2015 Lexus CT 200h owners happier with car than BMW 3-Series owners

A new survey reveals an uncomfortable truth about car ownership and the divide between what car magazines like and what real owners like when it comes to cars.

Read any car magazine and you will see that the writers love to line up a group of cars and compare them. The winners are always the ones with the firmest rides, fastest 0-60 times, and names that contain B, M, and W. The premium compact car class wins in these tests is dominated by one brad and one model. The BMW 3-Series. Long the benchmark in the industry for compact premium cars, the 3-Series has been met head-on by pretty much every automaker who try to replicate those attributes the writers love. Notably, Cadillac, Audi, and Lexus have made a strong push to topple the mighty 3-Series all with powerful, sharp-handling road-carvers. However, a recent survey by Autopacifica which asks actual owners to rate their satisfaction with 2015 model year cars found that the 2015 Lexus CT 200h is the compact premium vehicle that owners are most pleased with.

As much as we like the CT 200h around here we wish to point out that does not meant the Lexus might be your particular favorite, but consider what it does mean. It means that folks who buy a BMW 3-Series or Lexus IS 350 F-Sport, or Audi S4 think about how happy they are then answer a survey. So too do the CT 200h buyers. In the end the buyers of the low-power, fuel sipping, barely-premium CT 200h look lovingly at their car and cherish it more than the Beemer owners or the runner ups.

This is a vehicle that uses the Prius’ drivetrain and has a hatchback 5-door design. Interestingly, Lexus also won the next larger vehicle category, called “luxury Mid-Sized Car” by Autopacifica. Again, it was not the V8-powered BMW M5, Mercedes E-class, or even Lexus' own GS F that took the win. Nope. A car with the same engine a V6 Camry has won the largest luxury vehicle category by sales volume.

Maybe big power and teeth-rattling handling is not the formula for happy customers. You’d never know it by reading car reviews written by enthusiasts.

For more on the Lexus CT 200h try these stories:
Refreshed 2014 Lexus CT 200h an example of smart green car manufacturing
The 2012 Lexus CT200h review: bringing luxury to the affordable hybrid