Despite many advances in engine efficiency, the tussle between power versus fuel economy remains alive and well. For today's example, the 2014 Lexus CT 200h, fitted with F Sport performance improvements, achieves extraordinary fuel economy but drives like a slug.
The CT 200h is an odd duck, not only as the entry-level Lexus model, but also as a dedicated hatchback and hybrid. It joins the ES, RX, and all-new NX as front-wheel-drive architecture cars in the Lexus line-up. In the US, the base price comes in at only $32,050, rock-bottom for a premium segment car, but adding navigation, the F Sport Luxury package, and F Sport LED headlights took my example up to $41,815 with destination. The CT 200h's driveline remains the same for UK and Australian buyers, although option packs will vary. The UK base price comes in at £20,995 while Australians will pay AU$45,751. Unfortunately, CO2 emissions of 82 g/km won't exempt the CT 200h from London congestion charges.
I have always liked the hatchback styling of the CT 200h, and the 2014 model, which received a design update, looked excellent in its Redline exterior color. Really setting off this example was the F Sport package, which added a slick spoiler above the hatch and a black roof, nicely offsetting the red body. 17-inch five-spoke alloy wheels completed the look.
Inside, Lexus fitted the 2014 CT 200h with its Remote Touch controller, an omnidirectional puck that controls a cursor on the center LCD. I'm not crazy about this controller, as I find it too easy to miss the button I'm trying to hit. However, amid the Lexus-standard cabin tech software, I was pleased to find smart improvements, such as new voice command over apps and better feature organization. Interior design and materials rose to the level of luxury you would expect from a Lexus, making this cabin a nice place to sit.
Despite a sporty exterior design, Lexus fits the CT 200h with essentially the same driveline as the Toyota Prius, a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine aided by a 60-kilowatt electric motor, with a total output of 134 horsepower. At 3,130 pounds curb weight, that means a zero to 60 mph time of 9.8 seconds, according to Lexus' numbers. On the flip side, 43 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway will take you very far on a tank of gasoline. I achieved 41.3 mpg for a driving course that included freeway travel and flooring it around mountain curves.
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Light it up
As with most hybrids, hitting the CT 200h's start button lit up the instrument cluster and the center LCD, but let the engine rest until it was actually needed. The 7-inch LCD in the new CT 200h copies a modern design trend by protruding from the top of the dashboard, as if it were a flat screen on top of an entertainment center. Expecting the typical Lexus software to which I have become accustomed, I was delighted to see new, high-resolution maps. In perspective view, these showed 3D rendered buildings in downtown San Francisco, helpful for matching outside location to the virtual world of the map.
The three all-important controllers occupying the center stack and console were the drive selector, drive mode selector, and the Remote Touch puck. The drive selector offers the usual drive and reverse positions, and a B position that tells the driveline to maximize braking regeneration. There was a single button for Park along with an emergency brake lever. The drive mode selector, a dial on the console, let me choose Sport, Normal, or Eco modes. each affecting the throttle response.
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Deciding that my first outing should focus on efficiency, I twisted the dial to Eco and took off. Well, "take off" may be too dramatic in describing the very gradual acceleration. I can understand detuning the throttle to mitigate a lead foot, but I practically had to floor the gas pedal to make the CT 200h move in this mode. The throttle response was, I felt, too anemic. Later, when driving on the freeway in Eco mode, I found it difficult to maintain 65 mph. The car seemed to always want to drop 10 mph off my intended speed.
Moving to Normal drive mode, the instrument cluster illumination went from green to blue and the throttle became more tractable. That's not to say it felt powerful, but at least the CT 200h could get out of its own way. One trick that helped initial acceleration was the electric motor integrated into the drivetrain. Its instant torque added a little pep to my starts. The hybrid drivetrain worked brilliantly, bringing up the engine as needed and wasting almost no gasoline for idling. The transmission, a planetary gearset that mixes power from the engine and motor to drive the front wheels, works completely seamlessly, so that I never felt different power sources taking over. Likewise, Lexus does a fine job insulating the cabin from engine noise, so there's very little disturbance when the engine cranks up.
In Normal mode, I drove the CT 200h up steep San Francisco hills and hurtled it down the freeway. The hybrid system is particularly adept at handling slow traffic, making the creep and crawl of a traffic jam tolerable.
Edmunds has detailed price information for the 2014 Lexus CT 200h Hatchback, including average price paid and MSRP. See our 2014 Lexus page for detailed features and
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