Drawing on the nostalgic love for that spritely little (2,109-lb), 108-hp (1991 Si) CRX of 22 years ago, Honda stylists used some sci-fi imagineering to come up with a shape that looks like a classic transformed. Then they remembered it’s the 21st Century and even car geeks want some green with the sheen, and put that body atop a hybrid platform.
The result - “That’s fine,” said another at the cruise-in. A huge thumbs up was the word from a passing Nissan Sentra with some tuning goodies, while my one gas station stop as well as my driveway and stores netted “How do you like it?” from many more.
So watts my opinion on the Z? Let’s C.
* CR-Ztyling – Honda calls the CR-Z’s design a "one-motion wedge" body with a low hood and an aggressively wide stance. I see some S2000 in the very low, wide-mouth grill flanked by angled Xenon headlights, front air dam winglets part of the side air vent/fog light design. The long hood’s power dome shape is framed by design lines that run off the grill, while flat-edged flares neatly frame five-spoke alloy wheels on Dunlop rubber. The hood also accentuates the raked windshield and CRX-style roofline, which ends in a familiar (new) Insight hybrid-high, almost horizontal fastback glass hatch. The very short tail gets a vertical CRX-style rear window framed by wedge LED taillights over a high rounded rear bumper with gray aero undertray. The tapered side window is accented by a set of design edges that slash off the front fender flares to give the flanks a dynamic feel. There is some of the slick fish-shaped first-generation Insight in there, all for aerodynamic cleanliness.
It flat-out is the slickest-looking Honda out there right now, looking fast even while it’s sitting still, with a superb pearlescent white paint job and typical Honda fit and finish.
*Honda habitation – Get through the long door, ducking under the low roof and drop into the silver cloth-weave high-back bucket seat, and it’s pretty slick inside too, all derived from the Tokyo Motor Show CR-Z Concept. The black over gray design wraps around the driver, the dash top precise hard and soft touch plastics. Like the S2000, the three-spoke tilt/telescope steering wheel gets all needed controls in pods on either side, while the wheel has stereo, cruise, voice command, trip computer and Bluetooth cellphone buttons, all backlit in blue at night. Gloss piano black panels accent the side pods, with traction control, power mirror and mph/kph speedometer adjust on the left, a big soft-touch temperature knob with neatly integrated fan and mode buttons and a petite LCD display grace the right side. But it’s what you see through the thick black leather-clad wheel that is the coolest – a futuristic, readable digital dash with a floating 3-D speedometer ringed by an 8,000-rpm tach. The speed reading is reflected in a mirror from a hidden LCD display above, but it’s what rings it that is even cooler. That outer ring glows green (efficient) when you drive economically, transitioning to aqua, then a deeper blue (less efficient) the more you hammer the drilled alloy gas pedal. Switch into “Sport” mode and it become a baleful red eye, the engine modes selected via gloss black buttons on the left pod. Flanking the center display are digital bar graphs for battery charge and charging/electric assist mode on the left, with the trip computer display in the lower right. Everything is framed in laser blue lines.
A familiar 6.5-inch LCD navigation touch screen resides dash center under a door that hides a rubberized cargo nook. It controls a good 360-watt AM-FM-CD audio system with seven speakers, subwoofer in the trunk. Audio as well as navigation and basic climate control are voice controlled as well. Smoked chrome accents the door handles and the lower center dash storage area, where a deep rubberized tray and another cargo nook live with a USB iPod hookup inside. An MP3 audio input jack and 12-volt outlet are below. There are two cup holders forward of the leather and alloy gear shifter, and one more at the back of the slim center console. The seats that flank it are firm, grippy and suitable for a sporty coupe, with manual height adjustment for the driver.
In back, don’t look for seats. The North American CR-Z gets two large carpeted storage bins behind the front seats instead. Fold the rear “seat back” down, those bins becomes covered, while the trunk hidden under a security cover expands to a decent length. With a wide, high hatch opening, you can pack a lot. The problem with the split rear window – the bar in the middle blocks rearward vision, and my sightline while lane changing was a bit occluded by the rear side pillars.
