Well, prediction of a car's success is NOT in the first few months of its release...a Toyota FJ Cruiser sold out for 6-8 months when it first came out. Within a year, sales stagnated and has since plummeted. You always have fanboys and folks who want the latest stuff buying out the first few production vehicles. Wait and see....
The biggest problem with the CT: it is and feels cramped. Getting in and out of the back seats is more difficult, there is no shoulder room, and tall people just won't fit because the roof line is so low. Surprisingly, the Prius is considerably better. On the plus side, the CT feels very luxurious. Beautiful leather, good soundproofing, good amenities. In the end, it's comfy but too cramped in my opinion.
Geez, the people on this forum can get rather verbose. The CT is a novelty right now. Within six months they'll be giving them away.
Huh? CT200 is 42 MPG, Prius is 50 MPG. I'll go by that, not anecdotal road tests. Prus Cd is .25, CT is .28? ... Prius Kammback shape is no joke, yes it is more aerodynamic. It happens to give best aerodynamics and afford virtually maximum interior space. And, as someone else pointed out, the CT driver's seating is more driver oriented than Prius. The down side is you sit a few inches lower and that means tougher to get in / out of vehicle. CT seats a lot like my Coupe.
I'm 6'2" tall and that's not in platform shoes. Without sunroof, taller people will be ok, but with sunroof, tall ones will be tight. Actually, the CT does an amazing job with visibility in the driver's seat. With the sunroof, there is only an inch or two clearance from my head (this is very common in sunroof cars for me). But, the view is pretty darn good in the CT. I'm not mostly looking at sun visors. If I look up at the handle, it seems pretty close to me, but it seems pretty darn close in my Accord Coupe as well. Driver's seating is definitely not jacked up in CT, it seems optimized, as good as it gets. Rear seating is not that bad. Obviously, you scootch the front seats up a bit to get some room back there, but, it's not horrible. It seems better than the Mazda3 hatchback setup. CT is a CT. It is 170" long while Prius is closer to 176", so no way CT can match Prius interior room. Plus CT roof is lower. CT is 'sportier' and more luxurious, but less practical. Some people will take that no matter what over a Prius.
"Sadly the same cannot be said of the 134HP hybrid drive. Adding insult to underperformance, the sounds coming from under the hood cannot really be described as either sporty or luxurious. It’s not as bad as some four-bangers, but it’s not up to the standard of a brand built on admirably unobtrusive drivetrains. But even this could be forgiven if the CT’s acceleration was even remotely satisfactory, but there’s the final chink in the sporty hatchback armor: the CT’s manufacturer estimated 9.8second 0-60, which is actually slower than a Prius. This makes sense when you consider the Prius is lighter, but the end result is something along the lines of a softer Jetta TDi that doesn’t handle quite as well. Yes, it’s taut and composed in the corners, but when the road straightens you get nothing." Oweee
Well said ggood and I concur. I wager if Toyota went with 16" x 6.5" wheels (which is very appropriate for this Prius and would save few pounfs for suspension work) 205/55-16 LRR tires AND stepped up to multilink rear suspension* in the V trim, they could very well have a better driving car. * Civic Hybrid has multi-link rear suspension and many say they enjoy the road manners of it more than Prius. Also, what Toyota is doing with 45 series tires on a Prius? - it is not a CT, not a Civic Si, Matrix S, Scion tC, etc... ggood, reason the steering wheel doesn't appear to come close enough is because by measure, it only comes 0.5" closer to driver while the other 1" scope goes closer to the dash. IMO, faux pas in design dept. (Why would you have seat scoot 2.5" farther back and wheel only comes 0.5" closer"?) Putting a pad on the 3/4" too low door armrest will help you reach the wheel with left hand little better. Keep one thing in mind about the CT driver position/seats compared to Prius - they seat you a few inches lower and are tougher to get in / out of. That said, Prius could always use a power seat. Heck my coupe could use a power seat. Have to get EX-L for power seat in Coupe.
This really shows the difference between the US and European test cycles. Under he Euro test the Ct200 gets 68 mpg, the Prius 72 mpg and the Auris HSD 74 mpg.
It's from Truth about Cars. IIRC, Edmunds was first to spread rumor CT feels slower than Prius from 0 to 60 MPH. They may have timed it. btw, for Thai, pretty sure any car under 9 seconds 0 to 60 MPH will put you well under 30 MPG average .... except for the Volt.
