It’s tempting to think of the CR-Z hybrid as the second coming of the CRX, Honda’s light, tossable mid-1980s funster, what with the two cars’ stubby rear ends, two-seat layouts, and frugal intentions. At the CR-Z launch, in fact, Honda plopped us down in a cherry 1985 CRX Si and told us to go nuts. We did, and we’re sorry, Big H, but the CR-Z just isn’t quite as awesome.
Where the impish CRX used lightness and a stripped-down approach to deliver entertainment and efficiency, the CR-Z looks to a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. The difference between the two paths is stark, or so goes conventional wisdom. With less weight and simplicity come fun and momentum-style hoonage, and with a hybrid powertrain comes, well, soul-crushing dullness. Somewhat shockingly, however, this hybrid
is entertaining, even as it tries to marry the disparate concepts of sport and efficiency.
Nowhere is that conflict more evident than in the two transmissions. Opt for the six-speed manual, and the CR-Z delivers perhaps the most transparent hybrid experience available today, because you control the shift points and how quickly the gears are changed. Particularly with the three-mode adjustable drive system in sport mode, it’s a relatively fun little car. But go for the CVT, as Honda expects 75 percent of buyers to do, and besides being a downer of a person, you lose any sense of joy and immediacy. In the CVT’s manual mode—actuated via standard paddle shifters—you can wind through seven fake ratios, but the “shifts” into those ratios are slurred and slow. Moreover, although the four-cylinder is never sonorous even with the stick, the CVT causes an unpleasant droning.
Specification:
- Hybrid sports car Hatchback coupe
- Two Seater
- 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine
- 112 horsepower
- 107 lb-ft. or torque
- Uses Honda Insight's Hybrid Power Train
- 2800 lb curb weight
- Fuel Economy: 31/37 mpg (6-speed), 35/39 mpg(auto)
- Available in auto or six-speed manual transmission
Honda also hasn't said anything about pricing, though it squeezed every possible cost out of the 2010 Insight to bring it in at $20,470 including delivery, making it the lowest-priced
hybrid sold in the U.S. Given its sporty nature, we anticipate that the 2011 CR-Z will cost a bit more.
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Wallpaper
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Front view
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Parts
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Back
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Interior
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Inside view
It’s tempting to think of the CR-Z hybrid as the second coming of the CRX, Honda’s light, tossable mid-1980s funster, what with the two cars’ stubby rear ends, two-seat layouts, and frugal intentions. At the CR-Z launch, in fact, Honda plopped us down in a cherry 1985 CRX Si and told us to go nuts. We did, and we’re sorry, Big H, but the CR-Z just isn’t quite as awesome.
Where the impish CRX used lightness and a stripped-down approach to deliver entertainment and efficiency, the CR-Z looks to a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. The difference between the two paths is stark, or so goes conventional wisdom. With less weight and simplicity come fun and momentum-style hoonage, and with a hybrid powertrain comes, well, soul-crushing dullness. Somewhat shockingly, however, this hybrid is entertaining, even as it tries to marry the disparate concepts of sport and efficiency.
Nowhere is that conflict more evident than in the two transmissions. Opt for the six-speed manual, and the CR-Z delivers perhaps the most transparent hybrid experience available today, because you control the shift points and how quickly the gears are changed. Particularly with the three-mode adjustable drive system in sport mode, it’s a relatively fun little car. But go for the CVT, as Honda expects 75 percent of buyers to do, and besides being a downer of a person, you lose any sense of joy and immediacy. In the CVT’s manual mode—actuated via standard paddle shifters—you can wind through seven fake ratios, but the “shifts” into those ratios are slurred and slow. Moreover, although the four-cylinder is never sonorous even with the stick, the CVT causes an unpleasant droning.
Specification:
Honda also hasn't said anything about pricing, though it squeezed every possible cost out of the 2010 Insight to bring it in at $20,470 including delivery, making it the lowest-priced hybrid sold in the U.S. Given its sporty nature, we anticipate that the 2011 CR-Z will cost a bit more.
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Wallpaper
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Front view
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Parts
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Back
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Interior
2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid Inside view
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