CT200-h

[APS]

1 hour ago, Bper said:

Yes it seems so. On a separate note what did you think of the CT200-H. 👍

Responding to a question by @Bper in a different thread.

Hey Bob - here's my take on the CT:

The CT200-h was one of those cars that I knew I wanted when it was first showed to the public in 2010/11. A small economical car that combines convenience, luxury, driving experience, with the dull pragmatisms of reliability and economy. For me, this was the natural step from the Corolla T-spririt I bought in the early 2000s as a commuter, which came with the awesome Optitron instrument cluster and a factory optional Satnav (a £2000 option at the time!). The Optitron instruments and overall cockpit layout sold the Corolla for me. However, the Corolla was always a bit of a let down in terms of driving and seating. The looks were also a bit - 'meh!' 

The CT fixed much of this, looked better with a less anonymous design and lower ride height. Drove better with multilink rear suspension. Had much better seating. Leather with adjustable lumbar support. Steering wheel adjustable for both tilt and reach. Optitron instruments. And a 13 speaker Mark Levinson system.

After 11 years we still like the car. It has taken us across Europe many times. From the mediterranean, to Scandinavia, across the Alps - in summer and winter. It has never let us down. While it is fundamentally a tarted up 3rd gen Prius, it drives very differently. It is planted, very secure and hushed. It is not as economical as the Prius. The aero has given way to design. Also, many journalist types dismissed the CT because of its "crashy" ride. This is an overreaction and somewhat misunderstanding. That implies it has a floppy chassis, which it doesn't. The suspension is firm, yes, but it doesn't crash. The body is pretty stiff so the suspension soaks up most bumps rather nicely. You get used to it and learn to appreciate it.

Is it better than a BMW 1-series - well, that depends. No, it does not drive as good at all and it is much slower. But, it is good enough to drive, super reliable, and relatively economical. It doesn't try to be a fast car, a track day weapon or a bling barge. It is a very sensible car, that does everything it needs to do with a little bit of sugar on top. After almost 130k miles everything on the car still works and it drives pretty much as when new. That's a success in my books.

[Mojo1010]

The ct200 was one I had wanted to buy a few years ago as an upgrade to current MK3 Yaris hybrid. Need more boot space, better for medium+ trips, leather and electric seats on the premiere spec + toyota reliability. The only thing that stopped me from getting one was stolen cat.

Edit: I'm in London it's endemic around here so wouldn't be able cope with the stress and cost. 

Next car is Yaris mk4 where no need to worry about the cat. 

[APS]

8 minutes ago, Mojo1010 said:

The only thing that stopped me from getting one was stolen cat

Yeah, we've never had a problem but got a catlock installed just in case.

[Cyker]

The CT200h is super plush inside; I've not driven one but just sitting in one they're much more comfortable than a Yaris!  

Don't worry tho' Mojo, the Yaris will more than make up for it in handling and punchiness  

 

[Bper]

Hi P,

Thank you for the very informative review, I really like the look of the car but our experience didn't help with our final decision.

We have previous owned two Lexus cars and really liked the look of the CT200-H. We read and watched as many reviews as we could but unfortunately distance played a major part in our search for one.

We looked at a few models for sale online but this was during the pandemic years and whilst we had been sent videos by dealers, the only way we could travel to these destinations was by train and getting to the dealers from the respective train station's was miles away and they were not helpful in this.

We had been given the option in both cases to buy the cars and they were prepared to transport them to us at our cost but that's not a good way for anyone to buy a car without test driving it first.

Fortunately, one did become available at a dealers not a million miles away and they agreed to pick us up from the train station.

Well, when we arrived we had great expectations that we would purchase the car but on initial inspection the first thing I noticed was the paint work. It was in a bad state to put it mildly. The car was just over 4 years old and it had not been taken care of at all.

It had leather seats and the interior looked good from the outside but after we had been given the keys the next thing that put us off was just how low down we felt when seated.The cabin space seemed cramped and not what we expected and the positioning and size of the centre console did not help either.

It was the first time we had been able to sit in one and to be honest were disappointed to how it felt and how we had expected it to be from the videos we had watched and what we had been used to from being previous Lexus owners. The previous owner must have been a smoker and this also was evident and didn't help.

We both decided at the time not to take it for a test drive, despite how much we liked the style, we felt we couldn't live with or get used to it. However, we often see one owned locally and it does catch our eye every time we see it, maybe because it's in black and does look well taken care of.

Recently we had a discussion about test driving a few Lexus models and agreed that if a CT is available, we'll take it for a drive to see how the ride and handling is. Hopefully, we will have a better experience. Shame really as we did have high expectations of owning one.👍

 

 

 

[APS]

Sounds like you went through a lot of effort to see one and it's a shame the one you saw was not very nice. I know what you mean. It can be really disappointing and off-putting when a car feels 'unloved'. Particularly when it's been smoked in. The CT is maybe a little lower than some modern cars but you can raise the seat. It's all relative. I'm used to driving other sports cars that are much lower and getting in the CT feels like I'm driving a SUV. 

Hope you find something you really like, whatever it is.

[Bper]

Hi P,

Thanks for the advice, we haven’t given up completely but we have not yet got round to test driving the Lexus models we both like. But as I said in my previous post we will test drive the CT if one is available at the time and I will give my thoughts on it and will let you know. However it may be a while before we do. Thanks again 👍