Lexus CT vs Toyota Prius C
What's the difference?

Lexus CT

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2018 price

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Toyota Prius C

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2018 price

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Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Mercedes-Benz A35

Mercedes-Benz A45

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Mercedes-Benz E53

Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class

Summary

2018 Lexus CT

2018 Toyota Prius C

By Tim Robson

By Andrew Chesterton

Safety Rating

Engine Type

Inline 4, 1.8L

Inline 4, 1.5L

Fuel Type

Premium Unleaded/Electric

Unleaded Petrol/Electric

Fuel Efficiency

4.1L/100km (combined)

3.9L/100km (combined)

Seating

Likes

Miserly fuel use
Eye-catching exterior design
Surprisingly quick away from lights

Dislikes

Feels record-player old in places
Some cabin materials feel cheap
Standard safety is underdone

2018 Lexus CT Summary

There are two ways to look at the Lexus CT200h; as either the cheapest model in the Japanese company’s range, or as a planet-saving hybrid.

Either way, the four-door, five-seat CT200h hatch – which has been updated for 2018 – differs from the rest of the Japanese luxury brand’s lineup for a number of different reasons.

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2018 Toyota Prius C Summary

See if you can guess the name of the world's first ride-sharing app. You're thinking Uber, right? Nope. It was a company called Sidecar. It's broke now, shuttered for good in 2015. What about the first video-on-demand service? Netflix? Nope. Amazon beat them to it, for starters, but so did many other, now-defunct companies who tried it even earlier.

The point is, being first on the scene is no guarantee you'll be the best, or the most successful. I mean, just look at electric cars; plenty of manufacturers were doing all-battery models before (and arguably better than) Tesla, and every one of them is now parked in Elon Musk's gargantuan shadow.

Before full-electric there were hybrids, and first to arrive on that particular scene in any meaningful way was Toyota and its awkwardly shaped Prius, back in 2001. And they had that field to themselves for a while, but soon enough the other manufacturers trotted out hybrid and plug-in hybrid models of their own.

And so Toyota shook up the Prius offering, launching the seven-seat Prius V, and the bite-sized (and Yaris-based) Prius c we've tested here, in 2012, hoping to broaden the appeal of its hybrid offerings. Problem is, 2012 was an awfully long time ago, and so Toyota has waved its wand over the ageing Prius c for 2018, changing its design, tech offering and interior in an effort to keep it fresh.

So, is the Japanese giant still head of the hybrid class? Or has it been beaten at its own game?

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Deep dive comparison

2018 Lexus CT 2018 Toyota Prius C

Verdict

The cheapest Lexus of them all isn’t chasing badge snobs with the CT200h as blatantly as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi do with their entry level cars… but it’s perhaps not quite the Lexus you’d expect it to be.

It has a lovely front-of-cabin, for example, but there’s a lot of last-gen Prius in plain sight in the rear of the cabin.

The hybrid powertrain, too, is noble in concept, but the day-to-day reality is that it’s not as nice to drive, especially town to town, as a regular petrol-powered car of similar size.

The foot brake, silly multimedia joystick and odd gearshifter also spoilt the party a bit.

Empty nesters who are looking for a nice city runaround with a tinge of greenwash about it will love it… and if the current Prius is anything to go by, the next CT will be a very good thing indeed.

Verdict

It's as if the the future is firmly rooted in the past at Toyota. The Prius is still undoubtedly clever, frugal and easy to drive, but it is feeling so old in places that the bad had begun to weigh on the good. If you're a tech-head or have a right foot crafted from lead, then there's nothing to see here. But if the thought of saving money at the bowser sets your heart aflutter, then step right this way.

Lexus CT vs Toyota Prius C What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

Lexus CT vs Toyota Prius C
What's the difference?