2011 Prius and 2011 CT200h

Wow, what a fleet of very cool cars:
2011 Lexus CT200h premium non navi
2011 Prius Gen III Navi and Solar Package
2009 Honda Pilot EX
2001 Honda S2000
1990 Honda CRX Si
1972 Datsun 240z

I can remember when the Datsun 240z was modern. Some of you kids may not know what the Datsun is today.

Thinking of your fleet, I'm convinced that the Prius is the true investment. Can I borrow the Lexus? My wife and I are going to dinner Saturday night.

 

Smoke those tail lights please! Nice.

 

Damn… I had originally wanted the CT but did not want to wait until they were released here. I bought my Prius instead. Enjoy them both let us know your observations on the CT. what's next a HS250h?

Aloha,

ED

 

We got the HS about 6 months after the Prius, we love it!

 

Would love to see a rear picture of both side-by-side with the hatches open. CT is smaller than I expected.

 

Here's some other options:

 

Just from what I remember looking at the size differences before:

CT is roughly 6 inches shorter, but an inch wider, than Prius. You lose about 3 inches of rear leg room. The shoulder, hip nos., etc. were all a bit smaller in the CT, but not as much as you might expect (like an inch or 2). As others have noted, it definitely feels more compact when you are sitting in it. You obviously lose a lot of rear cargo space with seats up (it is 14.3 in CT, and I think 27 in Prius). Haven't found exact figures for cargo space in CT with seats down.

 

We looked at lots of cars, before buying a 2011 Nissan Cube Krom for my wife last week. I first thought the Cube was an odd choice, but after a little research and test drives, I was very impressed. It's amazing how limiting car choices are. My wife wanted something non-boring, and she refused to consider a second Prius. She loved her 2006 Sienna Van, but it was falling out of its extended warranty, a 16 MPG gas hog, and the Nissan dealer gave us a mind-bogglingly high trade-in (vastly more than the Lexus dealer offered). Why no one makes a good micro-van, I do not know. My wife hated the Mazda5, and its 21 MPG city is far below the Cube's 27 MPG city rating.

Although my wife went in really wanting to like the Lexus CT, we both walked away just shaking our heads. I can't imagine who they think their customer is. Far from being a super-fancy prius, it's a schizophrenic thing. It feels extremely cramped, forces a semi-reclined driving seating position, just getting into the back seat was a head-bumping ordeal, and the cargo space was indeed meager. There's a special sticker on the window warning that the high performance tires will probably last less than 20,000 miles (soft fragile compound, I suppose).

I think Lexus wanted to offer a car that would refute the image of hybrids being in some ways performance-limited. Had they created yet another big-engine hybrid, in the CT, my feeling is that they might have had some small, but solid market. It's hard for me to imagine there being a lot of people who want to pay a lot of money for a car that corners really well, but is only average in acceleration, a car that is arguably uncomfortable and less practical for a family.

If Lexus ever makes that upscale version of a Prius, I'll consider it, otherwise, I imagine trading in my '07 for a '14 Prius, assuming that's the Gen4 -- and not also a race car wannabe.

 

...and not the Fiat...LOL... Ooops, they're coming back...with the Mopar emblem?

Back then it was every young driver's dream to have a Z!

 

IIRC, my Accord Coupe has same roof height as CT and has a moonrof. I don't have a lot of headroom, maybe 2", but it's enough. I was out of headroom in the CT, wouldn't work. Come to think of it the coupe is rated as a compact, but it's not really a compact.

 

hi--

do you mind me asking you what you paid for your prius III with the solar package, including all fees (destination, registration, and taxes). i'm in the process of negotiating for my new prius and want to make sure that i get a great deal on it. thx in advance!

 

The mixing of high performance (low fuel economy and tread life) with an underpowered (same as Prius) drivetrain is a bizarre choice of design points.

Your question is valid ... who is the target market ?