Lexus CT 200h: Price & models

The Lexus CT 200h UK Price & Models revealed

Lexus has revealed price and model details for the hybrid Lexus CT 200h. Starting at £23,485 and rising to £30,635 with first UK deliveries early 2011

Although it seems like it’s been around forever, the Lexus CT 200h was only officially debuted at the Paris Motor Show last month, although it’s more than a year since we speculated that the Lexus Premium Compact Concept would become the Lexus CT. Still, Lexus has got there and they are ready to roll the CT 200h out in the UK.

We got European prices a few weeks back, which frankly were a bit stronger than we’d expected for what Lexus had said would be a 1-Series competitor. Lexus said we were too strong with our direct conversion of Euro cost. And they were right; the Lexus CT 200h starts at £23,485 for the CT 200h SE-I – the entry level model.

In addition to the entry-level SE-I trim you can opt for SE-L or SE-L Premire. And the kit level is far from shoddy with even the entry-level CT 200h SE-I getting dual-zone Climate, Bluetooth, 17″ alloys, push button start and LED daytime running lights.

Move up to the SE-L and you can add in leather, heated front seats and parking sensors and the range-topping SE-L Premier gets LED headlamps, Cruise, smart entry system, electric front seats, Mark Levinson audio, HDD SatNav and rear parking monitor. So decent specs all round.

Also very decent are the running costs, with zero VED due thanks to 94g/km CO2, BIK at 10% and 68.9mpg. And we know that the CT 200h has very low NOx and PM emissions too, which we applaud.

Lexus are claiming the CT 200h to be a great buy, and are using the base model as a favourable comparison against a BMW 118d SE and an Audi A3 2.0 TDI SE (which you can see in the CT 200h UK Price press release). Not surprisingly, the Lexus wins comfortably.

And it will continue to win comfortably if all you want is a well equipped green halo. But if you factor in performance and enjoyment then the CT 200h is poor in comparison with just about anything else you could consider a direct competitor, especially when you get up to the SE-L Premier.

And if our experience of Toyota hybrids so far is anything to go by, the CT 200h will not return anything like the headline economy figures as soon as you try to make enthusiastic progress or sit on motorways or dual carriageways.

Not that we”ll find out, unless we go and hire one. Which is quite unlikely. Because unlike other car makers Toyota and Lexus don’t send us cars for review. I wonder why?

Could it be because we value the enjoyment of driving and don’t see a car as just transport? Could it be because we believe Lexus in particular are foolish to put all their eggs in one basket with the headlong dive in to a hybrid-only range? (how good could the CT 200h have been with a high-efficiency turbo diesel or zingy petrol lump?). Or maybe they think our 250,000 readers aren’t important enough?

Which is a shame. There’s lots to admire in both Lexus and Toyota. Even if we think they’re barking up the wrong tree.