I attended the a preview event of the Toyota C-HR 1.2 AWD in G-T and S-T variants held by MyMotor, an integrated online portal provider for vehicle ownership here in Malaysia. The MyEG owned company is trying to be the top online search and sales platform for vehicles here and they are now have these parallel import, or grey imported, 2016 and 2017 Toyota C-HR for sale just in time for the Chinese New Year festivities. [updated - There is a video of the preview below]
They currently have 19 units of ready stock of the Toyota C-HR and these are made up of the 1.2 turbo variant in G-T and S-T forms. In total, MyMotor has about 32 of these compact crossovers in hand for sale. These are imported directly from Japan by MyMotor with the required import permits and are Japanese Domestic Market models. Or JDM to be exact. So according to MyMotor, they do not actually compete with the soon to be launched authorised models but add to the choice and variety of the market.
This biggest difference is the engine. The MyMotor parallel imports are 1.2liter C-HRs which differ from the ones that authorised distributor UMW Toyota is reported to bring in. According to rumours, the official cars will be locally assembled (CKD) models which would be priced cheaper but will come with the 1.8liter 4 cylinder non-turbo engine. This 1.2 turbo model will get 116ps and 185Nm torque (from 1,500rpm-4,000rpm) and the normally aspirated 1.8 pumps out 137hp and 170Nm torque at 4,000rpm. This makes the 1.8 stronger at maximum speeds but a different sort of tractability when it comes to in-gear performance. One unique feature about the turbocharged engine is the water cooled intercooler which you can see located on the top left of the photo below.
MyMotor also states that the JDM specced models are of high equipment levels. They will have Toyota Safety Sense or their active safety systems (Pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure alert with steering assist, blind spot alear, rear cross traffic alert, dynamic radar cruise control), a full infotainment system (equipped with a booster to receive Malaysian radio frequencies but still keeping all of the system's functions) and other bits of equipment like Bi-Beam LED lights, and so on.
When the authorised C-HR comes it will also get Toyota Safety Sense but if you check the website, it will not come with Pre-collision system with pedestrian detection or lane departure alert but will get the other things...and a radio that does not need a booster of course.
The other details in the G-T and S-T specs are that the G-T (I don't know why Toyota like to use the dash symbol in the middle of the G and T) has LED fog lamps, 18 inch wheels and tyres, blind spot monitor, front and rear park assist, two toned leather upholstery (CKD models by the authorised Toyota dealers will have single tone leather) , lumbar adjustment for the front seats, heated seats, LED headlights, auto wiper and some other additional luxuries which are cosmetic in nature. The G-T interior is pictured right below.
There will be about 8 colours to choose from the cars that will be brought in. You can see the light green, white, yellow and grey here.
As for warranty, MyMotor has worked out something with the usual warranty package with grey import warranty/insurance providers Opal (MyOpal Services Sdn Bhd) where there will be a maximum three (3) years or 100,000km whichever comes first warranty on the cars. The charge over and above is about RM1,000 per annum and should be bought with the car for some peace of mind. I say some peace of mind because these insurance/warranty providers are a little strict in their scope of coverage, so be aware. Of course, these crossover SUVs being Toyotas, which have a reputation to be reliable most of the time, these could be buyable.
Prices start at RM176,000 to RM185,000 depending on the specification and model year chosen. As stated above, you can choose from the 2016 or 2017 model year and again, these are parallel imports which means these C-HR are not official Toyota Malaysia imports. MyMotor and their financing partners can offer customers leasing or traditional hire purchase financing for the C-HR.
Do note that the prices offered are actually higher than what is predicted for the official C-HR 1.8 variant. Reports are stating that the price for the 'official' C-HR will be in the RM146,000 region.
So the choice is actually up to the buyer. If you want a C-HR for Chinese New Year and you want it turbocharged, you could get this one. Just take note of the higher asking price, the warranty option and the parallel import status. The choice is ultimately yours, obviously.
C-HR G-T
C-HR S-T
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