According to Lexus practices, 200h means that this new model will have the performance of a 2 liter engine. They would have called it CT250h, if it were to use the drivetrain from the Camry, as does the Lexus HS250h. And, as Prius’s drivers know, their car have precisely the performance of a 2 liter car. Could Lexus have engineered a new drivetrain, specific for the GT200h? It would be so much easier, not to forget the huge cost of hybrid engineering, to reuse the drivetrain from the Prius.

Still, there’s a problem, because the Prius’s drivetrain will also be used by the hybrid version of the Toyota Auris. Lexus have always had something special. It would be difficult to sell with a premium, a Lexus car that shares its drivetrain with 2 Toyota models.

So my guess is that Lexus will reuse the drivetrain from the Prius to save costs, but Lexus’s engineers will have found something to make it better, and different, from what’s under the hood of a Prius. I’ll find it out in 2 weeks…