– by Al Duncan –
After thinking green for last month’s Seaside, I thought we were done with fuel efficiency and hybrids for a while when out of the corner of my eye, I spied this Lexus. And I couldn’t resist just one more …
This is the hybrid you can and will love. So you want to feel the comfort, the build quality, the luxury and have a great manufacturer’s label on the front grill without driving the same thing as everyone else. Look around and ask yourself if you have ever seen one of these gems. There are quite a few Lexus CT200H’s on the road, but they blend in. Not in a bad way: they seem to catch my eye and then they are gone. Stylish good looks but easily mistaken for any number of similar silhouettes in the hatchback class.
The Lexus CT200H is a fusion of fine Toyota componentry such as the uber-refined Toyota Prius 1.8l hybrid drivetrain. I’ll take it: it’s refined and smooth and virtually seamless in its fuel-saving antics. Take the Toyota Matrix chassis, rigid yet compliant, well designed and long lasting as well. Lexus agrees and uses it in the CT200H. Mix it all in a large cauldron of computer-aided design and simmer. When removed, mix up some typically perfect Lexus interior potion and ice the cake (or the CT200) with it et voila: the under-appreciated Lexus hatchback that everyone should know about but don’t.
The fuel savings are there in form of 50 mpg figures; the interior is very inviting and very very comfortable; the size is perfect with room for five adults and some gear in the back.
Produced since the 2011 model year and still going strong, the CT is not cheap when driven off the showroom floor, but in the used market, they are a real deal for what you get. Imagine an upscale Prius that is more attractive, has the panache of a Lexus and the roomy dimensions of everyone’s favourite Mazda 3. Sold.