My suggestd improvements to the current 3rd gen Prius V (Five or equivalent) for the 4th gen Prius top end model - * Switch to 16" x 6.5" wheels and 205/55-16 tires to save weight for - * adding multi-link rear suspension (improved road manners/feel) * Strive for 140 net HP while keeping curb weight same * Consider eliminating spare tire for a tire repair kit * More bolstering in front seats * 8-way power adjustable driver's seat * seat heater adjustable knob * center steering wheel in front of driver * reshape steering wheel for improved feel * correct wheel telescope adjustment range to match seat adj. range * eliminate floating bridge console and switch to narrow sport center console * keep heads up speedometer / trip display, add display visible through top of steering wheel for driver feedback
I think it will be very tough for competitors to match the Prius. Hard to beat in value and design. If I want to go cheaper, I would go with a Honda Insight. 42 mpg at $18K. Can't be beaten. Tad smaller than a Prius, and 10% less gas mileage.
2012 Ford Focus...7.6 seconds...28/38 mpg. (according to C&D) It is the car that i would get if Prius did not exist. Other consideration, but does not exactly fit your criteria: Acura TSX SportWagon.
Sorry for the long post above but the point was to appreciate the history and see that CT might represent one more step in the right direction. Quick Responses: I don't necessarily prefer the floating ride of the Camry all the time, but when driving down a straight highway for 8 hours, there's something to be said for a soft ride on cushy seats and one pinky finger on the steering wheel. For city driving, there's something to be said for not getting constant vibration from every little pebble on the road, and not getting a real jolt if you happen to hit a pothole. The CT ride is clearly much better and more pleasant than the Prius. However, as most reviewers have noted, the ride still tends toward a firmer ride than a lot of people want in a luxury car. So did the HS I drove. CT steering ratio is lower than than on my Prius V. It is noticeable when driving, but not enough to be a major selling point for me. If there a better riding and driving 5 door hybrid under 40K on the market, please let me know. Looks is a matter of taste. Not the selling point for me on either car. I do wonder if the low .cd on the Prius is sometimes offset by the higher side profile being buffeted by cross winds. $39,365 for a fully loaded CT may be overpriced. But there's no other hatchback reliable car that I'm interested in. Close to $35,000 for fully loaded Prius, so same argument applies to Prius, just not as bad. CT does have LEDs as an option. Not sure about the back, but I know the front was easy to get in and out of for me, at 5"10", when the seats were at the proper height. The reported real world mileage for CT is the same or only slight lower than what I get in my Prius (with short trip driving).
Right know the CT 200h is the efficiency leader in the compact luxury segment, at least in the USA, so it'll sell. Lexus are only targeting 1,000 per month, which they should meet handily until somebody else brings out something that can beat it. All the crap in the articles about slow 0-60 times is irrelevant, people aren't buying it for power.
Civic hybrid has multi-link rear suspension and many comment its road manners are nicer. Do the 'praying' test - hands at center of chest, fingers pointing to wheel ... center of wheel something like 1" to left. 55 series tires should give better balance of road manners in this class of car. Keep 17's, 45 series tires for 'sportier' cars (Civic Si). Here's Civic EX sedan with 16's, 55's -
Remind me...which sells more...a torsion beam Corolla or IRS Civic? No matter how you design it, IRS reduces cargo space and adds cost. In a pure hybrid that goes to 60 mph in 10 seconds, FWD platform, and is really not designed as a canyon carver, why add IRS when it compromises precious cargo space and add cost?? I like my cargo space very much thank you. It is what makes the Prius so damn practical! Praying test or not, plenty of people fit fine in the Prius. It comes back to the fact that the Prius is not Toyota's first car.... Not many V owners complain about the ride...except for ggood. The ride is fine with me and many others. Fuel economy is not compromised significantly. So, what was your point about those ugly Civic rims?? No thanks.
Prius sold in Germany has already a repair kit instead of a spare tire. I am not sure for other EU countries. Why in the US you have a spare tire, I don't understand. Also it is not clear to me why not even in the better trim US/Canada versions you are not getting the head-up display - why? is there some regulation that prevents them to sell it? or to save money? how much? 200$ on the price?
