Hi John, Brent and Vlad.
Apologise for the late reply, I hadn't received any email notifications, I've now checked my notifications options and made the appropriate changes so hopefully that'll fix that.
Yes, fair question, I guess?
My current car is the very exciting Golf MK6 1.6D Match, finished in the equally exciting grey! So, blends in with all the other grey boxes on the road, but that being said has been a very reliable and comfortable car for the last five years, so why would did I buy it? Well long story short, I was living in Hampshire at the time, just outside Southampton and was very happy with my Audi TT MKII, TFSI but changes in circumstances meant moving back home to London, so needed a sensible car, hence the Golf.
So why am I now looking to change?
Well, it's not necessarily by choice, it's the ULEZ which is coming in later this year and my car isn't ULEZ compliant. However, I long made the decision that my next car was going to be a hybrid of some kind, and having looked at various options: GOLF GTE, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota Prius and a Toyota Auris it became clear that the obvious choice was going to be a Lexus.
The thing that stood out having read numerous reviews and comments in countless YouTube videos was the reliability, and given that there are countless Priuses -which as you know uses the same running gear - used as minicabs all over the world, it's fair to say the technology was well proven. Not only that but Lexus after sales service and of course the fit and finish of their cars were just some of the main standout points.
But why the CT200h?
I'm a practical minded person by nature and although the IS300h is a handsome looking car, it's a got a boot, so not for me, the last car I owned that had a boot was MK5 Cortina (yeah, I'm that old). If Lexus made an IS300h with a hatch I'd be all over it! No, I like the look of the CT200h, sure it's a little quirky (rear door shut lines) but that's part of its charm, there's nothing else quite like it on the road. It's been catching my eye over the last year or so while driving around London, especially the later models with the revised grill, so maybe subconsciously it was inevitable? Coincidently two colleagues at work have recently purchased one; One a Sport and the other an Advance model. I've sat in the Sport but not as yet been out for a ride or taken it for a spin, but was impressed with the layout and finish.
I'm leaning toward the F-Sport, I read that the rear lateral dampers improve the ride and I like that mesh grill. I'll need to take one for a test ride first though, failing that then maybe the Sport or the Premier?
Well, that's me, I'll be sure you keep you all posted on my progress.
Mike