When buying a car, it’s all about the trade-offs. Usually, you can’t get everything you want in one package. That often means sacrificing something like reliability for style, or fuel efficiency for speed.
However, when Lexus launched its new hybrid hatchback, the Lexus CT200h, they were attempting to create a car that had it all – a luxury “sporty” vehicle that was also fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.
With the CT200h, Lexus is also attempting to reach a younger market than it usually targets. Lexus is reaching out through social media, YouTube and iTunes in order to reach that market. The company is also utilizing more unconventional advertising methods such as having actors star in short films that feature the car. These films, which are not being marketed as ads, will then be broadcast on the USA network.
The car in question definitely has a sporty feel to it, and enough gadgets and gizmos inside to make car fans geek out. It has a 1.8 liter gas engine and a 60kw electric motor. It can also be switched into full-electric mode for up to 1.2 miles and 28 miles per hour.
You can set the car to three different modes: sport, eco and normal. In the sport mode, the dashboard turns red and shows a rev counter. The throttle feels slightly different – you can feel more crispness in power delivery as the sound of the car is smoother. The eco mode turns the dashboard blue and displays a hybrid system indicator. Although from the outside the car looks somewhat roomy, in reality the backseat is a bit squished and the trunk is pretty small.
The CT200h doesn’t really feel like a sporty car even though that’s the image it’s trying to project. It feels heavier to drive than other cars in this category, and thanks to the drive energy management system, the sounds the engine makes are kind of disconcerting. For example, when you speed up you don’t hear the engine revving – the sound remains the same.
In terms of eco-friendliness though, the CT200h does a good job. It can get around 68 miles per gallon and only produces 94g/km of CO2 per gallon. This is really fantastic when compared to other non-hybrid vehicles in this luxury class. It’s even pretty good when compared against other hybrid vehicles, and could totally give the Toyota Prius a bit of competition – the Toyota Prius produces 89g/km per gallon but only gets 57 miles per gallon.
The fit and finish of the CT200h is quite impressive and nicer than many other luxury cars in its class. Lexus is clearly trying to appeal to a market that can afford to spend some more money on a luxury car, but at the same time are not interested in hot hatch handling or how fast the car can go from zero to a hundred. Whether Lexus will ultimately succeed in this goal is unknown as of yet, since the CT200h was just released.
About the author: This post was contributed by www.CarRentalExpress.com, a website that offers affordable hybrid rental cars and other cheap car rentals.
Credits: Photo courtesy of Lexus.com.
