Hybrid Wagon for 40k.

[vztrt]

I'm no Lexus/Toyota fan but this is well priced, wonder if this would sell well.

Lexus CT200h to hit Australia at $39,990

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25783F00050783

Pricing, technology of Lexus CT200h luxury hybrid hatch set to worry the competition

22 February 2011

By HAITHAM RAZAGUI

LEXUS’S hybrid CT200h luxury hatchback will go on sale in Australia priced from $39,990 plus on-road costs, meaning the cheapest Lexus will cost just $90 more than the closely-related Toyota Prius.

The sharp pricing for the CT200h – the first hybrid compact luxury car on the Australian market and the first Lexus here with front-wheel drive – was announced today ahead of its launch in the Australian Formula One Grand Prix celebrity race in Melbourne.

Powered by a modified version of Toyota’s 1.8-litre petrol-electric drive system from the Prius, the four-model hatchback range had been expected to be priced closer to $50,000, but it will start with the Prestige specification at $39,990 and top out at $55,900 for the flagship Sports Luxury. The latter is $100 more than the previous cheapest Lexus, the IS250 Prestige.

As GoAuto reported in October last year, Lexus said its CT200h would be priced from under $50,000 at launch but would not match the entry-level pricing of small-luxury rivals.

Non-hybrid five-door competitors include Alfa’s Giulietta, which opens at $36,990, with base-spec Mercedes B-class and Audi A3 Sportback occupying a similar price bracket, while the least expensive BMW 1-Series hatch weighs in at $41,200.

The cheapest diesel A3 is $48,100, undercut only by BMW’s $44,500 118d which also gets closer to Lexus levels of efficiency with fuel consumption of 4.5l/100km but its CO2 figure of 119g/km is 23 grams higher than Lexus’s claimed 96g/km.

Standard equipment on the entry-level CT200h Prestige includes eight airbags, dual-zone climate control, 16-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, cruise control and metallic paint as a no-cost option.

Lexus Australia chief executive Tony Cramb said: "CT 200h will open up the Lexus brand to a host of new and existing customers – those wanting to enter the luxury market, those wanting to downsize to a stylish and sporty hatchback, and those who wish to take advantage of the CT 200h's unique hybrid driveline."

Last year, the small luxury car segment above $40,000 grew 14.5 per cent – faster than the sub-$40,000 small-car market that climbed 11.7 per cent.

Options on the CT200h Prestige include a $3000 leather pack that in addition to upgraded upholstery includes 17-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, reversing camera and auto-dimming interior mirror. $5000 gets the leather pack and a ‘moon roof’.

The Luxury trim level adds the leather pack plus satellite navigation and reversing camera.

The F Sport also receives the leather pack, navigation and reversing camera plus a number of chassis and cosmetic upgrades, led by tuned suspension, aggressive front and rear styling, unique 17-inch alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, leather upholstery, sports seats, steering wheel and pedals. Also available on the F Sport will be an exclusive ‘Flame Blue’ exterior paint colour.

The Luxury and F Sport variants can have the glass roof fitted for an extra $2500. Lexus claims that the Luxury, F Sport and Sports Luxury variants will be the only cars in the compact luxury segment to feature a reversing camera.

The Sports Luxury range-topper adds further comfort features including radar-based active cruise control. The radar behind badge also serves as a component of the pre-collision safety system to warn the driver of a likely collision, with audible and visible warnings on the dashboard.

If there is no reaction from the driver and the system predicts an unavoidable collision, it primes the braking system for maximum power, pre-tensions the seatbelts and prepares the vehicle for collision by setting the airbag sensors to high alert.

According to Lexus, the CT200h in Sports Luxury trim debuts adaptive cruise control and pre-collision safety in this sector. The Sports Luxury version also has the option of a $1500 sports bodykit comprising front and rear bumpers, side skirts and a larger rear spoiler.

Lexus dealerships across Australia are now taking orders for the CT200h. Customers who place orders before the official launch will be entered into a draw to win a place in the all-Lexus CT200h celebrity challenge, which Lexus claims is the world’s first all-hybrid race and will take place at the Australian F1 Grand Prix on March 27 at Albert Park in Melbourne.

