Lexus CT 200H test drive since 2010 hatchback

Give youth!

Lexus finally took shape in his desire to gain a foothold in Europe

However, the Japanese approached the solution of the problem, as always, very specific. They made a compact hatchback CT 200H, determining it in the rivals of the BMW and Audi A3. And all would be fine, but unlike quite self -sufficient Germans, supplied in any variant and with a complete gamut of engines, CT 200H non -alternative hybrid.


And this is probably his main problem. The novelty itself has been quite promising. At least it looks quite decent. Of course, not all Europeans will accept deliberate Japaneseness, thanks to which analogies with the current Mazda3 are clearly traced in the exterior. But in general, the hatchback does not rotate the hatchback. Secondly, it is very good and inside but if Lexus dealers find at least a thousand madmen in our country who, in their right mind, will change their 120th BMW or A3 C 1.8 TSI under the hood on CT, it will be a grand success.


In the economical operating modes of the transmission, the instrument panel is highlighted in blue. In sports red, in addition, instead of the battery charge indicator, a normal tachometer appears.

Going to get acquainted with the novelty, your correspondent was afraid that CT 200H would turn out to be turned by Prius. And these fears, alas, were justified. Three kilometers in the electric trim, of course, is good; The average consumption that does not reach 4 liters, at the current fuel prices, is generally great. Although, in truth, not one of the listed exercises did not succeed in these lines: in the first case, even less than two came out, in the second, the consumption was exceeded by exactly two liters. But that is not the problem, the Japanese say, they say, the matter of habit. The car is not driving. That is, not just not enchanting on the road, but does not go at all.

In the electricity mode no higher than 40 km/h with the dynamics of a buzz cart. In the mixed slightly faster, with a slightly more intense acceleration, but with a similar, pretense feeling of traction deficiency. And this despite the fact that the stated torque of the hybrid installation is comparable to the thrust of a fairly decent European turbodiesel. For especially impatient, even a special sport mode is provided, the activation of which is accompanied by the appearance of blood-red backlight on the instrument panel. In theory, electronics in this case should throw all the forces to accelerate. And she seems to do this, but the process of movement boils down to the banal shedding of the accelerator pedal. On the floor. In the hope that the unacceptable transmission, coupled with control electronics, at least this time allows the machine to accelerate at least some aggressively. It turns out exactly, noisy too, but still not intensively enough. It seems that CT 200H was made so that, having equipped it with a priori with a legally incompetent 100-horsepower gasoline engine and a slightly less powerful electric motor, in total outstanding about 136 horses, overdue VW Polo and Smart in the amount of emissions. And the Germans dragged here exclusively to preserve the renom.

I won’t know what the point was then to bring the chassis to the premium level. Maybe it is not great, but it is done at least at the level and is very decent. Yes, if under the hood of the novelty not a hybrid installation, but, say, V6 from IS250, it would become truly interesting. Maybe not as charismatic as a penny, but very, very attractive. The funny thing is that at the output the cost of such a variation would hardly be transcendental. I would venture to assume that such a CT would cost the same 1.3 million. But there is no similar modification and, it seems, will not be. The machine was originally conceived as a carrier of advanced hybrid technologies, so at best we will find installation, borrowed from a more overall environmentally friendly model. Perhaps she will be destroyed by the gap that formed between external perception and sled reality. However, in his current performance, the hatchback is not able to reveal his potential even half, but the same 120th with which the Japanese intended to fight in Russian open spaces, on the move simply tears him into shreds.

If we talked about Prius, there would be no questions. This is a medium-sized family car with a roller, comfortable potential owner Zatukan with a crisis, the absence of bonuses, loans, taxes and his wife, constantly buzzing that his SUV began to go around too expensive because of this.


There are no spare breaks in the hatchback, and the cargo compartment itself is not too convenient. Alas, these are the costs of the presence of a hybrid power plant, the elements of which are placed under the bottom along the entire length of the car.

