Lexus CT 200H test drive since 2010 hatchback

Lexus CT 200h. Eco-Nevidal

I am traveling on the New Lexus along the embankment of the Tahoe River in Lisbon, but I am not at all spoiled by the attention of the local public, although the cars of this Japanese brand are rare here. The reasons are understandable: Portugal is by no means a one of the richest European countries, barely making ends meet, now they are not up to chic. They would know that it was this model that became the input ticket to the Lexus world.


Despite poverty, Portugal can boast, for example, Casino Estoril, which calls itself the largest in Europe

Yes, we are talking about CT 200h, an undoubtedly revolutionary for Lexus. This is the first Lexus with a body of hatchback, and one of the few front -wheel drive cars of the brand, and an application for a place under the sun in the most mass segment in Europe S. and, part -time, the fifth Lexus hybrid over the past six years. Are the Japanese claims justified? This is what we found out during the premiere test drive.


And through the Tahoe River, two large bridges were built. Bridge to them. April 25 (photo) is included in the twenty of the longest hanging bridges in the world, its length is 2,277.64 meters. And east of him in 1998, the Vasco da Gama bridge with a total length of 17.2 kilometers (!) Was opened. And if in the case of the casino, the title of the most doubtfully, then this overpass is really the longest in all of Europe

The appearance of CT 200H is no longer a secret. While the engineers finalized the design, they managed to ride the car in all car dealerships. And the design still causes conflicting feelings. Close with your hand everything that, after the central rack, rejoice in an aggressive face. You remove your hand, you are a bizarre stern. As if CT 200H is glued from two different bodies!


In terms of dimensions, Lexus CT 200H exceeds direct competitors its length (4320 mm) is 35 mm larger than the five-door Audi A3, and by 91 mm than the BMW of the 1st series. But on the wheeled base (2600) Lexus loses BMW as many as six centimeters, winning Audi only 22 mm

The same conflicting feelings evokes CT 200H in motion. With smooth movement, everything is fine. Gently moving from the place, you can drive three kilometers at a speed of up to 45 km/h only in an electric protrusion. Do you need faster? Then a gasoline engine with a volume of 1.8 liters comes to life under the hood. Again, with a leisurely driving, its connection is almost imperceptible, and in the ECO mode, the power plant uses the electric motor at every opportunity.


Aerodynamics paid special attention: for the sake of good characteristics, it was necessary to lengthen the roof and make a large spoiler, and the bottom was covered with plastic shields. The result is the CD coefficient equal to 0.28. Very good for a hatchback with an almost vertical rear door

Problems begin, it is only worth it to loosen the truck on a two -lane road ahead. Gas is on the floor, and as if someone turned on a large vacuum cleaner! The cunning E-CVT transmission works like a regular variator, immediately driving the circle of the crankshaft of the gasoline engine for 5 thousand. But the stronger is barely enough for the quick completion of the maneuver, the total installation capacity of only 136 horses. So you listen to this strained howl whenever you do not stand on ceremony with the right pedal.

But not only this breaks the hunt to light on the winding paths. Yokohama DB E70 eco -spars cling to the asphalt no better than the plastic wheels of the suitcase, and despite their name (decibel), these same decibels on a rough coating without any ceremonies. Plus, ambiguous braking accurately dose, slowing down is interfering with an electric motor that uses energy to recharge batteries.


Lexus Hybrid Drive power plant is actually the same as the current Toyota Prius. This is a 99-horsepower gasoline engine operating on the economical cycle of Atkinson, a 60-kilowatt electric motor, a voltage of 202 V, a stray transmission with planetary transmission and an electronic block, which controls all this farm. The total capacity is 136 hp

It's a pity! The chassis turned out to be very good. CT 200H clearly loves turns, unlike most of his relatives. The hard body provides quick reactions, and the low center of gravity reduces the rolls, and on the sharp steering wheel (2.7 turns from the stop to the stop) everything is perfectly felt. True, the reckoning for this was a hard suspension. It shakes on irregularities significantly, and the chassis is not different in silence.


