Paris Photos: Lexus CT 200h in Smoky Granite Mica

Did Lexus Europe give you a special invitation or something? aha You don't go to New York or Detroit, but you do attend Paris' show.

I think the red/black interior looks rather nice, for fabric that is. I could really see a lot of people liking the interesting color combinations. In my opinion, that's just was Lexus needed, especially if they intend to sell this car to a younger age group. :-)

reminds me of the escaine package I have on my IS300

@krew what's your favourite interior/exterior choice so far??

Just wondering about the color names. "Smoky granite mica" and "Matador red" as you've called some are not listed in the CT200h "Paris" brochure I got from my dealer last week. This one is called "Dark granite" there I believe. Different naming schemes between Europe and NA? The other available exterior colors are: Morello red (my fav) White pearl Hakuren silver Dark opal Black Sienna brown Ultrasonic blue Solar yellow (I want to see this IRL) Silvery blue Interior colors are: (fabric) Panther black Silk ivory Abyss blue Lava red Autumn brown (leather) Black Ivory Venaro grey

@Pond: they have always used different names, but the colors are the same. Im sure Morello red is Matador Red.

I really like how the front look on the CT, very bold. I believe it will sell very well despite the unfavorable comments by those performance enthusiasts. This car will be well received by the green folks.

A bit off-topic,but here goes: IS coupé

@WorldofLuxury: I attended the CT 200h press launch in France last week, and our last day was at the Paris Motor Show. :-) (The driving impression embargo ends on Oct.12, which is when we can expect most U.S. reviews to go up.)

seal wrote:@krew what’s your favourite interior/exterior choice so far??

Loved the Water Grey leather -- it would be my first choice -- and the Nu-Luxe Ecru was pretty nice too. I really liked the fabric interiors, especially the black/grey, but they all looked quite busy to me. Of the exteriors I've seen, I'm partial to the Red, though I would probably go for White for practical reasons. :-)

Josh wrote:reminds me of the escaine package I have on my IS300

It reminded me of IS F Terra-Cotta interior option: http://lexusenthusiast.com/2009/08/05/2009-lexus-is-f-review/

Pond wrote:Different naming schemes between Europe and NA?

Yeah, the names are all different -- though Europe will be getting a couple colors that won't be coming to North America (Ultrasonic Blue, Silvery Blue). I drove a Solar Yellow (EUR)/Daybreak Yellow (NA) CT 200h -- it's a pretty intense color. I liked it a lot.

Only thing I dislike about the CT200h is the distance you can go just on the batteries. 1.93 km @ 45 km/h To bad it cant do like 10 km on just the batteries. At least I wouldn't have to use gas to get to the grocery store.

4th bad review in the row for CT200h : WHATCAR.COM : " So disappointing on the road" http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/lexus-ct200h-driven/253208?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

krew wrote: I drove a Solar Yellow (EUR)/Daybreak Yellow (NA) CT 200h — it’s a pretty intense color. I liked it a lot.

What are your driving impressions so? The few car reviews are quite bad so far. What do you think? Are they honest?

krew wrote:@WorldofLuxury: The driving impression embargo ends on Oct.12, which is when we can expect most U.S. reviews to go up.

What do you mean by embargo? Who decided that and what was the deal? Thx

Swiggen wrote:What do you mean by embargo? Who decided that and what was the deal? Thx

Lexus USA has asked all journalists that attended the worldwide launch in Paris to hold off on publishing any driving impressions until Oct. 12. This is to give everyone an opportunity to get their reviews done. (This is also the reason I haven't posted any of the UK reviews yet, as I can't comment on my own personal experience just yet.)

@seal: I noticed that in the article you posted it says "Lexus says it has time before the car goes on sale in the UK to address some of the issues". That's just what I was wondering a when I read the first poor review. Just because they say the prototype isn't very good doesn't mean the actual production car won't be better.

Possible future CT-versions: CT

Hi, krew-- Wondering whether the lighting in these images added blue to the apparent color. I saw some other Smoky Granite Mica Lexus models at the Bellevue, Wash., showroom last weekend. They looked gray, with no hint of blue at all. Thanks for your response.