zippinbye

Hey everyone, long time Toy/Lex guy here. Got into it with an FJ40 when I was in college, and really got hooked when I bought an eight year old gen 1 LS. Went on to LS 430, GX 470 and a few misc. Toyota cars and trucks. The 01 Avalon I got for my daughter to replace her POS Volvo 960 first car has been a dream to own and drive (Wife and I have no other "cars" in the stable - all trucks - so I grab the Avalon for the MPG and and smooth driving whenever I can. But I digeress. I'm thinking of getting my 21 year old an early CT 250h as a university grad present/damn glad you're going to med school reward. For frugal operating, a Prius and VW TDI have been 'on the radar" for some time. But I cannot ignore the CT for all the good things it robs from the Prius while offering the great features of a Lexus. And I should add that a 2011 CT Premium and same year loaded Prius are pricing out the same in dealer auctions nationwide. Plus the CT looks cool and is fun to drive (so it seems, I've only ben a pasenger). Plus I know she would dislike the looks of a Prius. She loves the Avalon, and would go nuts for her own mini Lexus, even if she does not fully appreciate the technology until the fuel stop. So, I'm very eager to hear what those with CT experience think of my prospects for a hassle-free experience getting into a 2011-2012 CT 200h. I'm talking 50,000-70,000 miles with good service records. Any surprises likely in the hybrid drive system, including batteries? Would I expect cars of such ilk to be on original batteries still? I'm admittedly uneducated about the maintenance expectations for these cars. Fear of the unknown could lead a guy to buy a Corolla instead, but the CT is so cool, I need to learn more. Please enlighten me with facts or suggested reading. Thanks!

lexusrus

One thing though about thd CT 200 small overlap crash testing. I think starting and including the 2015 CT200H the small overlap crash test improved a lot versus 2014 and earlier models. I was going to give my teenage son our 2013 CT200H to drive around town, but changed our mind after I had a seemingly minor hit on the two lane highway going around 50 mph. About a year a half ago I hit a pickup truck's rack carrier that evidently had fallen off someone's pickup truck and was in the middle of the road at night. More than 4 cars hit it and it just slide into my lane and I could not move out of the way and clipped it with my driver side front bumper and fender. My front driver side 1/3 half bumper was just sheers off and the fender bugle out. Driver side mirror gone and dented the driver door and scratched deeply on the driver window glass (I think my ceremic tinted window film held the glass together without damage ) Lucky for my windshield was ok. And my rear tire got slashed. All I felt upon impact was a small thump and that was all. Luck it was a light movable object I hit vs something like a wall or barrier or another vehicle. Even though it was a light movable object, the damage was significant, around $12k worth to restore back to factory specs which I did. After the accident I looked under the car to see damages. ...... structurally it seemed hollow in that area. I just wondered it could have been worse? I then looked into what Lexus or other car makers do to strengthen the small overlap crash worthiness. I discovered there were additional BRACING materials placed to make the small overlap crash perform better to deflect the crash energy.

I have learned over the years that often it is the other people or things on the road that I have to watch out for.

In the end we gave our RX450h to our teenage son to drive around instead of the CT200H. The CT200H is still an excellent car. If you can get a 2015 or newer CT200H , the small overlap crash test performance is much better. Just my 2 cents.

tofuprod

I may unsure if my two cents would help here but here goes.

I've been long involved in the car scene which obviously for the most part, consist of tuner cars, even an exotic - all which were a blast to drive in their own right.

Quite honestly the CT200h (maybe I'm getting older now, haha) is probably one of the most fun cars to drive.

The gas mileage blows me away every single time. An extreme amount of bang for the buck in my opinion and I don't have to worry much about reliability since I've done research upon research with every vehicle I've owned since prior to purchase. I will say this though my only light caveat is the blind-spots in these cars as I'm not a big guy by any means, about 150 pounds, 5 ft 6.. but I expected this with it being a hatchback.

My car: 2012 CT200h F Sport special edition.
Reason for purchased: Wanted a practical, reliable, sporty-ish, great on GAS -- type of daily. The CT offers all of them and then some in my opinion. I can't say which year is "better" but I'm quite happy with my 2012.

Small "mods" for fun that I've done:
Full front end XPEL Ultimate
35% Llumar all the way around minus front windshield
40% 3M Crystalline Front Windshield (no pics yet as this was done yesterday)
LED head light conversion
LED fog light conversion
LED interior, license plate and puddle lights
TOMS rep lip kit (full front, sides and rear)

Obviously the above aren't required, they're just little things that make me love my car that much more.

lexusrus

X2 on the fun factor!!! This car can take turns and curves well. Just wished a little bit more power. But if it did have more power, then the mpg will be way less, I'm sure.

zippinbye

Well, I'm not too far along my due diligence quest, but your mention of frontal overlap shortcomings in pre-2015 cars is the first I've heard. Other reading suggested that from the launch year onward, the CT250H received a "Good" in all five IIHS collision categories, which I thought was a rare "sweep" in the ratings game. I'll look more closely based on your comments. Thanks!

lexusrus

When I had my 2013 CT200H at the bodyshop I got to see its strucure up and personal.

The key word is SMALL OVERLAP crash test. Although some may argue that this rarely happens in the real world, but it will be a bad day when and if it happens to you. Similarly for testing of its roof strength. A few years ago an elerly woman accidentally drove off from a parking garage some 4 floors high in her RX350 and landed upside down in HI. The RX350 held up well and she was able to walk away with little or no injury from her upside down RX350.

http://bestride.com/news/woman-walks-away-after-triple-lindy-off-garage-roof-in-lexus-rx-350-video

Also see the following link...

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/lexus/ct-200h-4-door-hatchback/2016


Applies to 2015-16 models built after September 2014Overall evaluationGStructure and safety cageGInjury measuresHead/neckGChestGHip/thighGLower leg/footGRestraints and dummy kinematicsGImportant: Frontal crash test ratings should be compared only among vehicles of similar weight.The Lexus CT 200h was introduced in the 2011 model year and is derived from the Toyota Prius. Beginning with 2015 models built after September 2014, the front-end and door frame structure was modified to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

Structure

The driver space was maintained well, with maximum intrusion of the lower interior of 9 cm at the parking brake pedal. Upper interior intrusion measured 3 cm at the upper hinge pillar and 4-5 cm at the instrument panel.

Injury measures

Measures taken from the dummy indicate a low risk of any significant injuries in a crash of this severity.

Restraints and dummy kinematics

The dummy’s movement was well controlled. The dummy’s head loaded the frontal airbag, which stayed in front of the dummy until rebound. The side curtain airbag deployed and had sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed.

Tested vehicle specificationsTested vehicle2015 Lexus CT 200h 4-doorWeight3,265 lbs.Side airbagsfront and rear head curtain airbags and front seat-mounted torso airbagsWheelbase102 in.Length171 in.Width69 in.Engine1.8 L 4-cylinder (gasoline) and electric motorEPA ratings43 mpg city / 40 mpg highway