* Honda hybrid hauling – While this may look like the second coming of the CRX, under the bonnet is where dreams of a hybrid super-coupe pale a bit. A 1.5-liter i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine chugs out 113-hp itself. A 10-kilowatt electric motor is at the back end, all hooked to the first six-speed manual transmission in a hybrid. At full boost, there’s 122-hp and 128 lb-ft. of torque between 1,000 and 1,750 rpm. Punch it in Sport mode (IMA power delivery curve increased at lower RPM, with electronically recalibrated steering effort for a performance feel), and 60-mph comes in 9.7 seconds. We had a precise Honda-good manual gearbox, and some tire burnout if stability/traction control is off – good torque and a great exhaust snarl. Do it too many times and the battery gets depleted. Launch in Eco mode (smoothes throttle inputs, reduces air conditioning impact on fuel consumption and activates idle stop sooner) and it’s like part of the power stayed home. Passing maneuvers need to be planned ahead, while the a/c was cut back. Tapping from Sport to Eco mode usually put on the a/c in recirculate function to keep it cool. The CR-Z also found it hard to stay at a cruise control-selected speed in Eco mode, slowing down a bit on hills. Normal cycles between Eco and Sport as needed.
Driven in Eco, the best we saw was 38-mpg. Driven hard in Sport, it went down to 34-mpg. The electric motor adds power in passing and acts as a generator during braking or coasting to capture power to recharge the 100.8-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack. The gasoline engine shuts off under 20-mph and at stop, then fires up as you let off the clutch quite seamlessly. Unlike the Prius and other hybrids, the CR-Z never travels on electric alone, only uses the motor for added passing power or to charge the battery pack mounted low under the rear floor. We did obey the upshift/downshift arrows to keep fuel mileage up – most of the time. Compare: a Civic Si is just shy of 200-hp and hits 60-mph in a satisfying 7 seconds. A Honda Insight will hit 60-mph in a bit under 11 seconds, while a second-generation 117-hp Honda Fit does it in about 10. A 120-hp Ford Fiesta did it in 10. And a turbocharged 140-mph diesel Jetta did it in 8.9 seconds. Fuel mileage for them was between 33-mpg (Fiesta) to 43-mpg (Insight). You can get an automatic Continuously Variable Transmission with paddle shifters on the CR-Z.
Under the slick 160-inch wedge body, a front McPherson strut suspension with aluminum control arms and a rear H-shaped torsion beam suspension with trailing arms, holding up a light 2,637-lb. coupe. The ride is firm but supple, the Dunlops grippy. The low center of gravity and wide track make the car fairly fun to run around twisty bits, hanging in well in turns. Push hard and there’s understeer, but turn off the stability control and play with the throttle and you can let the tires work and rotate the CR-Z into turns. The brakes, with ABS and electronic brake distribution, had a responsive pedal and gave us decent stops with no fade from the ventilated front/solid rear discs. The electric power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering had a decent precise feel, but not as responsive as other Hondas I know.
* Honda dollars – A base Honda CR-Z starts at $19,200, while our CR-Z EX with navigation started at $22,560. They all come with dual-stage, front airbags; front-side airbags, side-curtain airbags and a tire pressure monitoring system, stability control, AM-FM-CD audio, automatic climate control, power windows and door locks, remote entry and cruise control. Our EX added the 360-watt audio system, leather-wrapped steering wheel, navigation with voice recognition. Add the lower rear diffuser and tailgate spoiler, and it was $24,256 with destination fee. For comparison, a base 4-door Insight starts at $20,000, a Prius $21,000 to $27,000, and a Fit Sport with Navigation starts at $19,000. Heck, a 121-hp Mini Cooper is $21,000 equipped about the same, gets similar mileage ratings, and is also more fun to drive
*Bottom line – I love the CR-Z’s looks, fit and finish, futuristic-yet-usable interior and space for two and stuff, as well as its plus-30-mpg mileage. I even like it as a sportier alternative to a hybrid Insight or Prius, because the CR-Z’s looks are cool but not nerdy. But when a Fit or Ford Fiesta has more room, almost as good mileage and is plain more fun to drive, looks may not be everything.
2011 Honda CR-Z EX
Vehicle type - 2-passenger hybrid sports coupe
Base price $22,560 ($24,256 as tested)
Engine type – aluminum SOHC 16-valve i-VTEC in-line 4
Displacement – 1.5-liter
Horsepower (net) 122 @ 6,000 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 128 @ 1,000 to 1,750 rpm
Transmission – 6-speed manual
Wheelbase – 95.9 inches
Overall length – 160.6 inches
Overall width – 68.5 inches
Height – 54.9 inches
Front headroom – 36.9 inches
Front legroom – 42.7 inches
Cargo capacity – 25.1 cu.ft. w/rear partition down
Curb weight – 2,654 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 10.6 gallons
Mileage rating –31 mpg city/ 37 mpg highway
Last word – Looks like a jet fighter and fun to drive, but needs more CRX
By Dan Scanlan - MyCarData
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