CT 200h: first impressions from a production vehicle

I went to the local dealer's CT200h launch party today and managed to snag a test drive of the Technology Package (Canadian version) which basically adds nav and LED headlights over the Premium Package (leather, 10-speaker, memory seats etc). No fancy AT stuff in any Canadian CT200h.


1. Rides better. It's firm but not jarring. The suspension does a better job in soaking up the bumps especially when the roads completely snow-covered (compacted) and the snow has ridges and "potholes" from previous warm spells that softened the snow

2. Sport Mode handling - Those that love to drive will love Sport Mode. I did a number of "slalom"-like manoeuvres (just half-turn to half-turn) at constant throttle on a compact snow surface and the VDIM was working away in the background but there weren't any noises (other than the beep) and the steering was quick and direct. No sliding, no fuss. Amazing considering the AS tyres and the surface. In the Prius, you'll hear a "brraup" when VSC kicks in suddenly. It revs to about 4,000rpm under hard acceleration. Note that I did not try the same thing in Normal/ECO mode. The brochure says that TRAC/VSC is less aggressive in Sport mode so maybe that's why it acted the way it did.

3. Quiet - It's quieter than the Prius (no surprise there. It's a Lexus after all). At full throttle, there's definitely less engine noise that enters the cabin. However, I did notice a bit of wind noise around the mirror at 100km/h (62mph).

4. LED headlights - They work great. This is the first time I've taken one out at night so I finally got to see how it looks. The fogs really help fill the nearsight area. They also light up the side a bit too

5. Audio system - Pretty good for what is essentially a non-branded set (i.e. Lexus Premium Audio and not JBL or Bose or Bowens & Wilkins etc). There's a speaker in the trunk and I have no idea if that's supposed to be a subwoofer.

5. Rear visibility - Of course the car is dirty from all the snow and crud. The wiper is about as big as Toyota could fit into the rear window, but unfortunately, because of its letterbox-like rear window, the cleared area is quite small (fortunately, it's centred). The rest of the window is opaque.

6. Space - Yes it's tight but for my tall frame, it's not cramped like our 2000 Corolla. I have good front and rear headroom (though the front seat has to be all the way down) and good front legroom and acceptable rear legroom (my knees just touch the front seats but definitely not jabbing the driver or front passenger). Cargo area is small and underfloor storage is limited to the tonneau cover and some space for a folding umbrella or the Lexus emergency kit. The seats fold nearly flat and the headrests do fold but oddly enough, it seems like they used the Prius' folding mechanisms but forgot that the CT's rear seat bottoms are longer. When the rear seats are down, the folded headrests just kinda hang there. There's no locked position.

7. Seating & Trim - Love the leather-like material on the instrument panel hood and the centre console. Adds a bit of padding for the knees. Material seems nice and ok for its class (I've seen similar headliner and pillar trim in other cars like the TSX) but our Prius' felt-lined A and B pillar feels nicer. The A pillar is similar material to the headliner but the B and C pillars are smooth plastic. I'm also not a fan of NuLuxe. I like the concept because it's environmentally friendly to produce and no doubt will be tougher and withstand wear and tear better than leather but it feels rubbery.... like a rubber ball in gym class. Not sure if I liked the exposed front cupholders either. The USB/AUX and 12V outlets are under a damped cover ahead of the cupholders. There are no rear armests or cupholders. So European lol.

8. Driving Position - You sit low but forward visibility is good. The side mirrors are nice and large and the seats are nicely bolstered for spirited driving but not body-hugging like a Sparco or Recaro seat.

9. Obscured Facts (Way Out There)

- the passenger door is the only one with a grip-type door closing handle. The other 3 doors have the door closing "handle" by the armrest, like the Prius

- the passenger side power door lock switch is illuminated (In the Prius, only the driver's side is illuminated)

- It has a 5-function trip computer plus Energy Monitor and Consumption screen in its small OLED display but no Tank Average that's found on other Lexus models

- Nav models will have a full colour Energy Monitor/Consumption Screen as well

- Does not carry the LED lights from its siblings - interior and licence plate lights are incandescent

- If you get the halogen headlight models, your LED DRL strip is cut into two pieces. It looks odd from afar and looks like a few bulbs burned out. On LED headlight-equipped models, the LED DRL strip is continuous. If you guys don't get DRL on the CT, that LED strip comes on as part of the parking lights so those of you who are bummed that the CT won't have DRLs can take comfort that the parking lights do the same thing with the bonus of illuminating the rear taillights.

- The silver trim is plastic and not real aluminium. I don't see a woodtrim option for Canada =(

- There's a blue light illuminating the top of the instrument cluster. If you're in ECO mode and you're in the ECO area of the CT's Hybrid System Indicator (the left-most dial in the cluster), it'll illuminate blue and if you're in the PWR area, it turns off. It makes it easy to know if you're in the "zone" without taking your eyes off the road. I find that the blue light is within my peripheral vision.


That's all I can think of for now.

 

Ours starts at Cdn$30,950 but the standard features are slightly different. I think you guys get 17" alloys as standard? For us, we get 16" alloys as standard (they look quite nice and quite difficult to distinguish from the 17" alloys even though they were side-by-side).

A Touring Package adds the moonroof and 17" alloys and brings the price up to $32,900.

A Premium Package is has the equipment from your Leather Package and Premium Audio Package but adds a backup camera to the mix and puts the price tag at $35,900

A Technology Package adds nav and LED headlights/headlight washers for $39,350. No DRCC or PCS available (Although our front Lexus emblem is covered as if it did have DRCC).

PDI is $1,950
Federal A/C Excise tax is $100
GST is 5% (national)

Each province/territory has its own tire/battery levy (depending if the province/territory recycles them) and provincial/territorial sales tax ranges from 0% to 10%.
Prairie provinces add a block heater as standard fare (so add the accessory price to it)
Ontario has a $100 rebate for fuel efficient cars taken at POP.


So a base car in the Alberta is $34,697 and in Prince Edward Island $38,143 while a loaded vehicle in Alberta is $43,496 and in Prince Edward Island, it's $47,846

Depends. Apparently demand in Europe and the US is strong so we may not get as many units. Plus, we have small car buying population anyway.

Ahh I see. Well chances are, it won't show up here. Lexus Canada list of accessories for their models are quite limited. Usually it's rubber mats, block heater, cargo mat (carpeted) or cargo liner (rubber).

For the CT, the accessories listed are block heater, cargo net, rear bumper protector and bodyside mouldings.

 

So how is this different from the Yamaha sport strut brace/damper found on the 2005-2006 Corolla XRS? (it has a boot that looks like it can flex, similar to the CT)

 

Maybe it's not too far from the XRS' one then?