CT200h Goes Where No Lexus Hybrid Has Gone Before, Brings Sport To The Table

Lexus initially planned to market both the RXh and GSh as performance hybrids, but they backed off on that and left the performance to the GSh with its more powerful powertrain. It was a smart move, but it's still nice that Lexus provides that extra boost in the RXh while improving fuel economy.

Now this CTh... the preproduction model I drove during its LA tour gave me a hard time - I hated it... then I was impressed by it. I suppose I blame myself for not being familiar with the subcompact segment - subcompact luxury segment, to be specific.

this car is a disaster---and will sell as badly as the HS.

who did they build this car for? 15-year old camry acceleration, ridiculously tight cabin, punishing ride and, well, it looks like a econo-car scion....and all that for over $30,000. disaster.

car and driver review was pretty awful too. ultimately, it's just another glorified toyota on the same platform as the corolla, the HS and the scion tc.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q4/2011_lexus_ct200h_hybrid-first_drive_review

Hold up. Before I even read deeper I stopped at the first two lines.

"In the entry-level premium segment, there are plenty of options. You've got the Audi A3, BMW 1-Series, MINI Cooper, Volkswagen GTI, amongst others. "

The VW GTI and MINI Cooper ARE NOT premium segment vehicles. The GTI competed with cars like the MS3, Civic Si and other small sport compacts in the sub 30k segment. The MINI Cooper will soon be competing against the FIAT 500 which I would not consider a PREMIUM segment car.

The A3 and 1-series are both vehicles that cost over and in properly appointed trim well over 30k and are luxury cars by pretty much all standards. Besides, if your going to compare a MINI to anything Audi, it would HAVE to be the A1 which IS NOT available in the states. And the 1-series is a 2-door coupe, yet every other car mentioned is a hatchback. Therefore I would argue that the 1-series does not compete with the A3 on anything other than it's the lowest model in the lineups, other than that, it's complete apples and oranges.

This article fails at failing.

@Whelan

Not quite. Depending on how you option a VW GTI you can quickly head over the $25k mark. Same with MINI. BTW, if you have driven either the GTI or MINI you'd know why I lump them in with entry-level premium vehicles.

And no kidding about the A1, but as you mention we're talking about US-market vehicles.

There is a 1 series 5-Door in Europe. There's also an Audi A3 5-Door in Europe called the Sportback. The CT200h competes with them.

In the UK, VW GTIs and GTDs can be optioned up to over £30k that is over $46k USD

How they cost only $25k USD I do not understand.

This Lexus is a joke... I cannot imagine a single MINI customer looking seriously at one of these as a competitor... The GTI and the MINI definitely fall into a premium hatch category- don't believe me? Drive one and then go drive a Mazda3- point proven. Don't expect Lexus to offer a manual tranny in a hybrid Whelan, seriously? CVT is a crucial key in their "great" mileage.

Point taken A00R. I just look at them differently in terms of brands. I tend to follow the get your options instead of a stripper model. I would rather spend close to 30k on a VW GTI and have it be loaded than the same amount on a Audi A3 with nothing. Of course there are those who feel differently so that's just me.

In terms of the CT though, I was interested but the fact that the car cannot even offer a manual similar to the Honda CR-Z really disappoints. The mileage seems spot on, but for me it would be more sensible to pickup a Ford Fiesta hatch loaded to the teeth for 20k, have my manual shift, and achieve 40mpgs.

At least Lexus is offering a hatchback. I still would prefer it to be a turbo 4 with a 6spd, but I can dream. I could see the upcoming Ford Focus hatchback offering similar and in some cases superior (Sync) options to the Lexus with a more fun-to-drive aspect and at a better price point. But I'm one of those people who could care less if it was a Lexus or a Ford. As you said, some people buy an A3 because they don't want to be seen in a VW, not me.

I thought it was a pretty balanced review...some good points, some bad. He focused more on the market for premium hatches than on the car though

there's a premium sub-compact hatchback segment? who's in it other than this car and the audi a3?

A lot of people, however they opt for a loaded GTI over an A3. And the others are still driving their Matrix, Vibe, Mazda 3, etc. since the offerings for this segment are non-existent in the U.S.

I'm getting one, so I'll report after some seat time......

toyota projections for HS250: 30,000 units, actual sold in first year 11,000.

this one will fail just as badly.

does anyone know who the buyer for this car is??

It was a fair review... although I think the reviewer has the wrong demographic... the reason why this is so Scion-esque is because that's the market they are going after... the kids that drive the Scion through high school and college, once they graduate, these 20-somethings need a transition into the Lexus family... as a natural progression... CT > IS > GS > LS... they realize their primary 70+ demographic is literally dying off... so it only makes sense that they would capture the next generation, to groom them into the adult Lexus client...