2013 Vs 2014

[Rich2508]

Took my 2013 CT200h Luxury Nav, in for its 20,000 miles service today and got a 2014 model year Advance as a courtesy car. Seeing as I did 150 miles in it I thought I would post up my views. Obviously not equippec to same spec as mine, but beating this in mind.

Good points

Exterior styling up close was nicer, really liked the new 17 inch wheels

Ride upto 40mph seemed much better, over this speed couldn't tell much difference.

Engine note seemed more subdued when at full revs

Despite only having the basic Lexus Sat Nav, seemed just as efficient as the much more expensive Premium Nav in mine

Seemed to pick up better in Sport Mode Compared to mine

Bad points

Hated the remote control for audio and Nav, much less intuitive than the old version - not sure if you get this with the premium Nav pack though?

Steering wheel buttons much more difficult to select, the Mode and Select buttons on the old steering wheel you can press without taking your hands off the wheel.

Ghastly suede effect seats - got in and thought it looked like they were covered in stains, but it's the way the fibre moves. This is a huge step back on the Tahora fake leather in the old Advance

For me, unless you really want the newer styling I prefer the old model especially if you are comparing the old Advance with the new one and if you can save some more cash. If you want the newer styling then the bad points aren't deal breakers. Until I got into the showroom I was pretty happy to have another CT when the lease comes up on this one, but then I saw an NX 300h for the first time that's now top of my list, even though the tax advantages are nowhere near as good!

[AlwaysEddie]

Mine is due in for service in the next couple of weeks. Wonder which courtesy car model they'll give me. It is the same model as yours, after one year I'm still very happy with it. Hope it keeps that way.

Thanks for letting us know of your experience with the new 2014 model.

[KDS]

The NX is flying out 10000 last month across Europe - but bear in mind it's base model is the virtually same price as premium ct and the premium NX is 10k more - the NX mpg is in the 50's so real world will be much less than that and the emissions are well over 100 so car tax will feature I think - but is does look good :)

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[adnewton]

I own 2011 model and had a 2014 when mine went in for steering knock.

I have to say I was relieved to get back into mine after 3 days in 2014 model.

I agree with steering wheel buttons and remote for screen. Won't go for NX though next.

[ColinBarber]

The NX is flying out 10000 last month across Europe

10,000 orders/pre-orders across several months. Looks like Lexus GB registered 429 in October.

[200h]

i liked the full glass roof ,the inductive phone charging under the centre arm rest and the bigger boot the nx has to offer ,its alot bigger than i thought it would be.nice though

[Desmond]

I thought about waiting for the NX when I got my new CT in September but only had to read the specs to see that it wouldn't go in my garage. Well, it would but I would have to enter and exit the car via the hatch or the sunroof.

Had a look at the NX last week and it does look nice. However I'm more than happy with my CT Luxury and I don't have to be a contortionist either. :D

[Rich2508]

Yes it was the size that struck me, when I went in the showroom I hadn't realised it was launched yet and as I walked by it I thought it was an RX, i had to close the open tailgate to check the badge! A lot of negative reports about the ride comfort and I think only the basic S model will be within my lease budget, so interesting to see one in this spec miss the bigger wheels and full leather the showroom ones had. I particularly liked the flat rear floor, just like the CT, great when I have to fit my three children in - the huge transmission tunnel in the back of the IS300h put me off having one of those last time.

[PaulWhitt20]

I too was struck by the size of the NX. It's bigger than I expected, but with the sloping tailgate would you be able to get, for example, a washing machine in the back. Like the CT and RX the boot does not seem to be as practical as an estate car.

[PaulWhitt20]

To get back to the topic of the original post.

I have not driven a 2014 model yet but on paper there does not seem to be a big enough difference to want me to spend more money on upgrading. I'll stick with the 2013 advance. I will wait for my 3 year contract to be up and then see what the 2016 new model looks like.

[Scoops]

I did drive the 2014 model and found it to be a big improvement. Mostly in noise and comfort, the remapped gearbox was an extremely subtle difference but still noticeable. The car as a whole felt more complete. Also the inclusion of a space saver spare saved you £600 or so if you wanted to do it properly.

The new Prius is due in 2016 which will surely point the way for the new CT although I wouldn't expect the new CT in 2016, the year after seems more likely to me.