CT200h - should we get one?

Basil · March 19, 2019

Thanks again for the opinions and experiences.

On paper, a CT meets a lot of our needs for a nice town car and comes very well spec'd indeed. Most owners seem to like them, but I will be interested to test the ride and drivetrain. It's worth adding that I have a past car list littered with 300+hp models, some with coilover suspension - so I have a good sense of ride quality and whether extra power is useful!

A 2.0 hybrid Corolla is £5k more expensive like-for-like, with performance that I'm not convinced we'll use. The Ioniq is barely less money and is, in my opinion, a step down.

For better or worse, I've arranged a test drive in a CT200h next week. I'll report back on what I think after that.

Basil · March 28, 2019

Time to update this thread...

I test drove a lightly used CT200h at the nearest Lexus dealer at the start of the week. I had been interested in a brand new car and managed to find some great deals (albeit at dealers some distance away), but the convenience of being able to look locally at several different specs and colours together seemed like a good place to start.

I spent about an hour driving a 2018 Sky Blue demonstrator, which I'd picked out on the basis of colour and spec (on a sunny day, the colour looked fabulous). I concentrated on driving around town and practicing things like reverse parking, rather than a more usual dual carriageway test route. This is the sort of use our cars get the most of, although I did also take in some higher speed driving.

The overall impression was one of serenity. Most of the driving was done on Battery power, with the engine cutting in an out peacefully - it really was a lovely experience for the sort of driving we mostly do. I will admit that I didn't drive the car hard and therefore suspect I drove around the common reviewer comments about a thrashy engine. I also suspect that if you drove a CT like an average German hatchback on the open road - burying the throttle from low revs once on the move, expecting a wave of turbo torque to arrive - it would seem rather different.

I personally found the ride really quite fine, with the route including lots of broken and undulating roads. It certainly felt taut, but I was left a bit mystified about comments about harsh ride quality... maybe that's just my back-catalogue of performance cars. The drivers seat was really quite superb and I like the large wing mirrors, which partly offset the average rear visibility.

Anyway, I like it enough to buy that very car! It's a 2018 SE model with 7k on the clock and the Plus pack, which as far as I can tell is the same spec as what is currently the 2019 base model - but in turn is quite well specified compared to the pre-2018 cars. The main option I wanted was the Lexus safety system, which is either an expensive option on most other compact cars and / or not available. There are some other options on the car, which I don't have to hand. I'm hopefully picking it up this weekend.

Ordering a new CT in a colour I wanted would have meant waiting another 4 months, so the small but appreciable (10%) saving of buying a lightly used model against the very lowest broker offers on a new car seems worth it. I don't expect that wait and extra outlay would be worth it several years down the line.

It's far from a perfect car and arguably a bit of a niche - but it's one that fits our requirements much better than many others out there. It makes ICE-only cars seem antiquated, even when it's an old-ish model in itself!

royoftherovers · March 28, 2019

4 minutes ago, Basil said:

Time to update this thread...

I test drove a lightly used CT200h at the nearest Lexus dealer at the start of the week. I had been interested in a brand new car and managed to find some great deals (albeit at dealers some distance away), but the convenience of being able to look locally at several different specs and colours together seemed like a good place to start.

I spent about an hour driving a 2018 Sky Blue demonstrator, which I'd picked out on the basis of colour and spec (on a sunny day, the colour looked fabulous). I concentrated on driving around town and practicing things like reverse parking, rather than a more usual dual carriageway test route. This is the sort of use our cars get the most of, although I did also take in some higher speed driving.

The overall impression was one of serenity. Most of the driving was done on battery power, with the engine cutting in an out peacefully - it really was a lovely experience for the sort of driving we mostly do. I will admit that I didn't drive the car hard and therefore suspect I drove around the common reviewer comments about a thrashy engine. I also suspect that if you drove a CT like an average German hatchback on the open road - burying the throttle from low revs once on the move, expecting a wave of turbo torque to arrive - it would seem rather different.

