Spec me a Hybrid.

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Straight to the point. It will be used primarily as a family car, and potentially used as a private hire later vehicle later on (think part time Uber).

Requirements are
2015 or newer.
Hybrid.
Budget: £15k Max.
Keep for 5-7 years.
High mpgzzz

I have looked into the Lexus Ct200h which seems to be a more fancier Prius, and I've seen plenty being used as private hires.

Is there anything else which I should consider?

EDIT: I have looked at diesels also, such as a the Mercedes e300 hybrid, but have read of some having issues with the batteries?

Alternatively I have also considered a diesel such as Octavia VRS/Passat but not sure if it's worth the risk now with how the government are banning away with diesels.

 

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I really like the ct200h. What about a 330e although budget may be an issue there?

Totally forgot about the 330e. I think a decent one will be out of budget. Most lower than the budget are 100k miles or a little over. The ct200h's I've browsed are the 30-50k mile bracket.

 

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Just a small update. Having spoken to a few people and looking at my needs as well as taking advice on board from this thread (thank you), I am in somewhat a still confused state.

The Lexus Ct200h fits the bill, it'll be economic, reliable, and I suppose a nice play to be (if you can get over the interior and firm suspension ride). The downside is the size of the boot and gutless performance. Should I have passengers who wish to travel to airports with excess luggage I suppose I'll have to miss out on those jobs as 3 full sized suitcases in the back would probably be a tight fit. It will probably be tight for family activities and travel as well.

A friend as a is300h, he doesn't rate it much for Effiency but the ride and drive is good. He also mentioned he had to shorten the base of the middle seat in the rear bench due to some sort of height restrictions with regards to Uber.

This then leads me onto the octavia vrs. Seems to fit the bill perfectly. Nice place to be and plenty of power and space in the estate. Although, the worry is diesel reliability. Seems to have a bit of an issue with waterpumps leaking, turbo, injectors and I suppose everything else that comes with diesels (dpf looking at you), but then again a car with warranty and low mileage should be ok?

Again, not sure what the government will do with diesels in the prolonged future but I would like to keep the car for at least 3-5 years. Hybrid seems to be a better "future proof" investment. But again, I'm still confused about it all.

In short the ct200h and Octavia vrs seem to attract me the most but both two different cars in their own right.

 

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@Psycho Sonny out of interest what are your real world mpg figures of the ct200h? I ask as I was speaking to a p/h driver and he mentioned it's around £50 tank and a range of 400-450 miles city driving.

The only thing which is a let down for me is the size of the boot. It's firm contender along with the octavia vrs estate.

 

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I had a CT200h in 2012 and was getting pretty much dead on 50mpg. But like I said I don't think it will make a good taxi.

Loads in p/h here so they must be ok. I did ask the owner of it what he did if travelling to airport and he said he could put one of the back seats down and it was fine for luggage if not carrying excessive amounts.

 

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Update; so I went to view a ct200h and a Octavia vrs. I disregarded both. The ct200h because of the boot, it just isn't big enough, I didn't really mind the rest of the car.

The octavia vrs is a car that seemed to do everything well. But, I didn't gel with the seats, they were quite firm and I felt like on a longer journey they wouldn't be the most comfortable. The diesel engine felt fine but I just keep having this niggle in the back of my mind that investing in a diesel car isn't the best thing to do.

Having said that, they did have a Skoda Superb LK edition which I did take a liking to. Huge boot, lovely seats and a lot of tech. The rear leg room was impressive too. But again, the one I saw was diesel. I did not drive this car but I assume it's a nice wafter.

I am now looking at the auris estate on a 2016. I think this will be the best compromise of everything I require. Space, mpg and reliability. I can get past looks.

How is the wind noise on the motorway? That's for anyone who owns one. The Lexus didn't seem all that bad tbh.

 

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Final update: Drove an Auris Estate, the boot was a great size but I did not like the rest of the car. It just doesn't feel like a nice place to be in. Probably because the one I saw didn't have much options.

I then did some more thinking and despite the size of the ct200hs boot, it was the only car I kept coming back too. I prefer the interior, the drive and how generally well built it feels. I made a compromise on the boot size.

So I purchased a 2016 F-Sport in Mercury Grey from Lexus Approved used.

 

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I prefer the hatch tbh, just helps with city parking. It's probably the first car I've had which I truly liked. I'm very happy with my choice, and that's a first because I usually aren't.

 

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I have an F Sport too and albeit they are pretty much fully loaded the sports suspension and large alloys make the ride quality horrific.

I in hindsight would have opted for one of the other premium trim levels. If you can I'd look at swapping it for a much more comfortable model in terms of ride.

I'm going to try sticking bigger tyres on if they will fit.

