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The Lexus CT 200h launched in Australia since March of this year, and this hybrid hatch has won a prestigious Australia’s Best Cars Awards in its first year on the market. The CT 200h took honours in the Best Small Car over $35,000 category, ahead of diesel-powered rivals from Europe.

Judges from the motoring clubs of each Australian state assessed in excess of 200 vehicles against 19 criteria under the criteria of value for money, design, and road performance.

The Lexus CT 200h is powered by a 1.8-litre petrol electric full-hybrid drivetrain. The Lexus CT 200h consumes just 4.1 litres of fuel for every 100km and emit 95 grams of CO2/km. Safety and operating economy were given strong consumer weighting in the year-long evaluation.

Lexus Australia chief executive Tony Cramb said that the Best Car Award for CT 200h was a vote of confidence for Lexus’ newest hybrid.

“Lexus is the only luxury manufacturer to offer a range of hybrid vehicles in Australia and this award only serves to reinforce the importance of this technology now and in the future,” Mr Cramb said.

“CT 200h was the first vehicle in its class to offer hybrid and the first to bring leading safety features, such as Pre-Collision Safety System to the small car market.

“Furthermore, CT 200h is a hybrid that backs up its environmental credentials with great driving dynamics and proves that a small economical luxury hatch can be fun to drive.

“Since launch CT 200h has firmly established itself as a true competitor in its class by offering an innovative driveline, superior specification, outstanding value and access to Lexus’ industry-leading service and support programs,” Mr Cramb said.

The award for CT 200h also comes of the back of strong sales results, with the hybrid hatch posting the highest sales for any luxury hatch in the month of October.

Photo Gallery: Lexus CT 200h Australia

Perhaps you wonder why is so quiet at FastMotoring.com over the week. Simple, we are getting more real stories and interesting stuffs. Since the latest Lexus CT 200h had made its debut in Japan this month, one of our crew members went to Tokyo to check it out.

Paving the way for a new Lexus era, the CT 200h is a 5-door hatchback combining the vitality of agile driving with dynamic, sporty styling to provide an experience that excites and motivates both drivers and passengers.

Its high level of body rigidity, a newly developed suspension and steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters for driver control achieves both agile handling and riding comfort. With the CT 200h, you can choose to enjoy Excitement or Serenity as the Drive Mode Select feature allows drivers to switch between different acceleration and steering sensitivities and gauge displays as wanted.

The fuel efficiency is measured using the 10-15 test cycle of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the CT 200h returned a fuel efficiency of 32 km/litre (close to 3.15 litre/100km).

The power plant of the CT 200h is based on the combination of the 1.8-litre Atkinson cycle combustion engine (similar engine as Prius) and Lexus Hybrid Drive technology mated with Electronically Controlled Continuously Variable Transmission (ECVT). The combustion engine churns 99PS (73kW) @ 5,200rpm with a max torque of 142Nm @ 4,000rpm. The electric motor (permanent magnet synchronous motor/168-cell NiMh electric drivetrain) churns another 82PS (60kW) with a max torque of 207Nm. The combined power output is 136PS (100kW).

With the chassis, engine, motor, transmission and battery cells, the car weight at 1,420kg.

Performance

- Maximum Speed 180 km/h

- Acceleration (0-100 km/h) 10.3 secs

- Minimum Turning Radius 5.2 m

- Drive modes ECO,EV, Normal and SPORT

In Japan, Lexus is targeting the sales of 1,500 units per month in their domestic market. The new Lexus CT 200h is assembled at Miyata Plant, Toyota Motor Kyushu, Inc.

There are a few variants of CT 200h in Japan. Based on the model that we had inspected, the Version C is selling at ¥ 4,197,300 and it is equivalent close to RM 160,000 (based on today’s forex rate).

In Malaysia, the Lexus CT 200h is currently pre-launch and open for booking with 2 variants (CT 200h and CT 200h Luxury). The standard CT 200h is price at RM 172,603.90 (On-the-road with Insurance for Individual Private) and the CT 200h Luxury is price at RM 201,857.90 (On-the-road with Insurance for Individual Private).

Between the 2 variants, the major differences that we scoped between are:-

- No L.E.D. Auto Levelling Headlamp

- No power front seat controller for Driver

- No Smart Entry

- No Electro Multi Vision (EMV) screen

- No rain sensing wipers

- No rear reverse camera

- No Lexus navigation system

- No remote touch controller

- No Bluetooth hands-free

- No Audio System Upgrades (8 Subwoofer, amplifier, 10-speakers Vs 6-speakers)

- No Security Horn & Intrusion Sensor

After we had inspected the Lexus CT 200h in Japan, the car looks stylish and sporty. The built quality is perfect and detailed from inside out. With the tax exemption of Hybrid cars in Malaysia, we highly recommend the new 2011 Lexus CT 200h in one of your buying list.

Photo Gallery: 2011 Lexus CT 200h in Japan

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