The New CRX (2011 CRZ)

[GasSavers_Somedude]

It really doesn't surprise me that the CR-Z would be expensive to begin with, it is not a bad car imo but there are plenty of choices out there that do the job of saving gas way better and at a much lower cost. Take the Nissan Versa for example, or even the Toyota Yaris.

[1993CivicVX]

Hope no one mines me reviving this thread.

Does anyone else see a problem with comparing this to a car from 1986?

As far as your most fuel efficient sporty car comparo, you forgot the Mini Cooper S. 27/36mpg with what, 172hp? Plus, I'm pretty sure the Cooper S has back seats. Honda shoulda added 20hp to this thing. 8.8 seconds isn't exactly... sporty. Somehow it just can't be justified for a two seater.

Originally Posted by Biffmeistro

Actually.....

At a comparable scale (Adjusted for the method of MPG calculation of 2008), the 1986 CRX Si (The most efficient Si CRX of all), got 26 city, 30 highway.

The manual CR-Z gets 31/37.

As far as performance goes, yes, the 91 CRX Si has a 0-60 of about 8.5 vs Edmunds test of 8.8 on the CR-Z, so it does have the miniscule advantage there, but the CRX Si could only pull .81g on the skidpad vs .83 for the CR-Z, with the CR-Z posting a 61.4mph slalom vs a 61.0 for the CRX.

So... Perfomance wise, these two cars are, near as makes no difference, Identical.

And yet the CR-Z gets better City MPG than the CRX did highway. Heck, even when you take the 1991 EPA ratings, the CR-Z still trashes it. Originally, the CRX Si was rated at 28/33.

So yes, the CR-Z IS a hyper efficient CRX Si. Meeting it in every performance category, and beating it in every FE category.



And when you think of it not as a hybrid, but as a performance car, it still is the most efficient performance car you can get, at all.

According to the EPA site, fort 2011 cars:
The current highest MPG "Sporty" car is the Audi A5 at 23/30.
The current highest MPG "Coupe" is the A5 quattro at 21/31
The current highest MPG "Hatchback" is the Aveo at 27/35

Heck, the only current non-hybrid gasoline cars that get better MPG are the new Fiesta and the Smart.



Yes, it is a hyper efficient sporty car. It is the most fuel efficient sporty car EVER made.

I do challenge you, find a sport oriented car that has ever had EPA mpg ratings higher than it, and you can even use the manual EPA ratings to make it easier. (Edit: It has to be in the USA, of course. No cheating by using nations with lax emissions regulations)

Edit: So far the closest thing I could find for a "sporty" type of car would be the Mini Cooper, and even that only is able to match the highway FE of the CR-Z, but not even touch the City MPG. 28/37

[rgathright]

I thought you might want to visually compare the Insight and CR-z as well.

2000 Honda Insight


2011 Honda CR-z

[trollbait]

I noticed how its back end was much like the Insight's when one was ahead of me.

Perhaps Honda should have made the CR-Z the new Insight. Maybe the Insight Si? And just done a hybrid Fit for the more practical hybrid.

[i-DSi]

I drove this CR-Z two weeks ago (prox. 500 miles !). Car I drove had the optional 17" rims with 205-tires.
But....480 of them were highwaymiles.
My impressions:
- It is very easy to have a low fuel consumption even if you don't care at all about fuel economy
- Torque at low revs is simply amazing!! Seems as good as a dieselengine. But this one keeps on revving if you want to. You almost never feel the need to downshift
- Very stable on the highway
- Suspension is way to stiff (probably optional rims/tires)
- Looks are great! And everybody looks at your car, a real eyecatcher.
- Comfort is poor, especially if you drove a coupe of hours.
- Fuel consumption on highway only is not good if you drive 130..140 km/h for a long time (just a bit more than 7 l/100km). But this is typical for all (hybrid)cars.

As I have a family with 3 kids I won't buy this car, but it's a good funcar with great looks and a very low, acceptable fuel consumption.

[i-DSi]

My boss bought this as a second car and I could drive it on a businesstrip.

[101mpg]

I just did a test drive and am surprised that I actually want one!

YES, it's heavy, but then again it will be a lot better in snow & rain due to the weight.

Amazing mileage. COMFORTABLE. Here's the issue on MPG - they test it in sport mode. The only thing sport mode does is downshift two gears. Normal is downshifted one gear, and econo mode is not downshifted.

Paddle shifters turn this thing into a manualmatic SEVEN speed. ACTUAL mileage is much above the quoted if you don't run it in sport mode all the time - in the 40s & 50s.

COMFORTABLE!!!!!!!! Can I emphasize this enough? I can see riding in this on very long trips. My wife & I often travel up to 14 hours and I would love to be driving in this car.

It really was a nice car. I also test drove the new 4-seater Insight and am impressed. A LOT more pickup and MUCH quieter than the first two versions of the Insight. Definite alternative to the Prius.

Battery warranty is 8 years, 100,000 miles. You can purchase a bumper-to-bumper warranty for 8 years and 120,000 miles for $1650. That is a LOT better than the standard 5 year warranty available for most. Can get this for EITHER vehicle.

2010 Insight comes with rear drums - why no one knows. These should be converted to disc. It's also got 4-lug wheels where the CR-Z has 5-lug. Only two things I was amazed that it didn't get right.

I wouldn't mind owning both of these vehicles. The salesman remarked that Honda should just drop a Civic engine into the CR-Z and see what happens.

[pgfpro]

This makes me feel a whole lot better about this car then. I might have to test drive one also. I wish someone on here would buy one so we could see what it really can do.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by 101mpg

2010 Insight comes with rear drums - why no one knows. These should be converted to disc. It's also got 4-lug wheels where the CR-Z has 5-lug. Only two things I was amazed that it didn't get right.

Drum brakes are fine. They're not as pretty and marketable as discs but Insight buyers won't notice. They have their advantages.

Would the 4 lug wheels mean that wheels from old Hondas fit, making them plentiful and cheap?

[101mpg]

The OFFICIAL numbers on this vehicle are 31/37.

The problem is they are done in SPORT mode, which basically don't go above 5th gear! In ECONO mode it's more like 51/56. If you want to go off the line REALLY fast ALL the time you'll be in sport mode and not wanting to buy this car.

In Normal mode you have 6th gear available, and in ECONO mode you have 6th & 7th gear available. All that SPORT mode does is downshift two gears. Normal mode downshifts 1 gear. And if you're wanting that sort of power, just leave it in econo and use the paddle shifters for your boost!

It's actually a good vehicle. I went in with a bad attitude based on the numbers and some of this thread. I actually love the vehicle and want to buy one. It's much more comfortable than the original CRX (which I love). I was honestly surprised.

It's not all-electric but Integrated Motor Assist. I wish there was an all-gas version, and who knows - maybe I might use a donor body and put a VX engine in it and see what happens. It's worth a second look!