I personally found the ride really quite fine, with the route including lots of broken and undulating roads. It certainly felt taut, but I was left a bit mystified about comments about harsh ride quality... maybe that's just my back-catalogue of performance cars. The drivers seat was really quite superb and I like the large wing mirrors, which partly offset the average rear visibility.

Anyway, I like it enough to buy that very car! It's a 2018 SE model with 7k on the clock and the Plus pack, which as far as I can tell is the same spec as what is currently the 2019 base model - but in turn is quite well specified compared to the pre-2018 cars. The main option I wanted was the Lexus safety system, which is either an expensive option on most other compact cars and / or not available. There are some other options on the car, which I don't have to hand. I'm hopefully picking it up this weekend.

Ordering a new CT in a colour I wanted would have meant waiting another 4 months, so the small but appreciable (10%) saving of buying a lightly used model seems worth it. I don't expect that wait and extra outlay would be worth it several years down the line.

It's far from a perfect car and arguably a bit of a niche - but it's one that fits our requirements much better than many others out there.

Congratulations Basil and welcome to the World of Lexus motoring. Let`s have some piccies when available please.

You can extend the Warranty (for 7 years) after the Manufacturers Warranty has expired and you can obtain a Warranty for the Hybrid Battery ( for 15 years) free of charge so long as Lexus carry out the annual service.

Enjoy.

Chef1969 · March 28, 2019

Well Done Basil

I think I'm a little envious as your CT sounds really nice! But you won't regret it as I love mine and its 6 years old this year with big mileage yet drives really well.. and exceptionally reliable.. Have fun !

colin79666 · March 28, 2019

Thanks for posting back the results and glad you found the CT to your liking 🙂

LexusIS300h · March 28, 2019

Happy new Lexus Basil 👍👍

olliesgrandad · March 28, 2019

And today What Car announced the Lexus CT200h as the 2nd most reliable car after the Toyota Yaris got the top spot.

MadJam250 · March 28, 2019

Fantastic news Basil. Congratulations.

Great news about What Car too!

Basil · April 7, 2019

First impressions

I've had the car for its first week. No photos yet I'm afraid, but I will be driving on a 450-mile business trip this week and will report back on that later.

In the meantime, I've been getting to know the car through local inner city driving, which is going to be its main use by frequency.

Positives

At the speeds I do around town (lots of 20mph limits) the car is often on Battery, which is definitely the unique selling point about the car. It's very quiet in this sort of driving and really quite relaxing to use. I'm especially fond of that sort-of-electric-y noise akin to a Tube or electric train that you get when braking at low speeds.
I'm really happy with the choice of Sky Blue exterior colour. It's perhaps a bit loud (my wife called it a "Tory car") but I think it looks distinctive without being garish.
The seats are great and the fabric is a cut above. I've had a lot of cars with leather interior over the years and this compares well, sitting somewhere closer to Alcantara than usual fabric.
Lots of toys. Despite all the buttons, I'm finding everything relatively intuitive. For a modest trim level, SE Plus seems to have everything you'd want.
Our kids (6 & 9) love it.
Dealer experience so far has been 100%.
The handling and feel are surprisingly good.

Must try harder...

Local driving has given overall fuel consumption of under 45mpg. At our annual mileage, fuel economy is just a number on a screen rather than a big issue - and it's still twice that of the last car in this driving - but I was expecting higher MPG considering the high Battery use.
Audio and DAB... my goodness the sound quality is poor! The DAB reception / tuning also isn't finding any more than 2 stations at present.
Overall ease of use and visibility. Despite having had lots of different cars over the years, it feels like there's more to get used to than normal.

To do

Put private plates on.
I like to really look after my cars, so there are some minor interior and exterior marks I'd like to have a go at with some polish and interior plastic treatments.

