CT

As the premium small hatch segment grew and grew, Lexus managed to maintain solid, if unspectacular sales numbers for its CT200t hybrid hatch, helped by a facelift in 2014.

The Japanese luxury marque made improvements to body rigidity, noise, vibration and harshness levels and the suspension tune for a more compliant ride.

The exterior was upgraded with a more bold version of the spindle grille, while the cabin gained a new IS-style 370mm-diameter steering wheel, upgraded TFT screen, second-generation Lexus Remote Touch multimedia controller, a new gear-lever, revised trim, some different switches and soft-touch plastics on the console and elbow rest. Under the bonnet was the 73kW/142Nm 1.8-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine matched to a parallel hybrid system comprising a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and a CVT transmission sending power to the front wheels. System output was 100kW all up which was enough for a 0-100km/h time of 10.3 seconds. Fuel consumption was 4.1 litres/100km.