Hello my friends!
I'm currently looking to lease a 2011 200h CT (well equiped but not an F Sport) here in Switzerland!
This is a very interesting car for me because:
- Running costs seem really low... Less than 120g/km emissions gives you a big 75% discount on taxes around here!
- I owned a 1999 Nissan Primera P11-144 with a CVT trasmission and I LOVED IT! I learned how to interact with it and found it to be alot of fun to drive!
- It's interior and equipment seem to be pretty fine for a Hatchback!
But one thing I loved about my Primera was how fun it was to drive around twisty roads! It was a spacious family car but it was so agile that every time I saw a corner I had a huge smile on my face
I don't excpect the CT200h to drive like an Evo but is it any fun to drive for what it is? I saw alot of reviews complaining about the lack of feedback... Is it something you get used to?

 

It's not a quick car, but in sport mode, it should be fun for you if you care more about good handling vs speed. I enjoy driving mine.

I recommend you test drive one first to see for yourself.

 

Hm... But you have the F Sport... Which handles better thanks to its better suspension? Am I right?
How important are 17" rims and F Sport suspensions for handling?

 

What you area asking is completely subjective and cannot be answered properly by anyone here. I CAN tell you however that the CT200h, F-sport or not, WILL out handle a Prius, regardless of make/model.

This was what I originally compared the CT200h to. I was originally planning on getting a Prius for the wife, but was also planning on modding it for personal satisfaction. However my research concluded me to that there's no amount of mods that'll get me independent rear suspension like the CT200h has from the factory.

And yes, it is fun to drive, but mainly because it offers me variety.
My primary daily driver is a RWD V6 sedan that requires 91 octane.
This one is a FWD hybrid hatchback that takes 87. Both are fun to drive in their own ways.

 

Hm you're probably right... I'll try to test drive one next week so I can make up my mind
Are you driving and F Sport or a standard one?
This is the car I'm interested in: http://www.emilfrey.ch/fr/occasions/...3#.VN_KQC6Wl8E
The rims don't look particulary good but I like the color and how well equiped it is!

 

It's great as commuter car to put around the city.

But it's gutless, the MPG make up for it.

Can't win them all.

 

Like somebody said before, I don't care about speed (if that's what you mean by gutless...). Going fast is far too dangerous for your driving liscence here in Switzerland anyway. I want it to be fun around corners like my Nissan Prmera was! I had TONS of fun on twisty roads and never went above 100km/h... The engine was only 140hp and the tansmission was a CVT too!
So I was more asking about handling and how the car makes you feel while pushing it to the limits!

 

I think you'd like it on twisty roads, stiff suspension makes CT feel agile. You have to test it yourself.

 

While the F Sport package gives you a slightly stiffer/sportier suspension tune, the standard CT is still sport-tuned. Most people won't feel the difference. That's why I got it. Minimal difference in ride and handling but I like what comes with the package.

In Sport mode, the throttle response is sharpened, the steering gets more weighty, and gives you access to 100% of the electric motor output. This definitely helps make it very fun at low speeds on city streets.

Again, best to try it for yourself. Visit a Lexus dealer for a test drive, a new one should feel the same.

 

Thanks for the info! Yep I gonna test drive it in 1-2weeks
I'm gonna try to find one with 17" or 16" rims to improve handling.
It's really too bad the F Sport only came here in 2014... It looks so badass



So you only have 136hp once you're in sport mode?
Also I'm curious to know how the lexus hybrid system works because the electric engine has 82hp and the gasoline engine has 98hp... That would make 180hp...
Same with IS300h. It should ave something like 320hp if you add up but it only has 220hp.

 

Ultimately you can get power from these two sources: petrol engine 100 hp and battery around 36 hp (with good charge&temperature). So that makes the combined power, electric engine is just a converter.

 

Total horsepower is the same in any mode. In Normal mode, the power curve is very linear, and you reach maximum power only at 100% throttle (fully depressing the gas pedal). In Sport mode, you get more power faster, with much less throttle input. In Sport mode, the electric motor can give you all 650V of boost while in Normal mode, you're limited to 500V. That's all I'm aware of.

 

To answer to original question posed by the OP, yes, the CT is fun to drive, in my opinion. Certainly not a speed demon out on the open road, but extremely satisfying tossing it around the turns in town and powering out in sport mode.

Speaking of sport mode, I have found that I can actually get better fuel economy driving in sport mode if I really try.

 

To counter...I bet you can even get BETTER MPG figures if you equally try in ECO.

 

This would be a valid point if I were an average driver. But, no.