Honda is a company much admired for its engineering and creativity. In addition to cars, motorcycles, marine engines, and lawnmowers, it makes jet airplanes and humanoid robots.
But taking risks carries with it the danger of falling short. Deliveries of the $3.9 million HondaJet have been delayed nearly two years, and at $1 million a copy, the ASIMO robot is a long way from market introduction.
Now comes the 2011 CR-Z, billed as the world’s first sport hybrid. Is this one of Honda’s good ideas — or a bad one?
With just two seats, a six-speed manual transmission, and a hatchback body, the CR-Z is sporty all right. The hybrid part comes from an electric motor that starts the engine, accelerates the car, and recharges the battery. Honda calls it an “integrated motor assist system” and bills it as “the simplest, most compact design” on the market.
But this little coupe is more than the sum of its parts. That’s a good thing because by the numbers, the CR-Z doesn’t stack up. To start with, the hybrid powertrain doesn’t do much for fuel economy At 31 miles per gallon city/37 mpg highway, the CR-Z can’t go much further on a tank of gas than the subcompact Honda Fit, which has two more seats.
The performance isn’t great, either. With zero-to-60 mph measured at 10.5 seconds, vs. nine seconds for the Fit, which is powered by the same 1.5 liter four-cylinder engine, the CR-Z won’t be starring in any remakes of “The Fast and Furious.”
And these cars are no bargains at the showroom, either. The MSRP for my Storm Silver Metallic test car, equipped with a navigation system, came to $22,560 (plus $750 for delivery). A Fit, equipped the same way, is priced at $16,410 — $6,150 less.
Oddly, Honda itself seems to have mixed feelings about the CR-Z. It traces the car’s lineage to three earlier two-seaters, two of which, the DelSol and the Insight, were not considered successful.
So what’s to recommend it? One is the design. The bifurcated grille up front, exaggerated accent lines along the flanks, and stubby rear end won’t be to everybody’s taste, but they are striking and original.
The same goes for the instrument panel. It delivers volumes of information packaged in an unusual way, and it is arranged with Honda’s traditional attention to ergonomics.
When running in the normal mode, the CR-Z performs capably. There is none of the usual hybrid delay when you turn the key, and the gasoline/electric interface is all but transparent except when the car is coming to a stop.
But push the “Sport” button, and the CR-Z changes character. The battery kicks in, and the throttle mapping becomes more aggressive, making the car feel like it’s leaping ahead. Shifting through the gears of the six-speed manual produces a dramatic response in the car and a visceral one in the driver.
Better still, you can have all that fun without penalizing fuel economy. In several hundred miles of driving, I averaged an indicated 42 miles per gallon. (Don’t bother with Econ mode. Honda recommends it for use when you are stuck in traffic. I tried to drive with it on a hilly New York State parkway and found that I was frantically downshifting at every upgrade).
So the CR-Z is captivating to look at, rewarding to sit in, and lots of fun to drive. Best of all, there is nothing else like it. On this rare occasion, heart trumps head.
