Lexus CT 200h 2014 Review

What is socially acceptable has changed markedly during my lifetime. Smoking in the office (in fact, smoking at all), throwing rubbish on the ground, driving big, unsafe and thirsty cars -- if they’re not already illegal, they eventually will be.

If you want to see a four-wheel bellwether you only have to look at the most recently changed competitor in the compact prestige class, the Lexus CT 200h.

Here is a car that clearly points a moral compass to the future. There is no ashtray option in this car. There is no pushrod V8 engine. If you attempt to enter the car wearing more than 50 per cent synthetic fibres, an alarm sounds. That last statement isn’t true, but I’m sure Lexus thought of it.

In its latest guise the CT 200h has been gifted a new face with Lexus now-trademark spindle grille. The company has taken the opportunity to simplify the range, dropping the former Prestige entry level variant and re-specifying the Luxury grade at the same price of $39,990 -- a $7000 reduction, but not necessarily a saving of the same amount.

As the new base-grade variant, the Luxury loses the leather trim, 17-inch alloys, seat heating, satellite navigation and electrochromatic mirror it featured on release back in 2011.

Instead Lexus now offers many of the decontented features in option packs, priced from $3250 up to $9750, the latter price including all the features stripped out of the car, as well as a moonroof and DAB+ digital radio.

At $48,990, the new CT 200h F Sport is $2000 cheaper. The new mid-range model can be identified by a black roof, a larger rear spoiler and Enform connectivity as standard.

A moonroof, Mark Levinson audio, Pre-Collision Safety System (PCS), active cruise control and keyless entry/starting can be ordered as an option pack with the car for $6500. The moonroof can be purchased separately for $2500.

As the flagship of the range, the CT 200h Sports Luxury is now priced $1000 lower than previously at $56,990. It features most of the above equipment, LED headlights, Shimamoku trim and privacy glass as standard.

All CT 200h are five-door hatches and are mechanically identical – save perhaps for ride-height. And while the German competition favour turbo-diesel engines for efficiency gains, Lexus has struck to its own path -- hybrid.

One obvious shortcoming of this approach is very apparent with a smaller vehicle like the CT 200h. Open the rear hatch and you’ll see that while the luggage areas is wide and long, it’s a very shallow space. Clearly, the CT 200h’s battery pack needs this space more than your gear.

Ask your friends to join you in the CT and you best hope they’re short. There is not much headroom for anyone taller than 1.7m in the rear, and those wearing winkle pickers ought to slip them off - foot room is tight.

Up front feels a bit cosy too -- mainly due to the tall centre console. But at least you have more room here to stretch out. Indeed, most drivers should have enough seat and steering wheel adjustment to strike a comfortable driving position.

Points here too for the fact the front seats are really supportive and feel as though they’ll prop you up well for big interstate hauls.

Everything seems well glued down and the materials of a reasonable grade. After a while though, you notice a few inconsistencies, eg: the central information screen looks like a tablet stuck on rather than properly integrated tech. It was, however, a relief to see a (surely unintended) retro touch. The pop-out heated seat buttons look and operate exactly like the treble and bass buttons I had on a car cassette player a couple decades ago.

There is nothing else exceptional about the CT 200h’s dash and how it works, except if you are hybrid or EV illiterate. There is no point slapping the start button and expecting the engine to fire for example.

Instead, a green light illuminates, saying ‘Ready’. This is hybrid technology at its best, because so far you haven’t used a drop of fuel. Slide the console joystick over to ‘D’, and off you go.

As you silently move off, the accelerator pedal feels like it’s on a time delay to the motor; the response is not instant, but neither does it give the inconsistent step-off of some laggy, then toruque-rich turbo-diesels.

It is arguably the cost of aero efficiency, but more than once on the launch drive we kissed the CT 200h’s low nose on driveways or speed humps. It soon became obvious that picking the right path and speed isn’t only the domain of off-roading.

By necessity we came pretty adept at it in the urban jungle driving the CT 200h.

Dodging Sydney traffic, the CT 200h worked well overall. At slow speeds it was quiet, usefully responsive and even though rear vision was poor with thick D-pillars, changing lanes was easy with good over-shoulder vision and well-proportioned side mirrors.

Taking the otherwise-inevitable guesswork out of reversing, the CT 200h comes standard with a rear-view camera.

Although it could be due to the eerie quiet of the CT 200h on electric propulsion, reflected road noise seemed intrusive when driving over coarse-chip paved roads.

At least when the petrol engine cuts in, it doesn’t exhibit the CVT-induced wail of some. Instead, the 1.8-litre Atkinson Cycle four-cylinder petrol engine hums away discreetly in the background -- a bit like your fridge compressor at home.

Clearing the urban sprawl and driving the CT 200h through twisting sections of tarmac in the sheeting rain brought home two truths about this car; for most drivers, the CT 200h will grip and go whatever the weather, whatever the road, with ease.

The standard Yokohama tyres gripped the wet tarmac well and the steering response was sharp. Flowing quickly through the twisting ribbon of bends the CT 200h was a natural. You can count on it like the 8.15 train to Central.

Yet driving the CT 200h in such conditions reminds you of being a passenger on that 8.15 train. It is somehow lacking a sense of personal involvement. The inconsistent brake feel; the somehow too-linear throttle response; the engine that sounds like a fridge -- it all conspired to make the CT feel a bit sterile and not the right tool for the job.

While the CT’s ride seemed supple on most of the drive, it also still crashed over sharp bumps when the suspension was compressed during cornering.

While we didn’t get a tank-to-tank fuel figure, the trip computer showed an average of 5.5L/100km. This consumption average is not exactly nudging the CT 200h’s official average figure of 4.1L/100km, but it is a pretty impressive fuel average just the same for a short, mostly urban drive.

If you are looking for a car that gets the point A to point B stuff ticked off with the minimum of fuss with good fuel-efficiency and makes you feel cosseted, then the CT 200h is a good choice -- especially in this improved, better specced update model.

If you want to enjoy the visceral thrill of personal transport before it becomes all too impersonal, however, there are better choices.

Lexus CT 200h pricing and specifications:
Price: $39,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol/650V electric motor
Output: 100kW/207Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 4.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 95g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP