Lexus CT 200H test drive since 2010 hatchback

Lexus CT 200h. Sudoku

Lexus CT 200h. Price: Not defined. On sale: since the spring of 2011

The initiator and unconditional leader of the hybrid uprising, Lexus continues to increase strength: in the spring the first full-fledged hybrid of the Lexus CT200H segment will appear on the Russian market. The first acquaintance with the 14th in the world and the 4th in the Lexus lineup under Paris with a hybrid car caused a lot of the most conflicting feelings


Test pilot
Vladimir Makkaveev, 33 years old, automobile journalist, driving experience of 14 years, personal car - Volvo C30

It happens that you understand a new car at first sight, intuitively. But this is not the case at all. Very controversial, but if you think about quite logical in each individual square or line, Lexus CT200H, like a Japanese puzzle of Sudoku, requires special attention. The C-class still visible such crazy intricacies of innovative technologies and contradictory stylistic solutions. And in order to solve this Japanese puzzle, you cannot miss the slightest detail. After all, many aspects of his character, from economic efficiency to the name, have a double meaning. So, the abbreviation CT in the name of the model deciphens as Creative Tourer Creative traveler, but carries a much deeper meaning. City City Car with the first hybrid engine in a compact premium segment!

Search in the guise of CT genetic family ties with large Lexus is almost gyuly. Unless the front part of the baby is somewhat resembles the IS 250 muzzle. Otherwise, the firstborn of the compact segment in Lexus looks more like a neighbor. The back is clearly inspired by the Mazda3 silhouette, framed by a huge number of now fashionable horizontal planes. I must admit that some elements, like deliberately massive rear racks or an original, but very controversial tea -shaped contour of the rear doors, are puzzled. And if the first can still be attributed to the pursuit of the rigidity of the body, albeit for the sake of visibility, then the strange bend of the door is only a tribute to the altar of exclusivity: sophisticated, but not very elegant.

In principle, the same conflicting associations can be traced inside: very pleasant, despite all their status massiveness, interior. A stunningly bright and informative dashboard that changes its suit depending on the hybrid installation, soft rubber torpedo with a leather visor, which is chosen from the console, a central console is very ergonomic by the standards of hybrids. In everything, a certain ecological severity and design, characteristic of all hybrids of the concern, are felt in everything. In this eco-affair, deliberately sports buckets of front chairs with pronounced side support at first look strange. Full people here will be clearly uncomfortable. But if you think about it, as in any Sudoku, everything is logical: Lexus, although not an athlete, but with his whole hybrid heart preaches a healthy lifestyle, including for the driver. And where did you see a complete physical education culture?!

What a sin to hide: a hybrid installation, and not only it, CT 200h inherited from Toyota Prius. In the behavior on the road, the resemblance to Prius is also, of course, traced. But Lexus has a better physical form. In the city at speeds up to 45 km/h CT 200H, one electric motor may well cost. But it is worth the driver to spur the Japanese with a light slap on the groats of the transmission tunnel, on which the regime selector rests, and transfer it from lynx into a sports gallop, as to the aid of an 82 -horsepower electric team, a herd of 99 full -fledged gasoline horses of a 1.8 -liter ICE will immediately come . As a result, the maximum power of the hybrid installation reaches 136 liters. With. With such a heart, despite the solid mass, CT 200H is quite quick: 10.3 to a hundred, even by the top ten, but faster than Toyota Prius. Yes, and in corners thanks to a wide base and almost perfect weighting along the axes, a small Lexus feels good. Without pretense of urban softness, the suspension surprisingly clearly works out all the irregularities. Such a rainbow combination of stiffness and effectiveness in many respects is the merit of two additional transverse shock absorbers that smooth out resonant fluctuations in the body when entering obstacles. So with regard to the behavior on the road, the oddities, if observed, are only pleasant. But to solve the last economic square is much more difficult.

The announcement of Russian prices for small Lexus is still far away, but given that in France the price of CT 200H starts at $ 30,000, it can be assumed that we will cost about 1.5 million rubles. And no matter what the Japanese say about the savings of fuel, brakes, rubber, etc., given the sky -high price of the car for the compact segment, from an economic point of view, its digital fortress can be unraveled only in separate markets. In the UK, with its giant tax benefits and eco-contracts to enter the London Center, the ECO symbol on the CT dashboard is still double, symbolizing environmental efficiency. But in Russia, with our tax indifference to ecology, to save on the purchase of CT 200H is futile. However, is it so important. For Lexus buyers in Russia, status is much more important. And with this CT 200H is in perfect order.


We do not love
The dashboard changes color from red (sports mode) to blue (eco-mode). Bright

The choice of the modes of operation of the hybrid is carried out by a three -position regulator and button. Comfortable

Adaptive cruise control with the Pre-Crash function will not be delivered to Russia. Sad


Driving
Four operating modes of a hybrid installation leave a fairly wide scope for the driver’s work.

Salon
High -quality and functional, with several bright elements and sports seats.

Comfort
Moderately tough, but quite comfortable suspension. But the sound insulation of the wheeled arches leaves much to be desired.

Safety
Eight eirbegs, hard body.

Price
More expensive than gasoline and diesel competitors.


Advantages and disadvantages
+ Economy, minimum amount of harmful emissions, good dynamics.
- Weak sound insulation of wheeled arches, the absence of adaptive cruise control for Russia with the function of preventing clashes.


Specifications
Mark and model - Lexus CT 200h
Dimensions - 4320x1765x1430 mm
The engine is hybrid, 136 l. S.: Basin, 1798 cm3, 99 l. p./4000 min-1; Elektrotor, 650 V, 82 l. With.
Transmission - Step -shaped variator
Dynamics - max 180 km/h; 10.3 s to 100 km/h
Competitors - Volvo C30, Audi A3, Alfa Romeo Giulietta
 

Our opinion
Even if the pedigree of the genealogy with a partial resemblance to the neighbor, Ct 200h opened a new segment for the brand. Given the sky -high cost of the car for its class, the small Lexus will not become massive. But fans of the brand and automobile eco-fashion will surely be happy to put him in the garage next to the RX 450H: the second-third car in the family for his wife and children.


Author: Vladimir Makkaveev


 
 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [November 2010]