- 2011 Lexus CT 200h will get a Drive Mode Select feature as standard equipment.
- The four driving modes are Normal, Eco, EV and Sport.
- CT 200h will be displayed at the 2010 Paris Auto Show.
TORRANCE, California — Lexus has announced that its upcoming fifth hybrid, the 2011 CT 200h, will get a Drive Mode Select feature as standard from launch. The feature will let the driver choose among four driving modes. The CT 200h will be displayed at the 2010 Paris Auto Show later this month.
Lexus says the point of the Drive Mode Select is to allow "highly distinct characters" for more driver choice. Waxing poetic, the company calls the CT 200h's "hybrid attitude" the Darker Side of Green.
The four driving modes are Normal, Eco, EV and Sport. The first three are intended to emphasize "more relaxed driving" including smooth acceleration and minimal interior noise. The EV mode is for speeds under 25 mph and for up to a mile, on electric motor power unaided by the engine. Eco mode reduces throttle response to "aggressive" use of the accelerator and modifies the air-conditioning for the best fuel economy.
As its name suggests, Sport mode is the most dynamic choice, with faster response to driver input, higher rpm and more direct steering feedback. Operation of Lexus' vehicle stability control and traction control systems is "less intrusive" for more driving fun, the automaker says.
The Normal, EV and Eco modes use a "hybrid blue" backlighting on the instrument panel and show a hybrid power indicator. In Sport mode, the backlighting changes to red and the hybrid power indicator is swapped out for a tachometer.
Inside Line says: Might be tempting to leave it in Sport. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
lsobboh says:
08:03 AM, 09/06/2010
Plus, I hope Toyota can use the CT 200h as an idea when redesigning.... I don't know.... lets say THE NEW TOYOTA MATRIX to replace the current car which, in my opinion, looks like a shoe...
lsobboh says:
07:56 AM, 09/06/2010
@ eldaino2: Well, since we're refreshing everybody's memory, might I add that the first hybrid was actually produced by Toyota (not Honda), and that the Prius (and Insight) has a wedged-like shape not because anyone is copying, but because that happens to be the shape that allows the least drag. Also, plenty of automakers change the appearance of the instrument cluster as the driving modes change, so I guess Lexus is copying Honda, who is copying Ford, who is copying.... wait... where was I again?
Also, this car doesn't copy the CR-Z. The CT 200h has been a project in Lexus' and Toyota's books for a while now (before the CR-Z even came out), Honda just did it faster. In other words, it was rushed (hence why it's been getting such negative reviews now)
While I'll admit that the CT 200h is a answer to a question NO ONE asked, we have to admit ourselves that sometimes we don't know what we're missing. With that said, I actually like the idea of a luxurious (well, entry level), fuel efficient hatch. Not as a primary car, but as a commuter car for daily tasks around the city, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks like that. Thank you.
zoolander1 says:
06:44 PM, 09/05/2010
Lexus need to keep walking away from Toyota. rebadging a successful Prius brings Lexus back to mistakes made by Ford and GM before. I owned a IS350 for 3 years and I can testify that it is an amazing car. But I wouldn't buy an ES350 or a CT 200h, which are rebadged Toyotas.
aston_dbs says:
07:57 AM, 09/03/2010
Nice "nicked"! LOL...
But believe this or not,
Some 1d10ts will surely buy this car based on its ability to change the dashboard color from Red to Blue to whatever... ;-)
IMO, Lexus is just a purely overpriced Toyota...
nicked says:
03:48 AM, 09/03/2010
The four driving modes are Normal(Boring), Eco(Very Boring), EV(Sleeping) and Sport(Are you serious?).
charlesb says:
10:56 PM, 09/02/2010
Hatchback in America don't sell very well. Luxury hatches aren't going to change that trend.
icecubefosho says:
08:00 PM, 09/02/2010
The only thing Lexus has remotely resembling sport is the IS-F and the LF-A. This "Sport" button I'm sure is going to be nothing to wow over at all. If I wanted a sport hybrid for some odd and ridiculous reason, I'd get a CRZ.
blueguydotcom says:
06:16 PM, 09/02/2010
Toyota must be smoking something to think their lousy Lexus hybrid offerings are even decent cars.
redliner says:
03:34 PM, 09/02/2010
Sport mode is set up the way the engineers actually wanted the car to perform. Normal is the mode where all the compromises have been made in order to game the EPA tests. By putting a sport button on it they can have the best of both worlds.
eldaino2 says:
03:32 PM, 09/02/2010
so first toyota copies (though everyone seems to not remember) the insight and crx's basic shape for thier bread and butter hybrid (with the addtion of two doors) and now they are ripping off the current insight and cr-z with the back lighting chaniging on the mode you are in. bravo for the original thinkers at toyota.