I'm looking forward to giving the car a good long run (230 miles each way) this week.

I don't think of this as a long distance car, but it'll be interesting to see how it does. I've driven a lot of cars over the years on this sort of motorway-based jaunt - often mid-size hire cars - so it's where I can compare it against the greatest number of other cars.

200h · April 7, 2019

Hi Basil

your milage should get better after you get used to the hybrid driving style

attached is an image of my mpg when i had a CT so there is room for improvement.

MadJam250 · April 7, 2019

The DAB tuning is indeed so unintuitive it's beyond a joke really (in first world problems territory). It took me several attempts and about 30 mins to tune in 6 presets and I can't for the life of me recall how I did it. That all said and done it's really the only niggle I have with the car (and no storage for rear passengers).

Hope you enjoy the long run and get time to report back how that went for you.

When I get time I'll do my own review on ownership of my first CT over the last 6 months. So far the thumbs are totally up.

Poundy · April 7, 2019

I find our 2014 ticks all the boxes as a local town/city car and like 200h's post ours averages around the 60mpg mark with a best of 90mpg when concentrating on keeping Battery use at a max. We pay no road tax because it is pre the recent changes to the tax. We have a low fixed price service plan including MOT etc for the last service and the next 2 years. They are liked by insurance companies and fairly cheap to insure, and very easy to park in congested areas. Lexus did a special extended warrenty 2 for 1 years which includes full Lexus breakdown service and worked out at .£225 a year, for me a no brainer. The Lexus customer service is great and they pick up and drop of my car FOC to their depot which is a 45min drive away from my home saving me a 3hr double trip.

The only negatives for me is the radio/Dab is a bit of a pain and use of the navigation system is a little over complicated. It's not a very exciting car to drive if you are used to a bit more oomph! but I don't think that was really in the design brief and not what I bought it for. My other car is a Jaguar XF R-Sport and I find that as stable mates they make a perfect combination between them to cover all my excursion needs.

colin79666 · April 7, 2019

MPG varies quite a bit with temperature so expect at least a 5mpg gain in the summer. I also found the mpg improved a little as the engine got bedded in, although that was probably also somewhat the time it took me to adjust to getting the best out of the hybrid.

DAB is poor. Oddly I got more stations in my 2014 than my 2018, not sure if something changed spec wise or I just haven’t managed to press the right buttons!

Glad to hear it is living up to your expectations 😀

Basil · July 29, 2019

With over 4 months and many miles under its wheels, I'm beginning to get a good feel for it. It's by no means a classic petrol head's car, but it's certainly technically impressive and has a lot of interesting quirks.

I thought I'd take a few pics during some idle moments, to help show what I mean.

The outside doesn't take your breath away, but there are certainly some unusual exterior design details:

As is the way with hybrids, total peak power is less than the sum of its parts at 134hp. Nonetheless, I think it can be impressive for short bursts in "Sport" mode as all the battery's torque is available straight away. Equally, it can feel more lethargic in eco modes. Each of the 3 modes gives quite different driving characteristics, much more distinctively so than in ICE-only cars. It feels like a car with between 75 and 200hp depending on which it's in.

The front Lexus badge incorporates a Magic eye; part of the optional "Lexus Safety System+". This comprises: a pre-collision system, adaptive cruise, lane assist, auto high beam and road sign reading. The pack is only now standard on the most recent cars and is worthwhile IMO as it's rare on mid-to-compact cars:

The interior is very comfy and of high quality (apologies for misaligned steering wheel!). The fabric, plastics and other materials are akin to what you'd find in much more expensive cars:

...but the mirror console is an example of some over-complicated controls:

I also find the parking brake an unusual feature, but one I got used to quickly:

The gear selector is more intuitive, but much less mechanical in feel to use than a conventional auto shifter. Underneath is an e-CVT gearbox, which - as we know - is different from a classic CVT but gives you an idea of how it works. The "B" refers to a more aggressive motor braking mode, simulating engine braking - and can be used to recharge the Battery quickly through coasting, but I rarely use it. Two rotary dials below (in the centre console) control display and driving modes respectively.

