Do you find luxury cars stodgy and grandfather-like? Do you like the fuel efficiency of hybrids but hate the bog-slow performance? Does Lexus have a proposition for you.
It comes in the form of a sporty hybrid hatchback, the CT200h. Lexus launched the CT200h hybrid hatchback in a star-studded, Valentine’s concert-style debut at the Peninsula Manila. The vocal lineup include honorary Filipino David Pomeransz, Zsa Zsa Padilla, and Popsz Fernandesz; given that the car was targeting a younger audience, perhaps The Black Eyed Peas would have been more appropriate.
Launch aside, the CT200h seems like a refreshing change of character for the relatively sedate Japanese luxury brand. Its hatchback configuration, reportedly stiff chassis and firm suspension, and a “Sport” button make it a car more suited to being driven enthusiastically than be lulled to sleep in while being chauffeur driven.
The key apparently is the prominent “Eco/Sports” knob on the center console that helps change the character of the CT according to the driver’s mood. In Eco mode, the gasoline-electric hybrid can reach up to 24 km/liter. Lexus likes to emphasize that the CT200h is a full hybrid, meaning it can run on electric power alone, at least at low speeds and while its battery has a good amount of charge left.
Like the Toyota Prius, the CT features a 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-four that combines with an electric motor for a maximum of 134 bhp. Switch to Sport mode and the blue gauge lighting turns red. The steering feel firms up and the electric system acts to beef up acceleration. Traction and stability control are retuned to allow higher limits of driving performance.
If that’s not enough, there’s also a CT200h F-Sport model. Lexus’ version of M or AMG retunes the suspension with modified dampers “that provide added stability and increased chassis rigidity without any compromise in refinement, ride comfort or luxuriousness.”
The price is also attractive, versus the rest of the Lexus range and the competition: P2,308,000 for the standard version and P2,888,000 for the F-Sport.
So there: just like Oldsmobile, Rolex, and Star Trek, here comes a version of a brand that is “not your father’s.” We can’t help wishing that it succeeds.
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