Toyota showrooms use augmented reality to let customers 'see' inside cars

Toyota AR experience
Image credit: Toyota; Brandwidth (Image credit: Toyota; Brandwidth)

When you're buying a new car, you'll take a peek under the hood, but Toyota showrooms are now going a step further, using augmented reality to let you 'see' right through the bodywork.

Toyota and marketing agency Brandwidth are using the technology to let customers peer inside the C-HR and see what makes the hybrid tick.

The app overlays images of the C-HR's drivetrain onto vehicles on the showroom floor, demonstrating how its various elements interact.

The graphics also feature hotspots that can be tapped to reveal information on key systems including the fuel tank, motor and battery.

Under the skin

The C-HR falls into the 'small SUV' category – compact enough for city driving, but able to seat five adults comfortably. When we put the car through its paces, we found it ideal for just that, with smooth acceleration and a sporty design that sets it apart from the conservative looks often associated with hybrids.

It might not be as exciting as Audi's Holoride in-car VR platform, but Toyota hopes that the new AR app will help you better understand what goes on beneath that slick chassis.

Cat Ellis

Cat is the editor of TechRadar's sister site Advnture. She’s a UK Athletics qualified run leader, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than lacing up her shoes and hitting the roads and trails (the muddier, the better)