For me, it was love at first sight. After all, the brand-new 2011 Honda CR-Z, which shares its visual DNA with the old CR-X coupe, has all the tools and attributes to win people over, especially the sporty silhouette and highly-distinctive shape.
What a breath of fresh air! Honda models are traditionally plain-looking and they don't really stand out from the pack, but the CR-Z tells a whole other story. If you want to turn heads and receive plenty of thumbs up, look no further than this cool new sports hybrid.
Get used to it
That's right: the Honda CR-Z hits the market as a sport-style hybrid-electric car. Don't get your performance hopes too high, though. It wouldn't make sense, quite frankly, to fit a big, powerful engine under the hood of a small, efficient tourer that aims to preserve our precious environment.
The company opted for the logical solution while adding a fair dose of driving excitement into the mix. In fact, you won't necessarily wish for more power than the 122 ponies that the little 1.5-litre engine puts at your disposal. That's because driving the CR-Z is about saving fuel and having some fun while at it.
The newcomer from Honda is pretty good playing that role, actually. Even if you push a little, entering corners proves easy and the suspension nicely absorbs road imperfections while limiting body roll in all conditions. And I'm probably not overstating anything when I say that the CR-Z offers greater handling dynamics than all those Civics and Accords.
Green... or blue?
The tricky thing with the CR-Z is to maintain fuel consumption at a reasonable level. This isn't a knock on Honda's IMA technology. It's just that this type of car requires some getting used to and a lot of good will in order to meet the targets announced by the automaker.
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| The Honda CR-Z hits the market as a sport-style hybrid-electric car. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
What a breath of fresh air! Honda models are traditionally plain-looking and they don't really stand out from the pack, but the CR-Z tells a whole other story. If you want to turn heads and receive plenty of thumbs up, look no further than this cool new sports hybrid.
Get used to it
That's right: the Honda CR-Z hits the market as a sport-style hybrid-electric car. Don't get your performance hopes too high, though. It wouldn't make sense, quite frankly, to fit a big, powerful engine under the hood of a small, efficient tourer that aims to preserve our precious environment.
The company opted for the logical solution while adding a fair dose of driving excitement into the mix. In fact, you won't necessarily wish for more power than the 122 ponies that the little 1.5-litre engine puts at your disposal. That's because driving the CR-Z is about saving fuel and having some fun while at it.
The newcomer from Honda is pretty good playing that role, actually. Even if you push a little, entering corners proves easy and the suspension nicely absorbs road imperfections while limiting body roll in all conditions. And I'm probably not overstating anything when I say that the CR-Z offers greater handling dynamics than all those Civics and Accords.
Green... or blue?
The tricky thing with the CR-Z is to maintain fuel consumption at a reasonable level. This isn't a knock on Honda's IMA technology. It's just that this type of car requires some getting used to and a lot of good will in order to meet the targets announced by the automaker.
 |
| I'm probably not overstating anything when I say that the CR-Z offers greater handling dynamics than all those Civics and Accords. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |