A QUESTION OF CLASS
By Line
Here's a premium hatchback with a difference: a hybrid powertrain. But do the figures add up? Jonathan Crouch decides.
Ten Second Review
What exactly might the world's first full hybrid luxury compact car be like? Lexus' CT200h offers us the answer, a classier, saintlier, eco-friendly alternative to diesel versions of compact, premium Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series-sized hatchbacks. Saving the planet in style just became a whole lot more affordable.
Background
Though Lexus has fully embraced hybrid technology across its priciest models, the Japanese brand took a long time to get round to offering it at the more affordable end of its line-up. A little strange, given the drive for more eco-friendly modes of power in the compact sector of the luxury market. Other makers satisfy this with diesel engines, as indeed does Lexus in its BMW 3 Series-sized IS saloon. But rumbly smoke-belching diesels with their clogged-up particulate filters and high Nox emissions really aren't really what this brand is all about. Silent, frugal petrol/electric hybrid power on the other hand, is a much better fit - and that's exactly what's delivered by this car, their CT200h.
'CT' stands for 'Compact Tourer', Lexus-speak for 'Premium Hatchback', the class of car you'll hopefully recognise when I talk of models like Audi's A3, BMW's 1 Series, Mercedes' A-Class - maybe even Alfa Romeo's Giulietta. Cars that are no bigger than something Focus or Astra-sized but sit a world apart when it comes to perceived driveway cred. And just as Toyota's Prius hybrid waves the eco-driven petrol/electric banner among Focus folk, so this Lexus borrows its mechanicals to offer the same alternative to Executives who'd normally opt for the smallest diesel example of something posh and Teutonic.
Driving Experience
Press the 'Start' button and the virtual silence is very, very different from the ugly, grumbly diesel note delivered by this car's competitors. That's because from start-up to speeds of up to 28mph or for distances of up to a mile and a half, the car (in theory anyway) is supposed to automatically operate in 'EV' mode under electric power alone. This ability for the hybrid engine to run just in electric mode - or indeed just petrol-powered - as well as the two being linked together in tandem is what distinguishes the higher-tech so-called 'Parallel Hybrids' that Toyota and Lexus make from those offered by, say, Honda.
This brings me to the engine which, despite all this talk of electric power, will remain this car's primary source of propulsion in day-to-day use. It's exactly the same 1.8-litre VVTi petrol unit you'll find in Toyota's Prius and contributes a further 99bhp to the 82bhp already delivered by the electric motor, though never at the same time, which is why, slightly confusingly, the total power output of this car is quoted at 134bhp.
Once you're up and running with battery and petrol power chipping in and out, Lexus says that the CT200h has been engineered to perform in two driving 'moods', 'Relaxing' or 'Dynamic', depending on the setting you choose from the centre drive controller. Should you be feeling laid-back, you'll probably have the control set to 'Normal', via which the petrol engine will take over from the electric motor as and when needed, but given that you're not in a hurry, it might just be better to switch to 'ECO' mode where throttle openings are reduced and the air con system optimised to save fuel.
But, you'll also be wanting to know about this car's Dynamic repertoire and that last 'SPORT' setting. This setting delivers an extra 150V of extra electric motor power to enable a rest to sixty sprint time of 10.3s as engine revs are held longer, throttle and steering response sharpened and the traction and stability control systems rendered less intrusive. That's only about a second slower than a rival BMW 118d or Audi A3 2.0 TDI.
The CT turns into corners very neatly with minimal bodyroll but the unsettled ride that can sometimes go with it might not be quite what you're expecting from a Lexus, even if you specify a top model like this one with clever lateral body dampers intended to filter out structural shocks from the bodyshell. Pushing on, you won't get the pulling power you would from a torquey diesel either and, like all CVT gearboxes, this one can be a bit thrashy when you're trying to power through the ratios.
To be fair, little of this will be too much of a problem on the smooth motorway journeys that will probably occupy owners across the majority of their mileage. It's here that the light steering becomes a boon rather than a drawback and it's here too that you can revel in the peerless refinement and the beautiful cabin. This is where the car comes into its own.
Design and Build
As 'the latest' representative of Lexus' L-Finesse design language', the CT200h probably isn't the styling team's finest moment. That said, it's beautifully finished and well thought out in detail, clearly a quality product you'd be proud to have on your driveway.
And be proud to sit behind the wheel of. Let's be clear about this: the cabin of this car embarrasses rival premium German efforts to a considerable degree. The equipment-adjusted price saving you'll enjoy over a BMW 1 Series or an Audi A3 may well mean that you can afford to specify leather and if you do so, you'll find that the hide is tactile and beautifully finished, complemented by aluminium inserts, satin wood trim finishing and carefully-crafted soft-touch plastics. I love the cockpit-like feel of the low-set, perfectly-sited driving position and the way all the controls fall neatly to hand and operate with a quality click - even the clever mouse control that operates the 7-inch LCD multi-display information screen. £25,000 doesn't often mean much in terms of real luxury any more - but it does here.
