07-18-2017, 10:03 AM
I looked into a CT200h awhile back. The general consensus is they're way overpriced for what you get... as in, near the bottom of its class. They basically took a Prius, made it worse, and charged more.
You’ll be forced to get used to low-speed travel while driving the CT200h, because acceleration is downright lethargic. Getting to highway speeds is a struggle, as the CT takes more than 10 seconds to get up to 60 mph—that’s slower than nearly all of today’s economy cars, and even more sluggish than the latest Prius, the Two Eco, which performed the same task in 9.4 seconds. Because the CT is stuck with an older version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, it isn’t able to combine its gas and electric power sources as seamlessly as newer hybrids, and the four-cylinder drones noisily under hard acceleration. The decently tuned chassis is also let down by the vague feel of the brake pedal, and the mostly composed handling comes at the expense of ride quality, which verges on harsh when traversing rougher roads. For nearly $40,000 when fully loaded, we expect more refinement. And like most cars in this size class, the interior can feel pretty cramped.
Verdict: It could’ve been a satisfying hatch, but the hybrid powertrain is a letdown.
You’ll be forced to get used to low-speed travel while driving the CT200h, because acceleration is downright lethargic. Getting to highway speeds is a struggle, as the CT takes more than 10 seconds to get up to 60 mph—that’s slower than nearly all of today’s economy cars, and even more sluggish than the latest Prius, the Two Eco, which performed the same task in 9.4 seconds. Because the CT is stuck with an older version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, it isn’t able to combine its gas and electric power sources as seamlessly as newer hybrids, and the four-cylinder drones noisily under hard acceleration. The decently tuned chassis is also let down by the vague feel of the brake pedal, and the mostly composed handling comes at the expense of ride quality, which verges on harsh when traversing rougher roads. For nearly $40,000 when fully loaded, we expect more refinement. And like most cars in this size class, the interior can feel pretty cramped.
Verdict: It could’ve been a satisfying hatch, but the hybrid powertrain is a letdown.
'76 911S | '14 328xi | '17 GTI | In memoriam: '08 848, '85 944
"Here, at last, is the cure for texting while driving. The millions of deaths which occur every year due to the iPhone’s ability to stream the Kim K/Ray-J video in 4G could all be avoided, every last one of them, if the government issued everyone a Seventies 911 and made sure they always left the house five minutes later than they’d wanted to. It would help if it could be made to rain as well. Full attention on the road. Guaranteed." -Jack Baruth
"Here, at last, is the cure for texting while driving. The millions of deaths which occur every year due to the iPhone’s ability to stream the Kim K/Ray-J video in 4G could all be avoided, every last one of them, if the government issued everyone a Seventies 911 and made sure they always left the house five minutes later than they’d wanted to. It would help if it could be made to rain as well. Full attention on the road. Guaranteed." -Jack Baruth