My friend and I went out again to look at cars. Again it was after lunch. This time at Congee Queen.
After we ate we headed just down the street to Toyota on the Park to look at the Prius. I thought it would be a good idea to continue looking for fuel efficient cars in light of the recent price hikes on gasoline.
When we got to the dealership we wandered around a bit. Similarly to many of the other dealerships no salespersons approached us. I'm not quite sure why that was. Though I suspect they might have to take turns trying to sell cars to potential clients. So you have to approach the front desk and ask for help and they'll assign someone to you.
Anyway, we were assigned Sylvain when we asked to look at the Prius. Since there wasn't one in the showroom he had to get one for us to look at. He found one and brought it to the parking lot out in front. We got in the car and took a look. Sylvain got in the back and told us about all the features. One thing I didn't like that much was the instrument panel. Instead of the traditional one with the speedometer and everything right behind the steering wheel the Prius had it on a long, thin strip on the dashboard. It seemed a bit strange to me.
The best thing about the car, of course, was the gas mileage. Though I believe Sylvain got the numbers wrong. His estimated fuel usage in the city was too low and for the highway was too high. On Toyota's Canadian website it's quoted at 3.7 L/100 kms City; and 4.0 L/100 kms Highway.
My friend and I were about to leave when this fellow came up and started talking to us. I thought he was an employee at the Toyota dealership. He saw us looking at the Prius and, I believe, had some nice things to say about it. He also mentioned that we should look at the Lexus CT 200h at the Lexus dealership next door because it was only a bit more expensive than the Prius, but much nicer.
He said he had compared both cars and was going to look at CT. He also mentioned he worked for Honda as a technician. His current car was a Toyota Camry though. As for hybrids, he said that Toyotas were better than Hondas. The Lexus salesman, Jim, who we were assigned echoed that sentiment.
They also didn't have a CT 200h in the showroom, so Jim brought one around for us to look at. We sat in it and he told us about all of the features. I have to say it's much more refined and stylish than the Prius. And it's base price is only about $3,000 more at $30,950 (plus freight and dealer costs, plus HST 13%).
Jim even suggested we take it for a test drive. He was the only salesperson we spoke with in the couple of days we were out looking that said that. For the rest we'd have to book an appointment. So that was kind of nice. I think they're quite customer-oriented at Lexus.
The CT 200h was a nice car. I drove it the same way I drive any car. In a pretty slow, steady way. I'm not one of those people who pushes a car hard and accelerates quickly from a standing start. So if it was a high performance car, I couldn't tell. It was just a decent car to drive. I liked it. It's fuel consumption rate is quite good too - 4.5 L/100 kms City; and 4.8L/100 kms Highway. Far better than any gas only engine.
It's something else to think about when I consider purchasing my next car that's for sure.
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