For a car that isn’t even available in the U.S. until the spring of 2017, the Toyota C-HR sure is making a lot of appearances in the headlines these days, some of which include the stylized crossover wearing explosive aerodynamic kits. We saw it just last week with the introduction of aftermarket body parts from Modellista and now, we’re seeing it again with a pair of new aero kits, this time from TRD, otherwise known as Toyota’s own in-house performance specialist.

The range of modifications being offered by TRD is as aggressive as the ones that Modellista showed last week, and that’s taking into account how dramatic the design of the C-HR was when it was previewed wearing Modellista’s Boost Impulse Style and Elegant Ice Style aerodynamic packs.

Those kits showed us the aftermarket potential of the C-HR; these two new kits from TRD shows us what the C-HR’s design is fully capable of if those same kits were injected with shots of adrenaline.

The kits are called Aggressive Style and Extreme Style, obvious choices for names given the extent of upgrades they can bestow upon the C-HR. It’s hard to tell though if everyone’s going to be on-board with modifications like these because quite frankly, they’re really not for everyone, at least not for those who opt for more conservative programs.

But if there’s one thing that Toyota has shown us about the C-HR, it’s that the crossover works well with aggressive kits like the two that TRD is offering. Like it or not, the the Aggressive Style and Extreme Style kits from TRD are programs for the C-HR that are meant to give the crossover layers upon layers of styling edge.

On that note, it’s hard to argue against the results.

Continue after the jump to read more about the Toyota C-HR with TRD Aero Kits.

2017 Toyota C-HR With TRD Aero Kits

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2017 Toyota C-HR With TRD Aero Kits
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array

What Makes the Toyota C-HR with TRD Aero Kits So Special

I honestly don’t know if using the word “special” in this instance is appropriate because TRD may have crossed some lines here in designing these kits. The thought “when is too much become too much” certainly applies and I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks this way about these aero kits.

To be fair, I can’t fault Toyota Racing Development, or Modellista for that matter, for trying. TRD did its homework on these kits, and then some. My only issue is that they’re too aggressive, even for a crossover like the C-HR whose standard design alone invites this kind of aggressiveness.

But there is such a thing as too much. Let’s look at the Extreme Style kit first. I don’t know if it was intentionally done by Modellista and TRD but the similar treatment between the Extreme Style kit and Modellista’s Boost Impulse Style kit is readily apparent.

too

For instance, both kits are explosively aggressive in a menacing kind of way. Modellista’s Boost Impulse program featured a new front splitter that featured upward sweeping metallic pieces that extended to the edges of the crossover. TRD’s version is a little bit different though no less distinctive in its own right. The metal edges don’t extend upward like Modellista’s but the metallic treatment of the component highlights its presence in the front. Move to the C-HR’s grille and you’ll also see a more robust look that revolves around a single-piece, horizontal black cover just below Toyota badge. It’s a different look from Modellista’s Boost Impulse Style.

Move to the side and kit adds massive side skirts bright red mud flaps, to go with a set of 16-inch alloy wheels that customers can get in either silver or black. The C-HR’s rear section is also a treated to a few aftermarket bits, none more prominent than the lip spoiler on the tailgate. It is with tinge of paradox to say that as heavily stylised this kit is, it’s actually more subtle than TRD’s Aggressive Style kit.

I say this with a lot of admiration for TRD. We’ve seen Toyota’s racing and personalization division come up with some crazy kits in the past. But the Aggressive Style kit takes the cake because it’s insane on so many levels. Take a look at how different it is from Modellista’s Elegant Ice Style kit.

Note: side-by-side photo of the Extreme Style kit and the Boost Impulse Style kit.

The Elegant Ice Style kit looks completely muted when you line up beside TRD’s Aggressive Style kit for the C-HR. All you need to do is take a look at that absolutely massive front bumper to see how expressive this kit is. It looks like a bumper grew out from the C-HR’s standard bumper, bearing with it goodies like LED daytime running lights and a more pronounced mesh grille compared to the one featured in the Elegant Ice Style kit. Even the side profile gets its own set of massive side skirts and the rear section was the recipient of a lip spoiler on the roof Note: side-by-side photo of TRD’s Aggressive Style kit and Modellista’s Elegant Ice Style kit. a much bigger rear diffuser compared to the one fitted by Modellista.

It’s also worth mentioning that in addition to these attention-grabbing kits, TRD is also offering a slew of aesthetic and technical modifications to the C-HR. The interior of the crossover, for example, is eligible to receive sports seat covers while the suspension system is also open to some upgrades, most notably with a motion control beam that TRD can install.

The two TRD kits are similar to the Modellista kits in another way: they’re likely to be offered in Japan at some point in the future, with no clear-cut plans on releasing them in other markets. In some ways, the absence of availability here in the U.S. could be a good thing because future owners of the C-HR won’t have to worry about making any kind of decisions about their crossovers getting these kinds of kits.

Love them or hate them, the two TRD kits are just like their counterparts in Modellista. There’s a specific group of people that would love to get them, but by and large, they’re probably best left alone. The Toyota C-HR is aggressively styled in it of itself.