Lexus Wants To Make The CT200h Faster, Suck Less

Hey, do you want to show the world you somewhat care about the environment, tell your neighbors that you just got a raise and still justify to your spouse an extravagant purchase? Lexus' next iteration of the CT200h just might be for you!

The CT200h is no one's idea of a performance car, but it does appeal to someone who wants a Prius but doesn't want to drive a Prius. Because of this, Lexus has a small niche of buyers who go after this thing.

But with the Mercedes-Benz CLA, BMW 2-Series and the Audi A3 all competing for entry-level luxury buyers, Lexus realized they might have missed a window of opportunity with the CT200h. They might be fixing that, according to Motoring.com.au. A top Lexus exec says the company is not only considering making the current CT200h hatch go faster, but possibly adding a four-door sedan as well.

"You had the people who loved the CT's hybrid powertrain, the markets that need that kind of powertrain, and the people who are eco friendly or want to save that money on gas and that's great," said Templin.

"But we missed a segment of the market for people who want fast cars; because a lot of people liked the looks and liked the way it drove so they wanted something faster. So yeah sure in the future, I hope we can account for that."

Emphasis mine. But Motoring points out that the CT may no longer be a hybrid-only model since a new 2.0L turbo deubts in the LF-NX concept in Tokyo this week.

Lexus hasn't ruled out a traditional ICE powertrain on the CT, so we'll just have to wait and see if they want the aspirational luxury buyer bad enough or if they'll defeat the purpose of their original mission.