But I haven't yet touched upon practicality, something you'd expect to be compromised by the need to find somewhere to stow the hybrid system's nickel-metal-hydride battery pack. As it turns out, clever packaging of this unit between the rear wheels means that it takes up very little bootspace, the 375-litre luggage bay actually being larger than that offered in a BMW 1 Series. Push forward to 60:40 split-folding rear seats and up to 985-litres of space is freed up.
As for rear seat room, well if you're tempted to complain, then you clearly haven't sat in the back of a rival BMW 1 Series or Audi A3 very recently. Though it suffers from a high waistline which restricts the airiness of the cabin somewhat, this Lexus offers slightly more passenger space than either of these cars, with comfortable room for too adults (as long as they're not too tall), and space at a pinch for three.
Market and Model
CT200h models offer pricing likely to see you paying somewhere in the £24,000 to £31,000 bracket for the single five-door bodystyle on offer. At the bottom end of the range, that sees this model positioned at only around £1,000 less than Lexus' diesel-powered IS200d saloon. It will be interesting to see which model devoted fans of the brand prefer. But this CT's toughest competition is going to be Germanic. Automatic versions of BMW's 118d SE and Audi's A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI SE 140PS are priced almost identically to this Lexus.
Whichever CT200h model you choose, you'll find plenty fitted as standard. 17" alloy wheels, Bluetooth compatibility for your mobile 'phone, USB compatibility for the stereo and rain sensing wipers would all cost you more in a comparable BMW 1 Series or Audi A3. Plus there's rear privacy glass, a high quality 6-speaker CD stereo, a leather-covered steering wheel, dual-zone climate control and UV-glare-reducing windows. It's a bit surprising perhaps to find that sat nav is standard only on the priciest model, but to be fair, it's quite some system controlled by a unique mouse-driven keypad.
Safety-wise, a 5 star Euro NCAP showing is justified by the inclusion of no fewer than eight airbags, including knee protection for driver and passengers. Plus of course, it goes without saying that the CT has the full complement of electronic braking, stability and traction controls. You'll need to pay extra though, for Lexus' PCS pre-emptive Pre-Crash Safety System which radar-monitors the road ahead to detect potential hazards. Should one threaten, it will alert the driver, pre-tension the safety belts and automatically help with braking. The system comes packaged with Lexus' ACC Adaptive Cruise Control which uses the same gadgetry to maintain a safe distance to the car in front..
Cost of Ownership
Cost of ownership is where the CT200h can really hurt its conventionally-powered rivals. True, you'll need to take the official combined consumption figure of 68.9mpg with a pinch of salt - achievable but not in the real world - but even given that, you shouldn't be disappointed with returns at least the equal of the best diesel competition. Throw in the fact that this is the only premium executive car with automatic transmission to be exempt from the London congestion charge, plus what's almost certain to be a snail-like rate of depreciation and the running cost package looks even more compelling.
The parallel hybrid technology employed here might be fairly conventional - we're on the cusp of a transition to plug-in lithium ion batteries - but that's probably a good thing as it's fully proven and, in any case, protected by a 5 year/60,000 mile warranty. It's certainly good enough to deliver an astonishing CO2 emissions figure of just 96g/km - that's 20-25g/km better than a comparable Audi A3 2.0 TDI or BMW 118d in manual form and 35-45g/km better if you're looking at those cars as automatics. All of which means that this Lexus will incur zero road fund licence charges but what's really important is the way it can deliver rock bottom company car tax. Since this is one of this car's greatest draws, let me elaborate.
A 10% benefit-in-kind company car tax rating compares with 13% for a BMW 118d or an Audi A3 2.0 TDI - or between 18-21% if you properly match this CT by choosing these German rivals in their automatic guises. This means, according to Lexus figures based on an entry-level CT200h model, a three year BIK saving of over £2,300 over the comparable Audi A3 and over £3,300 over the comparable BMW 1 Series - in other words, it could be as much as more than £90 a month. If you further add to those savings the impressive fuel consumption, high residuals, low servicing and repair costs and this model's 100% write-down against Corporate Tax, you'll find that the picture looks even rosier, Lexus reckoning that for businesses choosing this as a fleet car, the savings over three years or 60,000 miles could be well in excess of £7,000
Summary
Before this car arrived, the UK market's provision of hybrid power was limited to compact cars and rather large ones. With this CT200h, Lexus has neatly plugged the gap in between and on paper, its promised combination of driving fun and eco sensibility is certainly a very tempting one. In practice, this car is somewhat restricted by the limits of its Prius mechanicals but that doesn't stop it delivering a package that will still be compelling to many target buyers.
True, a rival diesel BMW 1 Series or an Audi A3 will be better to drive. But, spec-adjusted, both will cost you more to buy, be noisier to live with, confine you to nastier cabins and cost a whole lot more to run on pricier fuel. To me, the limits of this Lexus seem a fair trade in exchange for all these benefits. This car adds up. On the balance sheet. And in your driveway.
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