About three months ago, I decided to lease a new car. I looked at the BMW 128, Volkswagen GTI, Volvo C30 and Honda CR-Z. After comparing all the specs, lease deals and test driving the cars, I ended up driving away with the CR-Z. Why? It was the most fuel efficient and drove awesome. Sure, if all 4 of those cars were in a race, the CR-Z would almost certainly come in last place, but for an every day commuter car, who cares. Even though the car only has 122hp (gas & electric engine combined), it still has awesome pickup, especially in sport mode.
Exterior - Silver Storm
Even though I looked at 3 all-gasoline cars, tree-hugger in me was set on a hybrid, but until the CR-Z came along, there weren’t any hybrids I really liked. The most obvious hybrid to look at would be a Prius, which in my mind looks boring and wouldn’t be very fun to drive. Sure it gets 50 mpg highway, but it only has 98hp isn’t likely a fun drive. The CR-Z gets 39 mpg highway, but it’s tight handling, responsive steering and nice pickup make the difference worth it.
The futuristic styling of the CR-Z definitely makes the car stand out. The sleek exterior makes it look more like a sports car than your typical hybrid. The interior only comes in one color, light grey, but looks higher end than most cars in it’s class. I’ve been told the dash looks like something from the Starship Enterprise! Standard racing-style seats are comfortable and hug your body on tight turns (although they lack lumbar support, which would be nice).
CR-Z Interior
CR-Z Dash (In sport mode)
The CR-Z has three driving modes—Normal, Econ and Sport—letting you control the balance of power or fuel efficiency from drive-to-drive (it can even be switched while driving). I typically use Normal mode, which is a good balance of power/efficiency. Econ mode isn’t fun. The steering is much softer and the pickup is much slower. The only time I really use Econ is in slow, bumper-to-bumper traffic or in cruise control on the highway. Honda was very smart in designing the Econ mode. Not only does it rev lower but it also puts the heat/AC into a low power mode for further energy conservation. To be honest, I don’t see a huge increase in fuel economy in this mode.
Sport mode is where the car really comes alive. If you switch into it while driving, you immediately feel the power. The engine revs higher and the steering becomes more responsive. The continuously variable transmission makes acceleration very smooth (before you know it, you’re at 70mph and didn’t even realize it). Although I got the CVT version, this is the first production hybrid to be offered with a 6 speed manual transmission! Even in the CVT model, you can still shift between 7 gears using the standard paddle shifters.
The car has an EPA estimate of 35 mpg city and 39 mpg highway or about 37 combined. When I first got the car in January, I was only averaging about 30 per tank but since the weather has improved, I’m getting about 34. That said, some CR-Z drivers on Fuelly are getting over 40 (maybe I need to slow down). That said, I only spend around $33 to fill up the car every two weeks. The car has many ways to show how efficient you are driving. The most interesting is the color changing orb around the floating speedometer. Green means you are driving efficient, dark blue means you should accelerate or break slower.
Winter driving is surprisingly good for a car this size. Granted, it isn’t going to plow through the snow like an SUV, but the traction control keeps you from sliding out of control.
The 360 watt, 7 speaker (including sub) sound system in the EX sounds awesome! Radio, CD, USB and aux inputs are included. Honda does not include satellite radio, in fact, the dealer wanted over $500 to add it on! I bought a $40 XM Snap instead. The EX package also adds Bluetooth hands free, aluminum pedals, HID head lights, fog lights and a leather wrapped steering wheel and an aluminum shifter (on stick model).
Although I generally like the car, I do have sort of a wish list for future models. This is the first car I’ve had without a sunroof which would be a nice option and probably make this two-seater feel a little more open. One of the major complaints I’ve seen in other reviews is that it isn’t as efficient as other hybrids or as fast as it looks. While I think it has a good balance of the two, improvements in either of these areas would be nice. Honda Performance previewed a 200hp “Hybrid R Concept” at SEMA, no word on how this will effect fuel economy or if and when it will go into production. Some may complain that it only has two seats (if so, this car is not for you) and lack of cargo space. Although it isn’t huge, there is plenty of room for groceries or a suit case (try putting a suit case in a Boxter or Miata!)
200hp CR-Z Hybrid R Concept
Sure it’s not the most fuel efficient hybrid, but it’s a nice balance of fun and fuel efficiency. And there no question that it’s the coolest hybrid on the road today. Hopefully we will see more hybrid sports cars in the near future.
CR-Z Interior with Navigation