The dash display changes according to mode selected. This is in "eco", which dulls the accelerator pedal response and increases use of the Battery (the EV icon denotes that only the Battery is being used):

The central display can be configured to show a range of different things. This one is for the hybrid system and shows what it's doing at any given time:

Outside again... the rear hatch has a massive spoiler and the bumper below incorporates some aero details:

Given that there's a Battery under there somewhere, I think the amount of space in the rear is pretty decent:

The air intake in the driver's side door aperture aids Battery pack cooling - another of this car's more unusual features:

The overall driving experience is wearing well, perhaps because it's so serene and different from anything else I've had before. Dropping the windows on country lanes reveals a novel range of quite pleasant Battery and electric motor noises at low speeds, before the engine kicks in as needed.

I'm learning how to drive most effectively, using Prius tips - which is effectively what this is. The "pulse and glide" technique involves accelerating briskly, before lifting off and letting the Battery maintain momentum. With this now practised in use and some help from the adaptive cruise control on motorways, I'm getting between 55-65mpg overall. Urban mpg is generally close-to, or at, the average.

On a longer 4-500-mile run that I've done over quite some years with work (mainly M'way, with some urban and country roads thrown in), I would see close to 35mpg from my old Golf R32, about 40mpg from anything VAG 2.0T and 60mpg from my old Volvo V60 D5. Hire cars with weedy petrol or diesel engines are in a similar range of 40-60mpg, showing little benefit for the drop in performance. And, so, from the CT200h?

Drumroll...

Ok - let's call it a real 70mpg. This was achieved with no particular efforts other than using the adaptive cruise control, which I must say is the best I've used - particularly because it senses vehicles in more than one lane and therefore doesn't speed up when a car in front moves into an outside lane.

I'm happy because it means I can do the whole trip without needing to refuel...I think they call it "range anxiety" 😉. Unlike a normal ICE-only car, the CT's fuel economy doesn't drop when in stop-start traffic. The Battery also assists the engine at motorway speeds, meaning that it's barely ticking over on a cruise and the OBC shows 99.9+mpg regularly.

I've also made use of the boot when taking my MTB with me on said work trip:

It also has some decent undercover storage:

...before revealing that Prius / Auris battery:

All loaded-up:

...and out onto the trails:

The only issue with the car so far is a cracking / creaking noise, made during the last moment as it comes to rest. Googling suggests it could be brake pad retainer clips, but it's also present when not braking but steering - so I'd better get back to the dealer at some point.

Finally, I previously sullied the good name of this car by saying that its stereo was rubbish. I would like to retract this statement having - ahem - found that the Bluetooth volume setting on my phone was set low. :getmecoat:

It's actually a pretty decent stereo and tops off the experience of this car suiting my needs pretty well.

I've still much to learn about the car - and that's probably the best bit!

MadJam250 · July 30, 2019

Brilliant review by Basil.

stormchaser · August 4, 2019

Why are the mirror controls over complicated?
I find them very basic and easy.

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

Basil · August 5, 2019

They're ok - I'm just used to a bezel-style adjuster placed on the driver's door (near electric window switches), which almost every other car I've had uses.

I've booked the car in with my local dealer, to look at the low-speed creak / crack under braking. It also happens when not breaking but steering, so I suspect it's not a "feature" of the recharging or braking system.

Eastwood1994 · August 13, 2019

The short answer to your question is... yes. It would be worth getting a CT200h.

The footbrake is very intuitive and is actually quite easy to get used to. And around-town driving is extremely smooth and goes down very well. You will get mixed reviews for a lot of cars out there but at the end of the day both myself and one of my close friends both have a CT200h and we both absolutely love them, just a very nice car to own and a very reliable machine.