In all honesty I haven't really noticed the ride to be that harsh. It is somewhat firm but nothing like what I'd imagined from the reviews. Doesn't feel much harsher than what my E90 on 19" and msport suspension felt like.

Sadly, I have a small issue with the car where the rain sensor for the auto function doesn't seem to be working. Having finally heard back from the dealer about a spare key which they promised to notify me about last week but didn't, I mentioned this. Sales guy I dealt with said in his words "are hit and miss" depending on the rain. Urm, sorry but they're really not. So they'll have a look into that when they code the key to my car.

I am not confident in this dealer tbh, felt like they've dragged their feet once they got my money but I have the relevant channels there informed about my issue should I need to escalate a complaint.

I would really dislike to return this car as I really do like it.

 

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There is a sensitivity sensor for the rain sensor on the stalk I believe.

I would say the sensor is a bit too sensitive it wipes when there is no rain so you stick it on low then you have to whack it on high when it gets really heavy (the sensitivity that is).

I will double check but I am sure there should be a gel piece between the sensor and windscreen itself. Mine does not have this which I think may be the issue.

Can you confirm if your windscreen says lexus in the bottom right corner?

 

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i won't be able to for a couple of days now. the weather is atrocious and i won't be using the car tomorrow so possibly Wednesday before i can have a look.

Well the windscreen has been replaced on mine. Something which I wasn't made aware of at the time of sale, and to be honest I didn't pay attention to as I was buying approved used.

Lexus did say they fixed the "sensor" as it was loose, and it should work fine on the auto setting. Well, it was raining that day, and lo and behold it didn't work. I then questioned them that their "150" point check must have been a very quick one.

I explained that there should be a gel piece between the sensor and screen and how it can be overlooked is beyond me. So it's booked in for that and possibly a new sensor to rectify the issue. A bit annoying but the service has somewhat been decent.

However, I am enjoying the car. I think it does everything really well and it's pretty much what I expected.

 

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The sensor on a CT200h screen isn't massive at all.

The sensor itself doesn't get changed during a windscreen replacement either.

It's unclipped from the bracket, removed and refitted to the new screen

Gel piece between sensor and windscreen? Does this come with an aftermarket screen or is it replaced/reused?

 

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Replaced or reused.

Generally reused as the Toyota/Lexus ones peel away without tearing

Hopefully this should fix my issue. Surprised whoever replaced the screen missed it.

 

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I've had a variety of cars over the years. I pretty much came from high revving 220hp saloon, and before that a close to 400hp/560lbft of torque diesel.

This car is built mainly for economy, it is also a city car which is built well and has most mod cons you could ask for.

It isn't fast, don't expect it to be. Sport mode helps with slip roads but don't slam the accelerator. It's much better progressive.

Buy the car in the sense of it not costing much to run. You cant have it all. If you want economy and performance a diesel would be a better bet, but not forgetting the reliability aspects that come with them.

Try before you buy, that is my advice. The ride isnt bad, I don't understand why people slate it. I haven't found it to be as harsh or crashy as they have stated. But I think that maybe due to the fact that the suspension was revised in 2015, so I was told.

They're good cars, and that's me being honest. I do wish the boot was bigger. But aside from that I can't really moan much about the car if at all.

 

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Well I discovered today having the heater off helps with having ev mode kick in more. I find that strange as I didn't think the engine would be used more with the heater but there you go.

 

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In the city this car excells on fuel economy. You can use ev mode in stop start/local traffic which helps a lot. I'm averaging circa 50mpg, but that's including motorway driving and a/b roads all at speed limit speeds.

Compared to the diesels, I do feel the newer ones give great economy but it was the reliability of things 'possibly' going wrong which swung it for for petrol + electric.

 

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Thats not to bad at all.

It's reasonable. £40~ full tank and circa with the mixed driving I can get 400ish miles out of it. Bearing in mind the tank is 45 litres. Whenever I've filled up from the range showing 10 miles left it's taken 33l~ or there abouts.

I like it. For my needs and phv it's perfect.

 

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I'm surprised at some of the low mpg figures being quoted here, you have a plug in and only get 50mpg? I get way over that with a regular hybrid, my current mileage is 15,000 miles from new @ 68mpg. If I go on a long trip & don't get near 80mpg+ I'm disappointed

It is not a plug in hybrid. It's engine + electric motor.

 

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Diesel versus hybrid/electrification?! Have you seen what’s happened to used ZOE and Leaf prices now whilst pre EU6 diesels are at risk with the emerging ZEV zone plans.

Guessing they've shot up?

 

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So the issue then is dodgy mods removing pollution control devices.. I wish they would crack down on this.

They won't. Everyone has a 'friendly' mot tester these days.