Hybrid Auris/Lexus/Prius Owners

pm1977x

Hi all,

I'm thinking of buying a Lexus CT200h or Auris Hybrid or Prius, 2012-2015 depending on cost. Any owners care to share their opinions on their respective vehicles? I'm going to test drive them all but nothing more valuable than hearing from people who drive them day in, day out.

I'm leaning towards the Lexus on paper but have heard it's a bit uncomfortable due to stiff suspension?

Ihackedboardz

I have the IS300H & I'm delighted with it, have had it for about 18 months now, it's a little bit bigger than the CT200H which I've driven several times also, which is a great car imo, your best is to take a test drive...

It would want to be something really special to entice me away from the Lexus brand for my next car, although if someone gave me a Tesla S I might be for turning


Worth noting, there's a awful lot more choice in the UK & the prices are great at the moment... perfect time to import one me thinks!

The missus drives a 171 Auris which has all the tech, lovely car as well...Toyota & by extension Lexus are pretty much bomb proof & its no coincidence so many taxis are the big T...
if you have any specific questions fire away

pm1977x

Thanks for the reply - can I ask what is it about the Lexus brand that has won you over so much?

I've previously had a look at the 300h but it would be at the edge of my budget and is maybe a bit big for what I want. Undoubtedly it's much better looking than the 200h though, beautiful car!

How does the infotainment/GPS screen hold up after 18 months as I hear there's no updates ever from Lexus and it gets marked down on this front?

Did you find it hard to adjust to driving a CVT or had you driven one before?

bp_me

I've had a '12 Auris hybrid for a few years now. If you have any specific questions just ask away and I'll get back on them.

Only negatives for me are boot space and it's a little bit low on power for my taste (but more than adequate).

CT200H essentially same car but I believe worse economy.

pm1977x

bp_me wrote: »

I've had a '12 Auris hybrid for a few years now. If you have any specific questions just ask away and I'll get back on them.

Only negatives for me are boot space and it's a little bit low on power for my taste (but more than adequate).

CT200H essentially same car but I believe worse economy.

Thanks for the reply - when you say 'low on power' is it a struggle overtaking or just not the fastest car you've driven?

Is it comfortable to drive short/long distance, from a seat/suspension point of view?

bp_me

pm1977x wrote: »

Thanks for the reply - when you say 'low on power' is it a struggle overtaking or just not the fastest car you've driven?

Is it comfortable to drive short/long distance, from a seat/suspension point of view?

Its a long way from the fastest car I've owned which may be part of the issue. Mostly it's adequate and most of my long distance driving is done on motorway where's it's a lesser issue anyway. I hope that whatever I replace it with will be a decent bit more powerful.

The longest single trip without stopping was about 400km. When travelling we tend to do decent distances in a single day (e.g. last year bordeaux to roscoff ~8hrs, this year Flevoland to Fishguard via channel tunnel in a single day). For me the seats are fine but your mileage may vary. I find it pretty good from a NVH point of view.

pm1977x

bp_me wrote: »

Its a long way from the fastest car I've owned which may be part of the issue. Mostly it's adequate and most of my long distance driving is done on motorway where's it's a lesser issue anyway. I hope that whatever I replace it with will be a decent bit more powerful.

The longest single trip without stopping was about 400km. When travelling we tend to do decent distances in a single day (e.g. last year bordeaux to roscoff ~8hrs, this year Flevoland to Fishguard via channel tunnel in a single day). For me the seats are fine but your mileage may vary. I find it pretty good from a NVH point of view.

Okay, good to know on all counts, cheers.

n97 mini

We had a 2010 Prius from 2013 to 2016. Tbh I wasn't a huge fan: boat-like handling and fuel economy that was almost indistinguishable from the Civic IMA it replaced (which, all round, was a much nicer car). That (they) belonged to my wife. I was so impressed with my her Civic IMA that I bought one myself (a 2004 model in 2007). I'm looking to replace it atm, not sure with what yet but it's looking like another Civic (now badged Hybrid rather than IMA, though the basic tech hasn't changed).

bp_me

n97 mini wrote: »

We had a 2010 Prius from 2013 to 2016. Tbh I wasn't a huge fan: boat-like handling ).

The auris definitely drives better than the MK3 Prius having tried both but. Supposedly the MK4 drives more like a normal car

Upon reflection ild probably have preferred to live with the Prius handling than the auris boot space...but the auris I could afford at the time was 2 years newer than the in budget Prius.

