In the real world, will the Lexus CT 200h return the claimed 70mpg official average? That’s what I wanted to know as I ran one for a week. But I soon discovered that to think only of economy is to miss the point of this car.
It isn’t Toyota’s fault that the European Commission’s economy test cycles flatter the CT – a car weighing in at 1,500kg (including an average weight driver) powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine has little chance of repeating the official numbers in day to day driving. The EC rates the car at 68.9 mpg on both the Combined and Urban cycles, with the average for Extra Urban a similar 70.6mpg.
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As we know, those three ratings usually have a lot of variance between them but the peculiarities of the EC’s tests suit a hybrid powertrain and CVT gearbox. In short, the car is able to stay in EV mode for part of the test cycles, greatly reducing consumption off the mark. So if you sit in stop-start traffic, or cruise at a steady (low speed) the Lexus really delivers. But put your foot down and all that changes.
I should be clear: the CT is not a gas-guzzler by any means. In fact, this former hybrid-doubter was won over by the test car’s combination of peace, power and economy after just a day or two, and I’m someone who’s never really been able to get on with the styling (inside and out) and floaty ride of all three generations of the Prius, much as I admire the engineering skills behind Toyota’s most famous petrol-electric vehicle.
I saw an average of around 43mpg in the Lexus but it isn’t just the pleasure derived from not having to visit fuel stations’ windy-rainy forecourts too often, it’s the ‘premium’ feeling you get from the silence of the thing. That, and the intelligent design of the interior, combined with the exterior styling, which I really like. To have a car that you admire every time you walk up to it, and climb into it, a car that cocoons you, that’s what luxury means to me. And yes, styling is subjective so I shouldn’t dwell on that topic.
Another part of the luxury experience is ride and here again, the CT impressed. My home is on a cobbled street so hard-riding cars irritate as the seatbelt will always grab and lock – not a good first or last impression as you leave or arrive back after a long day. I’ll soon publish my thoughts on a Corsa VXR, a fantastically fun little car that Vauxhall was kind enough to lend me, but that’s been the worst offender for inducing belt rage.
I realised soon after taking delivery of the CT that I am one half of a couple that is pretty much the target audience. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much. My partner was also keen on it. He’s 30, spends a lot of time behind the wheel of his C30 2.4, wants an XC90 next, and tellingly, didn’t have much awareness of what a Lexus is. There again he was neutral on Volvos until he saw the black C30 that he decided he had to own.
Having been a teen when the first iPod came out, the other half loved the Lexus’ instrumentation, and quickly worked out all the controls. The thumping sound system also got a bit of work out too, and a big thumbs up. Plus, there are things about this car that are just so cool whatever your age. Take the way the navigation system’s monitor flips up and shows you the rear view the instant you select Reverse. A scratched bumper or kerbed alloy on a car that costs almost £30,000 is most definitely not cool, and let’s not even think about accidentally backing over someone’s kid – a screen that thrills by automatically whirring into life is also a potential life saver, so full marks to Toyota for fitting it to the CT.
Other cool things about the interior, in both senses of the word here – the blue glow that progressively appears below the speedo to reward you for using a light throttle. I don’t know why, but for me, it really did engender a calm driving style. I also liked the sports seats that are part of the F Sport package – they grip you well but aren’t overstuffed. And as mentioned earlier, the ride was firm but not overly so. I haven’t driven the standard CT 200h but suspect there might be too much bodyroll so would recommend the sports upgrade, which includes lateral dampers (you also get black leather upholstery, aluminium pedals, a bodykit and a sports steering wheel).
Something else I liked is how roomy the CT is, and that surprised me. Safety requirements that dictate thick pillars and high sills, plus the need to find room for things like electric seat motors increasingly seem to mean squishy interiors for many C-segment cars (I’m looking at you, BMW 3 Series sedan). Not so in this Lexus: even with the sports seats there was loads of room to move about. I had a sit in the back and it would be fine for even a long drive, plus the boot is big and comes with a hidden lower section for valuables or things that might otherwise slide about. Neither batteries nor hybrid components encroach on your cargo space either.
One thing I do want to mention is the engine braking, which works much like it does in a Prius. This makes the CT 200h an unusual car to drive, sometimes, but you do get used to it. Simply put, the CVT has pre-programmed but super-smooth steps that give a remarkably convincing impression of the gears in a conventional automatic transmission. To keep the car from running away on a steep hill, you select ‘B’ and as if by magic, you get synthetic engine braking – very clever.
Lifting off the throttle any time also gives you quite heavy and instant deceleration, just like in a Prius or other hybrid vehicles. You also get shown that kinetic energy is being fed into the battery by a dashboard gauge, which can be fun to watch. And using some of this banked power is simple – give the accelerator pedal a light push and you’ll take off from a standing start in EV mode.
The silence when the car is running only on its motor is a thing of wonder. This lasts for anything up to 1.2 miles before the battery is exhausted. You can also select this mode any time you’re driving at under 28mph but bear in mind, as soon as you accelerate hard, it’s cancelled and the petrol engine kicks in (seamlessly). I also found that as I picked up speed down one hill, the engine fired up and a message appeared in front of me: EV mode deactivated: excessive speed, to which my reply was Not my fault, blame gravity.
I wouldn’t be properly reviewing the car if I didn’t report some spec essentials, so here goes. Power is 134bhp from the 1.8-litre engine alone, and the car’s top speed is a claimed 112mph (it was super-quiet and revs were low at an indicated 70mph national limit). Zero to 62mph is said to take 10.3 seconds: off the mark, it was quick enough. As for insurance, the grouping is 19E and the VED band is A, while CO2 emissions are rated at 94g/km so that means no road tax and no London Tax. Finally, the OTR cost for the well-specced car I sampled was £28,360 at the time of writing. Oh, and if you fancy the Ultra Blue paint, it’s an extra £510.
After seven days’ worth of trying to fault the CT in all sorts of conditions, I found it hard to do. It could do with more power, perhaps, but then that 40mpg+ average economy would go out the window. With just 85kg of me on board, the combined output of the engine and motor was fine. With a family or work colleagues?
Perhaps what I liked most about the little Lexus was the fact that you don’t see too many of them about. The CT is nowhere near as rare as say, the LS 600h (SMMT data show a mere five were sold in the first quarter versus 1,629 units of the CT 200h in the same period), but you’d certainly be justified in feeling a bit superior to all those Audi A3 Sportback drivers. Let’s not even mention the BMW 320d, a terrific car but they’re just everywhere aren’t they? Maybe that’s what Kylie means when she whispers about the CT in those Lexus ads – keep it quiet, this car’s not for everyone, and that’s a good thing.
Author: Glenn Brooks
