s4play's BUILD Thread for our new CT200h F-sport
05-06-12, 11:29 PM
#1
s4play's BUILD Thread for our new CT200h F-sport
We have our share of performance / sports cars and gas guzzler SUV's like most American families so with my wife's longer commute these days - we decided to try a HYBRID finally. Of course we looked long and hard at the Prius thinking it was a better deal but after seeing it go for over $32k equipped the way we wanted - decided to go back to Lexus.
Anyways this weekend we picked up our car and my wife is a very happy camper. (she is not a car person and rarely gets excited about cars) We tossed around White, Fire Agate and finally settled on Silver with the F-sport package which I have to admit the dark gun-metal wheels look pretty good in contrast to the body color.
After spending a good 6-8 hours with the car on a road trip and learning the features of the car here's a few impressions I have tonight:
1) We averaged 38.2 mpg over 600+ miles of driving through the mountains which is not bad, not great either.
2) This car is an amazing handling car and was hanging with the s2000 around corners! The seats really give great lateral support and the headrest is so comfortable!
3) Premium Audio with the Empower Assist is amazing - just press a button to talk to a live person and he sends directions directly to your NAV. The guy on the other end knew exactly what car we were driving and that we just bought it which was a bit un-nerving though.....
4) The car is very well built and has no rattles so far - definitely Lexus quality
5) WTF ~ only one cigarette lighter plug!!!
6) The car seriously lacks torque and power when going uphill. I found that the only way to maintain speed is to keep the momentum going. Once you break or slow down say for slower traffic - it takes FOREVER to speed up again. Granted I did not once engage sport mode but in ECO mode it really lacks power. Flat ground once you build up speed is no problems.
I'm sure I'll have more notes later on but this is just my initial impression. First set of mods will be tint and clear bra later this week
thanks for reading!
Anyways this weekend we picked up our car and my wife is a very happy camper. (she is not a car person and rarely gets excited about cars) We tossed around White, Fire Agate and finally settled on Silver with the F-sport package which I have to admit the dark gun-metal wheels look pretty good in contrast to the body color.
After spending a good 6-8 hours with the car on a road trip and learning the features of the car here's a few impressions I have tonight:
1) We averaged 38.2 mpg over 600+ miles of driving through the mountains which is not bad, not great either.
2) This car is an amazing handling car and was hanging with the s2000 around corners! The seats really give great lateral support and the headrest is so comfortable!
3) Premium Audio with the Empower Assist is amazing - just press a button to talk to a live person and he sends directions directly to your NAV. The guy on the other end knew exactly what car we were driving and that we just bought it which was a bit un-nerving though.....
4) The car is very well built and has no rattles so far - definitely Lexus quality
5) WTF ~ only one cigarette lighter plug!!!
6) The car seriously lacks torque and power when going uphill. I found that the only way to maintain speed is to keep the momentum going. Once you break or slow down say for slower traffic - it takes FOREVER to speed up again. Granted I did not once engage sport mode but in ECO mode it really lacks power. Flat ground once you build up speed is no problems.
I'm sure I'll have more notes later on but this is just my initial impression. First set of mods will be tint and clear bra later this week
thanks for reading!
05-07-12, 09:19 AM
#4
Were you trying to turn heads with all that tape? You must have been pretty heavy on the gas if that's the mileage you got.
I noticed you said it handled really well on corners and you mention you didn't use Sport mode once. You should try the car in Sport mode on corners, it changes the suspension and tightens up a lot, give it a shot!
You must have been pretty heavy on the gas if that's the mileage you got. I noticed you said it handled really well on corners and you mention you didn't use Sport mode once. You should try the car in Sport mode on corners, it changes the suspension and tightens up a lot, give it a shot!
05-07-12, 09:24 AM
#5
^Jimmy: We were driving through the Shasta mountains which has some pretty steep grades (6% or higher) so going uphill and downhill took a toll on the gas mileage I'm sure.
We did not even try the Sport mode at all so this is something I will try for sure later on
The tape was mainly to protect the car from rock chips and bugs until we can get it wrapped in clear bra - works great and cheap protection in the meantime.
We did not even try the Sport mode at all so this is something I will try for sure later on
The tape was mainly to protect the car from rock chips and bugs until we can get it wrapped in clear bra - works great and cheap protection in the meantime.
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05-18-12, 08:52 AM
#8
Well after about 2 weeks of ownership, my wife seems pretty good at averaging about 44mpg on her commute trips. (she has a very light foot I guess) haha
The first two things down this past weekend was:
a) 35/20% Suntec Window tint film including a 6" brow
b) Clear Bra for the entire front end
With those necessities out of the way, I plan to open up the interior later this month to do the Beat Sonic NAVI/DVD bypass since the lock-out function is driving me nuts!
But in the meantime, I moved some of my old IS-F parts over to the CT which fits perfectly. Added my Aristo shift **** and hard-wired the V1 radar detector with the custom mount.
The first two things down this past weekend was:
a) 35/20% Suntec Window tint film including a 6" brow
b) Clear Bra for the entire front end
With those necessities out of the way, I plan to open up the interior later this month to do the Beat Sonic NAVI/DVD bypass since the lock-out function is driving me nuts!
But in the meantime, I moved some of my old IS-F parts over to the CT which fits perfectly. Added my Aristo shift **** and hard-wired the V1 radar detector with the custom mount.
05-19-12, 10:09 PM
#11
Lexus Test Driver
05-21-12, 10:07 AM
#13
LOL, guys, the blue tape was only a temporary solution so avoid any chips because we have to make an appt. with the clear bra guy!!!! You really thought that was how we were going to drive the car?
We always wrap our cars with 3M clear bra film to protect the paint. Anyways the car is now wrapped and it's invisible for the most part on silver cars. Even had the headlights and fog lights protected. Makes washing the car so much easier
No negatives from my view.
Yes I actually have a lot more plans but have to keep it conservative since this is my wife's car. I modded my IS-F a bit too much and thus she refused to drive it in fear of damaging the car so this one will have to take it easy.....
I did add a custom made home-made front lip and we'll be doing some small changes while I hunt for a lightweight set of Volks to help the mpg. I'm sure those stock wheels are super heavy!
You really thought that was how we were going to drive the car?We always wrap our cars with 3M clear bra film to protect the paint. Anyways the car is now wrapped and it's invisible for the most part on silver cars. Even had the headlights and fog lights protected. Makes washing the car so much easier
No negatives from my view.Yes I actually have a lot more plans but have to keep it conservative since this is my wife's car. I modded my IS-F a bit too much and thus she refused to drive it in fear of damaging the car so this one will have to take it easy.....
I did add a custom made home-made front lip and we'll be doing some small changes while I hunt for a lightweight set of Volks to help the mpg. I'm sure those stock wheels are super heavy!
05-29-12, 02:21 PM
#15
Over the Memorial day weekend I found a few free hours and decided to install our OptiksHID kit for the car. Decided on 6000k lights and the end result is amazing.
I can't believe how bad the stock lights were until we added this kit, my wife can finally see clearly at night!
I have some larger mods planned in the works but trying to take care of the necessities first
Last edited by s4play; 05-31-12 at 07:00 AM.
