Showing posts with label ct200h. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ct200h. Show all posts
Monday, March 16, 2015
2014 Lexus CT200h Review Even More Efficient Than Expected
I dont decide in advance to dislike a car. Indeed, as often as not, the cars I feel certain I will like instead leave me feeling somewhat underwhelmed. But if the information which I possess aforetime causes me to start the week with the assumption that I might not favour a car, I dont robotically cast that notion aside.
| THE GOOD • Fuel efficiency • Unique among premium brands • Terrific seats • Lots of style • Mostly well built | THE BAD • Its quite slow • The brakes of a hybrid • Doesnt feel completely upmarket • Hateful shifter • Not that much cargo capacity |
I am not capable of doing so, just as I am not capable of saying, "I will be completely open-minded about this meal of battered catfish served on a bed of refried beans with a side of grits and an extra-large helping of black pudding."
The restyled 2014 Lexus CT200h didnt completely change my mind. I assumed it would be terribly slow, and it was. I assumed it wouldnt be completely worthy of a premium badge, and it wasnt. I figured its cargo area would be too small, and I was correct.
The CTs front seats are among the best Ive sat in, good enough for me to see the overall appeal of the small Lexus, even without an up-down function for the power lumbar support.
2014 LEXUS CT200h Base Price * (CDN): $32,945 As-Tested Price * (CDN): $39,745 Engine: 1.8L DOHC 16-valve I-4 (Atkinson) Transmission: continuously variable Horsepower: 98 @ 5200 rpm Torque: 105 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm Battery: 1.3 kWh NiMH Total System Horsepower: 134 Curb Weight: 3130 pounds Drive Type: front-wheel-drive Length: 171.2 inches Width: 69.5 inches Height: 57.3 inches Wheelbase: 102.4 inches Passenger Volume: 2435 litres Cargo Volume: 404 litres Max. Cargo Volume: 915 litres Glove Compartment: 18 tennis balls Centre Console: 12 tennis balls EPA City: 43 mpg EPA Highway: 40 mpg NRCAN OEE City: 5.5 L/100 km NRCAN OEE Hwy: 5.8 L/100 km Observed: 46.1 mpg Observed: 5.1 L/100 km * includes destination/delivery. MPG fuel economy ratings from the Environmental Protection Agency. L/100km ratings from the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiencys new 5-cycle testing for MY2015 vehicles. |
Outside, the CT provides onlookers with lots to see. Its not conventionally pretty, nor is this specific car (a $39,745 Premium Package CT200h in Canadian parlance, similar to a $37,704 CT200h in the U.S.) as aggressive as the F Sport models. You may not think its a cohesive effort, as the new spindle grille is not as effectively integrated as it is on the IS. But from the tailgates bizarre shelf to the conspicuous hybrid badging to the wrap-around rear glass and the shapely hood, theres something to look at. The CT is not boring, which from a company that formerly used car styling as anesthesia, is a good thing.
For the moment, the CT200h is also unique among premium brands in that its an entry-level hatchback. No, theres not a lot of space behind the rear seats – well get to that later – but its a flexible layout, and space for four or five occupants is better than decent.
Perhaps the greatest surprise to me was the CT200hs handling. Yes, the car rides rather stiffly, so we expect a compensating degree of handling prowess. The electric assist steering, which doesnt feel as artificial as so many modern systems, and the comfort with which the CT adopts and maintains a position when hustling down my favourite local roads, combine to make for a car thats at ease with fast driving. (Once you eventually get up to speed.) The Lexus lacks the enthusiasm of Mercedes-Benzs CLA whether the CTs prominently-mounted knob is turned to Eco, left in Normal, or moved to Sport, which definitely upgrades the cars personality and takes away some of the most drastic slow sensations.
Then again, isnt there always (often? sometimes? every now and then?) something a little bit charming about a slow car being driven quickly? And me oh my, is it ever slow. Instrumented tests say 100 kph arrives in under ten seconds, but Im not sure what kinds of seconds those are. The CVT just eats up so many of the 134 Prius-donated horsepower. Because you must work the CT hard when trying to keep a gently-driven Pontiac G3 in sight, half the slowness-related problem originates with the accompanying racket of a hybrid powerplant whose revs periodically head in a different direction than you expected. Perhaps with a conventional V6 the CT would be quiet like a Lexus is supposed to be. With this mode of propulsion, with some disappointing tire hum and a speck too much wind noise, its not.
Its a bit like the family reunion of mostly successful siblings, most of whom run half marathons and attend PTA meetings and eat goat cheese and grow high bush blueberries along their white picket fences, where that one younger brother whos kind of chubby showed up wearing a WWE t-shirt, actually sprayed his hamburger with Cheez Whiz, and started singing, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," after the grandchildren sang, "The Wheels On The Bus," at the evening campfire. Maybe its not exactly like that. But its a little like that. Theres an awful lot of obviously shared DNA: the hybrid addiction and the spindle grille and the love of cheese and the affinity for music. But there are notable differences.
| All Photo Credits: Timothy Cain ©www.GoodCarBadCar.net Click Any Of These iPhone Images For A Larger Slideshow View |
Im pretty sure I just used a foot-operated parking brake. And with 14.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity behind the rear seats, the CT is way down from the Mazda 3 hatchbacks 20.2 cubic feet and even farther away from the new Volkswagen Golfs 22.8 cubic feet. These are huge gaps in load-lugging ability, gaps we werent very willing to disregard when the CT was maxed out by one large load of groceries.
