I Want To Buy A 2014 Ct200H And Need To Know How Bad It Is

[goferdave]

Hi

I have to get another car for my wife and have been for a long time drawn to the ct200h.

We have had a mazda 323 for the past 10years but it is now being parked in the car park in the skies.

we have test driven nearly all the cars that are in the 323 size range that are on the market and have dismissed many of them however there are 4 cars that are left in the running. We have test driven them again and realise that each one has different likes and dislikes. I have resorted to checking out the car reviews which only made matters more confusing especially when Jeremy Clarkson states that the ct200h is the worst car that he has ever driven and all the others appear to be looking at all the wrong attributes to me. I am posting the question please to all folk who own a ct200h to comment on all their likes and dislikes as I think it is the only way to get the truth.

By the way the other 3 cars that are in the running are the Mazda 3 sports, the Audi A3 and the BMW 1 series.

I am especially interested in the CVT transmission along with tyre wear.

Many thanks

goferdave

[royoftherovers]

Hi

I have to get another car for my wife and have been for a long time drawn to the ct200h.

We have had a mazda 323 for the past 10years but it is now being parked in the car park in the skies.

we have test driven nearly all the cars that are in the 323 size range that are on the market and have dismissed many of them however there are 4 cars that are left in the running. We have test driven them again and realise that each one has different likes and dislikes. I have resorted to checking out the car reviews which only made matters more confusing especially when Jeremy Clarkson states that the ct200h is the worst car that he has ever driven and all the others appear to be looking at all the wrong attributes to me. I am posting the question please to all folk who own a ct200h to comment on all their likes and dislikes as I think it is the only way to get the truth.

By the way the other 3 cars that are in the running are the Mazda 3 sports, the Audi A3 and the BMW 1 series.

I am especially interested in the CVT transmission along with tyre wear.

Many thanks

goferdave

Read car by car reviews in "Honest John.co.uk" for unbiased comments. Facts and nothing but the facts.

Regards

John

[rayaans]

Hi

I have to get another car for my wife and have been for a long time drawn to the ct200h.

We have had a mazda 323 for the past 10years but it is now being parked in the car park in the skies.

we have test driven nearly all the cars that are in the 323 size range that are on the market and have dismissed many of them however there are 4 cars that are left in the running. We have test driven them again and realise that each one has different likes and dislikes. I have resorted to checking out the car reviews which only made matters more confusing especially when Jeremy Clarkson states that the ct200h is the worst car that he has ever driven and all the others appear to be looking at all the wrong attributes to me. I am posting the question please to all folk who own a ct200h to comment on all their likes and dislikes as I think it is the only way to get the truth.

By the way the other 3 cars that are in the running are the Mazda 3 sports, the Audi A3 and the BMW 1 series.

I am especially interested in the CVT transmission along with tyre wear.

Many thanks

goferdave

Tyre wear is hardly an issue on a CT200h. Im sure you could easily do 40k miles on a set. I have an RX450h with 3mm left and Im on 26k miles atm. The CT200h doesnt have as much weight as an RX so you could get high miles out of a set no problem.

The CVT transmission is fine. Its super slick, you wont even notice any shifting, simply because there is no shifting. Its the most refined out of all the cars you've mentioned and with the 2014 facelift, its stiffer and the advance model which I had for a loaner feels like its on rails so im sure an F Sport would enhance that further.

If its for your wife and she's doing mainly town/city driving, you should be seeing 50mpg + too and no road tax which is a bonus. Another thing to mention is that bar the Mazda, the others dont even come close to the level of specification that the CT200h has. You're going to be putting a lot of money into options on the A3 and BMW 1 series which looks awful IMO anyway.

[dave1]

Having driven the ct200 as a courtesy car twice covering both local and then a run from Lincoln to Coventry then back to Lincolnshire (50 miles north of Lincoln) and back to Lincoln all I would advise is to drop it from your list.

Noisy, sluggish, uneconomical, poor handling. Try to get a 48 hour test drive and judge for yourself.

No doubt though that they are ok for some people depending on usage and what you are used to. I mean no offence to owners but my opinion is that Lexus made a mistake with this car.

[Fishboy]

I had one for a weekend, it was awful! The 1.4 tsi Golf I had at the time was light years ahead. Avoid and buy an second hand IS250 auto instead, you won't be disappointed.

[Fishboy]

However if Clarkson hates it that might encourage me to buy one, he is a k#@b

[bubba1]

I have had one twice whilst my GS was in for servicing and repair. I hated it for so many reasons and would never touch one. A shame as I believe all other Lexus cars are fantastic. It was slow, noisy, if you tried driving normally it's very uneconomical, rattle, handled poorly and was physically small making me very uncomfortable.

After the 2nd one was given to me a always made a point of advising the service I would not drive a CT.

Regards

[rayaans]

^^ I dont agree with any of these points completely. OK its slow - but only over 40-50mph. If you spend a lot of time in town or in the city its more than peppy enough. It doesnt feel slow at all less than 40-50mph.

Noisy, yes it was noisy in the cabin but its better than a Golf or A3. Its quieter inside and its mainly tyre noise which comes through. A good set of tyres should sort that out.

If you drive it normally - youll get 50mpg which is hardly bad - I absolutely gunned it and it was getting 45mpg so its not atrocious.

There were no rattles in the CT200h Advance. My wife easily picks these up and she never said anything.

Dont know which car you've been driving but the 2014 CT200h handles competently. Road holding is good, hardly any body roll through the corners. Ride is slightly harsh but again, handling is good. Better than any of the older models Lexus made including the 2nd gen IS, 3rd gen GS and 2nd gen RX

The car is physically small but so are the others - thats the whole point of a SMALL car. Im 6ft1 and had no problems with headroom or legroom. Obviously, if you cant fit, your either obese or a bodybuilder.

[ganzoom]

I would advise you test drive one and make up your own mind.

Lots of the motoring journals seem biased towards German brands, I personally found the hybrid drive train in the IS300H amazing in refinement compared to conventional diesel drive-trains.

Just remember the drive train has its roots in the Prius, so is designed from the ground up to be economical rather than high performance. So if your after a high performance car I would look else where, but for a family car to get around town in comfort and luxury than its perfect.

But I have noticed the 0-60 times of the CT200H is very slow (>10 seconds), I think the hybrid drive in the CT200H is virtually the same as that in the Prius so it's essentially a Prius but in a nicer body, where as the rest of the Lexus range have bespoke drive unit, which have larger petrol engines and more Battery storage.

[rayaans]

I would advise you test drive one and make up your own mind.

Lots of the motoring journals seem biased towards German brands, I personally found the hybrid drive train in the IS300H amazing in refinement compared to conventional diesel drive-trains.

Just remember the drive train has its roots in the Prius, so is designed from the ground up to be economical rather than high performance. So if your after a high performance car I would look else where, but for a family car to get around town in comfort and luxury than its perfect.

But I have noticed the 0-60 times of the CT200H is very slow (>10 seconds), I think the hybrid drive in the CT200H is virtually the same as that in the Prius so it's essentially a Prius but in a nicer body, where as the rest of the Lexus range have bespoke drive unit, which have larger petrol engines and more battery storage.

I agree the 0-60 time is slow but ive always found Lexus to feel faster than the time suggests. The CT200h is the same - it feels much faster and between 20-40mph it feels like its got 200hp under the hood. The whole point is that if you're doing between 20-40mph on a regular basis, I doubt you'd feel unsatisfied with the CT200h from a performance point of view.