CT 200H car of a completely different order. It is equally economical, but this is a side effect, the main feature of the novelty in the eyes of the buyer should be its high -tech. This is a kind of youth gadget like an iPhone or iPad. In the presence of a mass of close in quality and functionality of analogues, they still remain the coveted element of the modern style. And as well as the products of the apple industry, this hatchback is not designed for age owners.

During the presentation, the company's managers generally called it an input ticket to the Lexus world. Like, before that, the line simply did not exist a relatively inexpensive car that would be affordable for extra -budgetary youth. Moreover, they also designated a portrait of a potential client: progressive students, successful ITSHNI. In general, all those who wanted something like that, but could not afford.

Actually, that's why they remained true to the principle of continuity and tried to make a hatchback as much as possible as much as possible. His face is almost like IS, however, is less aggressive, but quite dynamic and recognizable. The profile and feed, as we have already noted, is an absolutely Japanese product, but not of the lowest quality in the Lexus compact flesh compact. Awesome architecture, branded, almost apartment comfort (which the interiorists managed to achieve, working in extremely cramped conditions), and, of course, the ultimate attention to the little things from the nuances of the finish and ending with the navigation system.

Even landing. In Prius, the driver is highly located, the seats are soft and amorphous, as in most pro -American models. In article 200h, you sit low, almost in sporting. However, few will be able to complain about the insufficient level of comfort. On the one hand, the chairs are very well held with lateral overloads, on the other hand, they can easily endure quite long distillations. The only complaint is the height of the central armrest. Actively promoting the steering wheel, the driver often risks applying his elbow on its front, which sometimes causes very unpleasant and painful sensations. At the same time, let me leave the comfort of the rear riders without comment. In cars of this size, they were not very lucky, and the new hatchback from Lexus among the rest does not stand out anything special. In general, everything is as usual here. Unless, of course, this epithet is appropriate in the description of this car. I don’t know how in Europe, but we have a CT 200H car for potential madmen. It is ideal for those who are ready to get as close as possible to the line beyond which a non -standard thinking person turns into an ideological freak.



Lexus CT 200h
SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions (mm) 4320x1765x1440
Wheel base (mm) 2600
Road clearance (mm) 140
Mass (kg) 1485
Trunk volume (L) 4142436
Slave. engine volume (cm3) 1798
Max. Power (L.S.)* 136
Max. Twist the moment (Nm) 142
Max. torque
electric motor (NM) 207
Max. Speed \u200b\u200b(km/h) 180
Acceleration 0100 km/h (c) 10.3
Cf. fuel consumption (l/100 km) 3.8
Price (rub.) From 1 244 000

* The total power of the hybrid system.

Competitors

True Aryan
Currently, the BMW of the 1st series in the market of strong competitors, in fact, does not. Audi A3 model is age and is about to be updated, Lexus will begin to sell ST 200H in April, Mercedes-Benz CLC does not come to us. In addition, the smallest BMW today is not so road from 834,000 rubles. True, this is the cost of the 116th three-door, a five-door modification of 35,000 rubles more. BMW 120i, which Lexus marketers are equal, costs a little more than a million, and in a completely packaged form just at the level of the cost of the initial configuration of CT 200H ...

LAST YEAR
The new generation of Audi A3 in its conceptual form has just been presented in Geneva. The serial version, apparently, will appear in the fall, so we should expect it closer to the end of the year. As for the current generation, it is also relatively accessible. The initial price tag is about 900,000 rubles. Only turbocharged engines with a capacity of 105 to 200 hp are installed under the hood of the hatchback. The latter, of course, are quite expensive, but a comparable (in dynamics) with CT 200H A3 modification will cost the buyer about a million rubles.

Eternal applicant
Volvo has long and persistently knock on the premium door, and the three-door hatchback C30 at one time became almost the first swallow along this path. The model is built on the basis of Ford Focus II, nevertheless, the Swedes managed to bring the chassis to a dedicated level. As for the comparison of C30 with Lexus, Volvo, of course, is significantly cheaper (699 9001 009 900 rubles), but at the same time, on the road, it is not inferior from Lexus. In addition, the line has quite driver modifications of the R-Design with 230-horsepower T5 under the hood.

Source: MKOMBIL MASTOM [March 2011]