Lexus has been giving hints about some of its upcoming releases. In this article, we take a look at the latest news on the soon to be released 2011 Lexus CT 200H. 

The Lexus CT 200H is the companies introduction into the compact hybrid market. Seeing the massive success of the hybrid niche in an otherwise desolate American car market, Lexus has joined other Japanese automakers in ramping up its hybrid efforts as it forecasts continued growth in coming years notwithstanding the economic malaise in the country.

The CT 200H is designed to be an upgrade over the current Lexus HS sedan. The sedan has been described as an effective hybrid, but has a major downside. It is perhaps the single most boring car every produced by the company with a serious lack of any performance to speak of. Frankly, it is a bit of an embarresment even though it is a solid entry in the hybrid market. 

The CT tries to take the bland sedan and turn it into something fun to drive. The car comes with a total of 134 horsepower under the hood with a split between the electric engine and gasoline power plant of 98/80. Despite this upgraded engine, the car still is expected to get a staggering 42 miles to the gallon when it comes to fuel economy.

So, is the Lexus CT 200H a quality hybrid? Not really. Keep in mind that this is the more sporty version of the original sedan. Given this, it is rather disappointing that the car does zero to 60 in a very poor 9.8 seconds. From a performance point of view, the CT gets a big thumbs down. That being said, the car is nice looking and definitely very fuel efficient. Does this make it worth buying? Only you can make that decision, but there are better options on the market for the money in my opinion.