Asked if customers were placing orders for the CT200h sight unseen, a Lexus spokesperson told GoAuto that last year, Lexus ran a road show, taking some CT200h cars around Australia for prospective customers to examine and that since then, two examples have been on display rotation at various Australian Lexus dealerships.

In addition to the prize draw for early-adopters, Lexus auctioned off another seat in the celebrity challenge in aid of the Red Cross Victorian Flood appeal, raising $17,600. Both winners will partake in driver training, hospitality and racing at Albert Park.

2011 Lexus CT 200h pricing:
Prestige
$39,990
Luxury $48,990
F Sport $49,900
Sports Luxury $55,900

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/106020/2...for-australia/

2011 Lexus CT 200h pricing announced for Australia
By Tim Beissmann | February 22nd, 2011

Lexus Australia has announced the pricing of the all-new 2011 Lexus CT 200h ahead of its launch at the end of next month.

Priced from $39,990, the compact luxury hybrid will undercut the most inexpensive vehicle currently offered by Lexus in Australia – the IS 250 Prestige – by more than $15,000, opening the premium Japanese marque up to a brand new customer base.

The entry-level Prestige model will be well equipped, coming standard with smart start, eight airbags, dual-zone climate control, 16-inch alloy wheels, daytime running lamps, ‘two-mood two mode’ sport and eco driving functionality, cruise control, metallic paint and USB connectivity.

All other models get a reversing camera, while the Sports Luxury model also gets Active Cruise Control and Pre-Collision Safety System.

Full details and model specifications will be revealed closer to the vehicle’s launch.

A 1.8-litre petrol engine teamed with a rear-mounted electric motor provides a combined maximum output of 100kW, and the CT 200h will beat the Toyota Prius with a combined cycle fuel consumption of just 3.8 litres/100km.

Power is transferred via an electrically controlled continuously variable transmission (e-CVT). The performance figures remind us that the CT 200h is still a hybrid despite the hot hatch styling, with a 0-100km/h sprint time of 10.3 seconds and a top speed of 180km/h.

All models are covered by Lexus’ four-year/100,000km warranty, and an eight-year warranty on the hybrid battery.

The 2011 Lexus CT 200h will be launched at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, which runs from March 24 to 27, for the following Manufacturer’s List Prices:

* Prestige – $39,990 (Leather – $3000, leather and moonroof – $5000)
* Luxury – $48,990
* F Sport – $49,990 (Moonroof – $2500)
* Sports Luxury – $55,990 (Sports bumpers – $1500)

[BradZ]

Mind boggling acceleration.
Nice car though.

[kinksta]

I think it is a pretty good combo. It will work here in Australia, if no problems come about.

The interior looks like it would take a few hours to work out what everything was, or how to even move forward haha.

[LethalLeigh]

Looks like a N16 Pulsar and a Peugeot 407 wagon loved each other very much. Cost would be more but I find the recently announced Volvo V60 Wagon Diesel Hybrid to be much more interesting.

[Yellow_Festiva]

I doubt it's our first fwd Lexus. I'm certain the first ones we got (based on the camry) were fwd weren't they?

[MickyB]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I doubt it's our first fwd Lexus. I'm certain the first ones we got (based on the camry) were fwd weren't they?

I was about to say the same thing, ES300 from memory. As for the car, it looks better than a Prius, can't say I'd consider either myself however.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by LethalLeigh

Looks like a N16 Pulsar and a Peugeot 407 wagon loved each other very much. Cost would be more but I find the recently announced Volvo V60 Wagon Diesel Hybrid to be much more interesting.

This one?? That is very low fuel usage but what will the cost be of the unit and servicing. Mind you I would ask the same question (servicing cost) about the Lexus.

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...222-1b3tc.html

Volvo's 1.9L/100km wagon Matt Campbell
February 22, 2011 - 5:24PM




World's first diesel plug-in hybrid to offer 1200km range and lowest ever emissions.

Volvo has unveiled a new family wagon that sips around half the fuel of Australia's most efficient car.

The V60 Plug-in Hybrid concept is the world's first rechargeable diesel-electric vehicle and has a combined claimed fuel consumption of just 1.9 litres per 100km, while emitting just 49g/km of carbon dioxide - unprecedented numbers in the world of hybrid cars. By comparison, the most efficient car on sale in Australia, Ford's diesel-powered Fiesta Econetic, uses 3.7 litres per 100km and emits 98g/km.