Miscreant

I have a 2012 Auris Hybrid and absolutely love it. I replaced a Volvo S60 with it and have not looked back.
The fuel economy is quite good but I can’t for the life of me match the claimed 74MPG that Toyota state
The car itself is the top line T-Spirit model and is a UK import that I bought at 2 years old and have now done about 60k Kms in it without issue. I understand why some would say the car is underpowered but I have found it adequate and quite punchy off the line with the extra torque of the electric motor when it kicks in. The boot space is a little tight but I believe the later model Auris addresses this as it was designed with the hybrid powertrain in mind as opposed to having it retro fitted. That being said, there are only 2 of us in the house and the boot will swallow up a week’s worth of shopping or all of our baggage when we head off to Galway for a few days without issue. You might have a problem if you have a buggy as there will be very little space for anything else in there.
It is very good on the motorway and the cruise control I find to be a God send (I know some people say cruise is less fuel efficient but I am more than willing to take the hit on a long drive). If you have children, then I don’t see any issues with the back seats and restraints as I have had nephews and neices in there with booster seats and they have all been fine.
Overall, in the 3 and a half years I have owned the car, I have averaged 58MPG which I think is more than acceptable for me considering my previous car struggled to make 30! I do mostly city driving and use the M50 every morning to work and back (only about a 10km stretch of it) and then potter around for the rest of the time heading to see family and so on. I have managed to stretch the fuel economy in to the 60s MPG wise but I think that is realistically the limit without seriously holding up the traffic behind you.
On the subject of a Lexus CT200H, I have a sister in-law who bought one recently and although the interior of the car is nicer than mine (she has red leather seats and sat-nav whereas mine is black half leather and no sat-nav), there seems to be more room in the Auris as the Lexus seats are just that little bit bigger overall. The drive is pretty identical but the Lexus does feel heavier so I imagine that will affect the fuel economy somewhat. If it was my choice and not down to economics, I would still choose the Auris as I think it is better value for money.
If I have missed out anything here let me know and I will answer any other questions you may have. I can’t speak with any experience about the Prius as although I have test driven one, I found it to be too large for my needs so moved on.

Ihackedboardz

Hi pm1977x
The attention to detail in the Lexus is outstanding, no creaks or noises, everything feels nice, the seats are near Volvo standards in comfiness (Volvo is known to have the best seats in the car industry period!). The inside of the Lexus is just a really nice place to be...
The outside of the IS imo looks fantastic, you'll always catch people looking at it trying to work out what it is!

The hybrid system is very refined which obviously is very similar to Toyota hybrids... driving a CVT is sooo easy & is perfect if like me your stuck in bloody traffic all day, I know it gets a bad rap from the media but how often are you driving around a race track? The car isn't a Porsche but it was never supposed to be. If you stick it in sport mode it's quite lively & I've never had any issues with over taking or gunning it (obviously within speed limits naturally ). In fact with the cvt you have to be careful as you don't notice how fast your going as it's so refined... Again, a test drive would be ideal to see if it suits you!

Regards infotainment/ GPS I suppose that would be it's weak point, although I've used the GPS all over the UK/ Ireland with no issues it could be easier to use (google maps would be streets ahead) & the live traffic updates on the map don't work in Ireland but do just fine in the UK...

In Regards to music etc, there's no issues, speakers are very good, good reception on DAB/ FM, spotify through blue tooth/ ipods plays nice with the car with artist info etc & can be controlled no bother from the steering wheel


All in all a very good package

pm1977x

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciate the inside info and the level of detail some of you have gone into - plenty of food for thought - next stop the test drives!

zilog_jones

The CT200h, Auris Hybrid (2012-) and 3rd gen Prius (2009-2015) all have the same powertrain. A common complaint with earlier Toyota hybrids was poor fuel economy and noise at motorway speeds, but these are much improved - sticking to 120 km/h in the Prius I'll get around 50-52 MPG, and at 100km/h it's more like 58-60 MPG. Engine speed will generally stay under 2000 RPM unless accelerating hard or climbing hills.

I have a 2012 Prius Plug-in - it's more or less the same as the standard 3rd gen Prius, but with a much larger battery and the ability to charge off the mains. For this I lose space under the boot floor for a spare wheel. They were sold in the UK but not here (only the new Plug-in is). I get around 15-16km range on a full charge, compared to the standard Prius which will do about 2-3 km in EV Mode (more of a gimmick in that car). For long distance driving it functions more or less the same as a standard Prius (EV Mode speed limit is 85 km/h, so it runs like a normal hybrid after that).

Regarding the handling, it's not the worst (certainly better than older Prius). I'm considering getting a rear sway bar (stabiliser bar) as it's supposed to make a significant improvement, but will make things generally stiffer.

There was a facelift to the Prius in 2012 with several minor improvements (interior, etc.) - most obvious way to tell is the lights on the front bumper. I have the JBL stereo which was available on higher trim levels in UK (standard on Plug-in; only with real leather seats in Ireland IIRC) which sounds quite good, but the touchscreen/satnav is a bit crap. Only get free map updates for 3 years, and no live traffic in Ireland.

Some of the interior uses quite thin hard plastic, and can rattle on rough roads - probably the worst part of this generation Prius. I'm sure the CT200h is much better in that respect, though it has less space inside. Features like the HUD are great, and cruise control with an automatic makes a lot more sense. I've driven Cork to Belfast and found it quite comfortable.

yannakis

I imported a 2010 Prius T-spirit from the UK a year ago and have driven about 19k km since. Cabin size and fuel economy were the main drivers for me; brand reliability and warranty is a great plus.

Cabin Size
Low dash, and plenty of open space for the front passengers. Legroom for everyone at the back.

Fuel Economy
During the summer months (less cabin heating use, shorter engine warm-up), I am constantly above 60MPG (below 4.7l/100km) even when roadtripping with 4-5 people in the car. This powertrain performs fantastically at speeds <100km/h.

Warranty
If you do the Hybrid Health Check with Toyota once a year, your Hybrid system's warranty is extended by 1 year (up to a total of 10 years).