Being the luxury nameplate for Toyota, the top-selling hybrid maker, Lexus offers a range of hybrids including its most fuel efficient and cost-effective, the CT200h.
The car carries forward with minimal updates from the 2012 model year, having ranked last year in the top 10 itself for North American sales.
Making use of a version of the Toyota Prius' 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle engine, and electric motor based Hybrid Synergy Drive system, the CT200h offers an upscale trade-off.
In exchange for more sporty styling, attention to luxury, and improved road-handling manners, the car is a compact class – not midsize like the Prius – and its mileage is a lower, but still respectable 43 mpg city, 40 highway, and 42 mpg combined.
This makes it the most efficient of Lexus' growing range of five hybrids, and at a suggested retail price of $32,050 overlaps into upper trim-level Prius territory, and the CT 200h is the least expensive entry point into Lexus brand ownership.
The vehicle does channel its power through a continuously variable transmission however, which while maximizing efficiency, can be less than sonorous as it hunts through variable ratios, gives no manual control or over-ride ability to the driver, and is not the most desirable among genuine sports cars.
The car's hybrid system features four driving modes: EV, Eco, Normal and Sport, but its 0-60 times are basically equal to the regular Prius Liftback.
Updates this year include a Silver Lining Metallic paint color, and Ultra White is available with the F SPORT options.
Inside changes include updated navigation with next generation Lexus Enform® with Safety Connect® and App Suite, and HD Radio™ with iTunes® tagging. Also, the navigation screen can be kept closed at start up and the car has a padded driver's arm rest.
Park assist is also now available as a standalone option, and a Seat Comfort Package offers heated front seats and four-way power passenger seat (required with Premium Package).
