so much smoother than the Nissan models.

There is a choice of two engines – the 1.8-litre petrol/electric which comes from the Prius and the 1.2-litre turbo petrol that we have just seen in the new Auris. Both are solidly reliable.

The hybrid will be the bigger of the two on the sales front and will probably account for three quarters of the sales.

Like all of Toyota’s petrol/electric models, a CVT (continuously variable transmission) gearbox sends power to the wheels. This set-up gives the most in performance and efficiency and can provide more than 70 miles to the gallon.

Normally you can expect 50 miles to the gallon anywhere either in town or on the motorway. And if you are in a position where you have to crawl along then the electric motor takes care of your worries.

What you have to admire in Toyota is that they have brought back a bit of style with their new model and this has an excellent interior with bags of good materials and a good range of kit. It is extremely well laid out and easy to understand.

There’s bags of room with a good boot and plenty of legroom so four people can travel in comparative comfort on long journeys.

Inside there’s an interesting wrap round dashboard and Toyota have brought back old fashioned door handles for the back doors. Nice thought and very stylish.

There’s the usual Toyota Touch and Go infotainment system and the C-HR has three trim levels. Price start at around £21,000 and go through to about £28,000.

Out on the road the vehicle handles well, grips nicely and tight and bounces its way through potholes which seem to be getting worse on our roads these days.

All models have a choice of Sport, Normal and Eco modes, which alter the weight of the steering, the throttle response and CVT gearbox strategies to suit yourself and road conditions.

The boot is 377 litres and there is a small amount of storage space underneath the boot floor. There is a 60/40 split rear seat.

All versions get climate and cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, an auto dimming rear view mirror and seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

The Excel adds sat-nav, keyless entry, heated seats, self parking and power fold mirrors, while the flagship Dynamic gets all this plus LED headlamps and metallic paint.

All versions of the C-HR benefit from Toyota’s safety set-up, which has cruise control, emergency braking and pedestrian detection as part of the features. Also included are seven airbags and stability control. Excel and Dynamic models are also available with rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitoring as optional extras.

Like all Toyotas, the C-HR comes with the five-year and 100,000 mile warranty. This lengthy guarantee brings greater peace of mind than many mainstream rivals’ policies.

Other standard policy extensions include the three year paint warranty and 12-year anti perforation guarantee.

The C-HR’s service intervals come around every 10,000 miles.