[Viffermike]

miiipilot : I owned a CT200h F Sport three cars ago for a little more than two years. Had to get the hybrid Jonesing out of my system. Impressions:

- Interior is phenomenal. Even the OEM stereo wasn't half-bad.

- The CVT is horrific, but necessary. People talk about hating turbo lag. Well, CVT-lag is even worse.

- Power is low, but the key is (as with driving a lot of other multi-mode cars) driving in Sport mode. Responsiveness goes up exponentially and allows a reasonable facsimile of an actual modern auto transmission. The CT is actually fairly quick off the line and at speeds under 60 mph in this mode because of the torque available.

- Handling isn't bad. It's made better with two options, both of which I had on my F Sport:
1). Lexus performance springs/anti-roll bar (came as part of the F Sport package). Incidentally, these springs/bars were available as an aftermarket option, too -- for a time, until Lexus/Toyota realized that the springs were too stiff for the shock towers in 'regular' CTs. It then stopped making them available aftermarket.
2). Lightweight wheels (I had OZ Superleggeras on mine - the one 'mod' I made to the car). People who aren't familiar with low-power hybrids don't realize how much of a difference light wheels make to responsiveness and handling dynamics.

- You can have the car serviced at any Toyota dealer for about half the price of what a Lexus dealer would charge.

- Fuel efficiency is, as with a lot of hybrids, dependent on how you drive. In the city, I averaged right at about 30 mpg. I routinely saw 65-70 mpg on highway trips. Know that low-power hybrids don't have much of an advantage over, say, a Corolla in the city in terms of fuel efficiency.

Hope this helps.