If in Europe Lexus CT 200H is offered a set of alloy wheels from 15 to 17 inches, then we have no choice only 16-inch

But the chairs are class! They are not only very convenient, but can also boast of the most dense embrace of lateral support in the entire Lexus history. The interior is generally good. Perhaps this is the only thing that does not cause controversy in CT 200h. The Japanese say this is the best salon in the classroom. And you willingly believe in it. High -quality plastic, pleasant skin give good tactile sensations, and juicy devices and shapes of the front panel delight the eyes. The only thing that I did not like was a simple silver on the steering wheel and near the door handles.


The interior is very convenient and pleasant to the eye. Plastic, although he is different, is combined very well and well fitted. Not even on an uneven road was not found. The only element that surprised is the twins of the seats heating (on the right on the central console). They look like a low and high frequency adjustment handles in old tape recorders

At the end of the route, they decided to check the average fuel consumption, it turned out 6.1 l/100 km. And declared 3.8! But do not rush to blame the Japanese of deceit. We grabbed the autobahn, ceased in the city stream, and in free areas we did not try to arrange Ecralli. Of course, we would hardly have managed to achieve passport indicators, but we would have met 5 liters accurately.


The front seats are very convenient, but the back is quite crowded. It is curious that in cold weather the heating of the seats turns on automatically, minimizing the load on climate control. This helps the engine to warm up another contribution to the ecology

But do they buy Lexus for the sake of saving? In Russia, Lexus is not perceived by a competitor to family low -profiles, and who will be surprised 10.3 seconds to hundreds and 180 km/h of the maximum wipes? And the eco-blade will still be immediately replaced by fashionable 18-inch discs with wide tires. It is not customary for us to boast of minimal emissions of carbon dioxide and saved gasoline nanolists. So why do you need this Lexus? Everything cleared up at a press conference, where we were told about the essence of the entire concept of CT 200H.

Lexus CT 200H is the first Lexus that will be sold in all markets, including the United States. But it is oriented towards the old light. Hence all his trump cards, which will undoubtedly appreciate the Europeans. CT 200H the purest serial car with an internal combustion engine, it throws 87 g of carbon dioxide per kilometer, 3.3 g of nitrogen oxides and not a gram of solid particles.

We are these numbers on the drum. And the residents of Norway or the UK CT 200H in comparison with competitors (and this is the Audi A3 and BMW of the 1st series) will save more than 4 thousand euros on tax alone. Not to mention free parking for hybrids and other benefits like a free entry into the center of London. A solid decline in costs will be in France and Sweden, and in almost all European countries.


A large mouse, which controls the secondary functions, migrated here from the Lexus RX crossover. But, like the Mark Levinson audio system, it is only laid by the Luxury set. But the key is the same for everyone. And, alas, it is not new - the case is inferior in quality to almost any European machine. The transmission has a power regime B, to which you can move from the usual Drive

The second aspect is the cost of maintenance. Recuperative braking increases the resource of brake linings, good weighting extends the life of the tires, and the absence of a belt in the gas distribution mechanism, starter and adhesion reduces the cost of repairs. LED headlights and stainless steel exhaust system will also last longer than usual. As a result, the standard leasing contract for 90-100 thousand kilometers will cost much cheaper than for diesel classmates.

It is not by chance that the leasing is mentioned by most of the 19 thousand CT 200H planned for this year in corporate parks. As for private customers, this, according to Lexus marketers, will be environmentally conscious and quite wealthy youth. Some of them will be crossed to Lexus from Toyota, some will move from the products of other brands. For most of them, this will be the first Lexus.

And the plans of 25 thousand CT 200h in 2012 do not look sky -high, given that now 62% of sales in the Old World are for the share of hybrid Lexus. High prices for fuel and environmentally oriented taxes force Europeans to transfer to economical diesel engines, affordable hybrids and even electric cars.