The V60 is fitted with a five-cylinder 2.4-litre turbo diesel engine producing 150kW of power and 440Nm of torque, which sends power to the front wheels. The rear wheels can be driven by a rear-mounted 50kW electric motor that adds an extra 200Nm of torque.

Advertisement: Story continues below Volvo says the V60 Plug-in won't just appeal to those focused on fuel savings, saying the V60 offers the appeal of three cars in one - because the car can be operated in three modes.

In Pure mode the car runs only using the electric motor, and has a range of up to 50km and pumps out zero exhaust emissions. Recharging is estimated to take between three and seven hours, depending on the power source.

Hybrid mode focuses on combining the diesel engine and electric motor to save fuel, and is the mode to choose if your aim is to replicate the claimed 1.9L/100km.

Power mode, however, focuses on performance - offering a combined power output of 200kW and 640Nm, which enables to V60 to sprint from 0-100km/h in just 6.9 seconds despite the extra weight from the batteries and electrics.

As with all Volvos, there is an enhanced focus on safety - the V60 Plug-in features extra collision safeguards to stop the car's batteries from being crushed in an impact, while power to the batteries is cut off as soon as the car's sensors pick up an impact.

The V60 Plug-in concept will be officially unveiled at the Geneva motor show on 1st March.

It is scheduled to go on sale in 2012 and is being considered for the Australian market.

[flappist]

Lexus are getting aggressive.

This will be interesting to watch

[Poetic Justice]

Wagon?

This is a hatchback.

[Franco Cozzo]

God damn, If i had of held off on my Focus, I could have afforded that in a few months, oh well.

That looks FREAKING AWESOME, I love that, very much. New favorite car? I think so.

[2011G6E]

Nice looking car!
As long as they restrain themselves and keep it looking like a "normal car" instead of the Prius and Honda Insight monstrosities...

Motoring journalists have said before that hybrid cars could, like the current Hybrid Camry and the Honda Hybrid Civic, look just like any other ordinary car except for the little "Hybrid" badge on the back...but studies showed that a big percentage of hybird drivers not only wanted to drive a hybrid, but more importantly wanted to be seen to be driving a hybrid...a "look at me aren't I environmentally friendly and you're not" type of mentality.

I also recall a prototype hybrid a few years back from, i think, Nissan, that had an electric motor in each wheel, and each motor produced 400nm of torque...bet that'd get up and boogie...

Reading up on that nice Volvo (and there's two words I never thought would leave my mouth together...), and note that the diesel drives the front wheels, and the electric the back.
I've never understood why 'hybrid" cars don't go the route of the old fashioned diesel-electric system, as still used in the locomotives I drive...a diesel engine running a big generator and passing power on to electric traction motors, but the wheels aren't actually physically driven by the diesel engine itself.
In a car, you could have a rather small, super fuel efficient turbo diesel hooked up to a generator, which supplies power as needed to the wheels (but at no time does the diesel engine actually drive the wheels). You could keep the diesel engine running in the part of the rev range where it is at it's absolute peak efficiency, and vary the output to the wheels by varying the electrical current.
Not sure if this is kind of how the Prius or Camry work already though...

[Brazen]

Bloody hell, thats cheap, cheaper than a Falcon XT.

Prediction: Fleets will buy this over Prius purely for the resale (although Im sure the Prius has a pretty good fleet price)

[kypez]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

In a car, you could have a rather small, super fuel efficient turbo diesel hooked up to a generator, which supplies power as needed to the wheels (but at no time does the diesel engine actually drive the wheels). You could keep the diesel engine running in the part of the rev range where it is at it's absolute peak efficiency, and vary the output to the wheels by varying the electrical current.
Not sure if this is kind of how the Prius or Camry work already though...

They are doing this but in petrol form

http://greensupercar.com/2011/02/new...r-has-arrived/

I personally think this Lexus looks very Corolla less the front end and tail lights (like they used to with the ES and still do with the LX)

[LethalLeigh]

Originally Posted by vztrt

This one?? That is very low fuel usage but what will the cost be of the unit and servicing. Mind you I would ask the same question (servicing cost) about the Lexus.

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-new...222-1b3tc.html

That's the one, I am curious as to how the driving dynamics change throughout the rev range given the difference in torque and power curves between the electric motor and the diesel engine.