• Historical Monthly & Yearly Lexus CT Sales Figures
• 2014 Kia Soul SX Luxury Driven Review
• 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid Driven Review
• 2014 Toyota Highlander XLE Driven Review
• 2014 Mazda 3 Sport GT Driven Review
I couldnt overlook the CT200hs lack of urge, its handful of non-premium missteps, or its ineffective cargo hold. Id be happier in a fully-equipped Mazda 3 or a diesel-powered Golf, and I suspect most Lexus CT buyers would prefer to drive an A3 or CLA.
Even though it does boast an unexpectedly tiny fuel bill, a Lexus badge, a long standard equipment list, a sense of style, and surprisingly decent handling.
Monday, January 26, 2015
2015 Lexus CT200h Review And Release Date
2015 Lexus CT200h Review And Release Date
2015 Lexus CT200h Review And Release Date-During the past few years, there’s been many talk that 2015 Lexus CT200h Review And Release Date may become an only hybrid brand. Whether or not that will actually become a reality, hybrids are absolutely a tremendous the main brand’s business as well as image. Lexus continues to crank out gas-electric variations of otherwise conventionally run models, as well as hybrid-only models such as the HS250h and that CT200h.
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| Lexus |
2015 Lexus CT200h Review And Release Date
The CT200h plus the HS250h ride on Toyota’s MC program, which also underpins the Toyota Corolla plus the Scion tC. The HS hooks an electrical motor to some sort of 2. 4-liter inline-four—total technique output is 187 hp—but the supposedly sportier CT200h’s gasoline four displaces just 1. 8 liters, also it and an electric motor combine to produce 134 hp, 13 lower than the HS’s gasoline engine makes by its lonesome. (The CT’s build is basically similar to that found from the Prius. ) And, of course, there is the small matter that this HS250h resembles some sort of four-wheeled Teletubby. Looked at from certain facets, the CT200h’s moderate forward rake lends it the look of a rear-drive Japanese VW GTI—in spite that the it’s front-wheel get.
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| Lexus Engine |
The CT200h has a certain amount of the feel of a Japanese GTI at the same time. Grabbing the thick tyre conjures flashbacks of squealing tires as well as blurring scenery, plus the first few cranks disclose a sporting heft. Lexus boasts the CT makes use of a “bespoke suspension pattern, ” bespoke apparently meaning “shared using the HS250h. ” But whereas the chubby HS feels as soft the way it looks, the different tuning on the CT’s setup endows your vehicle with immediate, running responses and interestingly level body management.
We’re Not Upset, Just Disappointed
All that assure goes right away the window once you start pushing the CT, though. The steering is nicely weighted and incredibly quick off-center, but it offers zilch in the form of feedback. The chassis, too, is a big pile of unrealized prospective. It has a pleasant balance of journey and handling from lesser speeds, but it’s really too flat in turns and isolates the driver completely by what’s happening for the limit. The driver feels the g-loads build but might be on some sort of carnival ride for the number of interaction he feels using the source of these individuals. That’s particularly disappointing if you think about how playful this car may be. With a limited, 102. 4-inch wheelbase—2. 3 shorter than that of a BMW 1-series—the CT would like to rotate, if only their intrusive stability-control system may be turned off. Not only is the stability control stubborn, it isn’t particularly rapid to react, possibly. We found we could actually initiate and instantly catch slides prior to the system intervened. It could still cut electrical power, however, at the period, only retarding forward progress rather then aiding stability.
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| Lexus Interior |
2015 Lexus CT200h Review And Release Date
Along with merely 134 horsepower propelling a 3278-pound package, the CT’s forward progress is already sufficiently encumbered. Many of us clocked a 0-to-60-mph time period of 10. 5 seconds along with a 17. 9-second quarter-mile from 78 mph—CVT mooing away the many while—2. 1 as well as 1. 4 mere seconds slower than their HS platformmate, as well as 0. 5 as well as 0. 3 slower compared to the slightly lighter Prius. CT200h drivers should look for Smart Fortwos, because they represent a rare chance for a victory from the stoplight drags. Those for who the “go” the main stop-and-go commute gets to higher speeds should note that warmth soak quickly afflicts the electronic components after repeated runs, halting acceleration times further—so capture those Smarts early on. As for the CT’s hybrid qualifications, rarely did we motor with no gas engine encouraging our propulsion. Theres a button marked “EV manner, ” but if pressing a real button at twenty six mph activates a note in the exhibit saying “EV manner unavailable excessive velocity, ” then you don’t have an EV mode. (In which same vein, Lexus, you haven’t created a sporty car if they have a CVT as well as doesn’t offer a solution to manually now you should ratios, even false ones. ) In spite of us abusing this to, you recognize, actually get sites, the CT performed return 33 mpg, so it has that choosing it.
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