Russia is all like a dead pink. The transport tax is exclusively associated with the engine power by very transparent logic. A powerful machine is more expensive, which means that you can tear off more from the owner. Talking about the purity of the exhaust will easily cross out the smoking to the entire Ivanovo dump truck. And the advantage in the cost of service at a service interval of 10 thousand kilometers becomes ephemeral.

They are well aware of this in the Russian representative office of the brand. More powerful versions CT 200H will not appear, and the American HS 250H sedan is unlikely to reach us. Therefore, the goals to realize the maximum possible volume of 200-k is not worth it is simply impossible. The task of the CT 200H in our market is to popularize hybrids and lure younger customers on the Lexus network. And not only from the C-Premium segment, but also from D-Premium! Apparently, the calculation that CT 200H is not just the most affordable Lexus, but also the most inexpensive brand hybrid.

In the basic configuration, the Comfort CT 200H costs 1,244,000 rubles, only 119 thousand more than a related Toyota Prius. And at the same time, it is a little better equipped: ABS, VSC stabilization system, 8 pillows, heating front seats, 16-inch alloy wheels, two-zone climate control, skin-trimmed with 6 speakers and AUX and USB inputs.

The average executive execution will pull 1,362,000 rubles (8 thousand cheaper than the top pris) and already has a rain sensor, contactless access to the salon, parking sensors, a leather salon and body vibration dampers. Well, the most sophisticated CT 200h Luxury can boast of a navigation system with a hard disk and joystick Remote Touch, a rear view camera, Mark Levinson music with 13 speakers, LED headlights, an electric drive, a cruise control and an electric drive of the driver’s chair. But the price tag is appropriate 1,696,000 rubles.


Lexus CT 200H sales on the Russian market will begin in April of this year

By the way, the base sedan Lexus is 250 costs from one and a half million. It would seem the most logical choice for our conditions. However, last year only 300 IS 250 were sold against, for example, 500 bolts. So the plans for 600 hybrids CT 200H in 2011 no longer seem to be too optimistic.

Competitors
Lexus CT 200H has not so many rivals. Rather, from a formal point of view, there are no other company in the world at today at all at all offers a car with a hybrid drive. But what can you buy in the premium segment for 1,244,000 rubles now? Recall that this is how much the base Lexus CT 200h costs.
BMW 1st series with a five-door body now costs from 868,000 rubles. However, the BMW 118i with a 136 hp motor with It is already more expensive from 946 thousand. Moreover, the equipment of such a model is very modest. And if you additionally order alloy wheels, an automatic gearbox, a two-zone climate control and so on, then the price will inexorably approach 1.2 million rubles. Although on the other hand we note that for 1,445,000 BMW offers model 130i. The equipment of such a machine will, of course, be simpler than that of the coolest Lexus CT 200h, but under the hood of such a penny it is not 136 hp, but at once 258 hp. And for 1,668,000 rubles. (that is, a little cheaper than a sophisticated hybrid) you can take a compartment 135i with 306 horses, although this is a completely different story
Five -door Audi A3 Sportback with a 125 hp motor with With a gearbox with two clutches, it is estimated at 1,029,900 rubles, and the set of threek will be quite decent. A machine with a 1.8 liter engine (160 hp) and a SRONIC box from 1,148,200 rubles.
The smallest Mercedes-Benz in the Russian market is A-class. But it is sold with us only in the A180 version with an engine with a capacity of 116 hp. Negrustly (such a car costs from 990,000 rubles). There is also a B-class that can be bought with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine (136 hp). Such machines are sold for 1,190,000 rubles, which is only 54,000 cheaper than hybrid Lexus. Moreover, for this money, Mercedes-Benz offers a car with a simple air conditioner (surcharge for climate 90 thousand rubles)

Vadim Gagarin
Photo by the author and company Lexus


 

Source: Auto.mail.ru