Sure, I could have probably came out $1500 to $2000 ahead if I would have bought the Lexus outright and sold the Vibe on my own. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not. It was totally worth it to me to leave the Vibe at Mungenast Lexus, drive the CT home, and skip the PITA process of selling the Vibe to an individual.
I, too, think the CT200h should be included in the GenVibe family. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna stay and hang out just like I belong here.
Since there is more to a car being sporty than straight line acceleration, I stand by my claim that the CT is much sportier than the Vibe. Handles as if on rails and looks so good doing it. Sure, it feels like it's in reverse when you step on the gas compared to my SC430, but 44 mpg is the icing on the sporty cake.
Very quiet, very luxurious, a little lower to the ground and slightly cramped space-wise compared to the Vibe.
I'm thinking the lack of a large active online community for the CT vs. Vibe is simply a function of the number of these vehicles on the road compared to the Vibe. For example, I'm in Carbondale, IL and you can't go anywhere in southern Illinois without seeing several Vibes. On the other hand, it appears that I'm the only CT200h on the road. I've yet to see another one outside St. Louis.
Did I mention I put 5.1 gallons of gas in the tank to fill up for 225 miles driven. Do the math.