Honda CR-Z

[RRnold]

Damn! Honda is really putting it all on the table with the CR-Z!

[WingsofWar]

^ iv reaaaallly wanted to get into a modded CR-Z..i think its one of my favorite recent FWD cars.

[Random_Art]

Originally Posted by WingsofWar

^ iv reaaaallly wanted to get into a modded CR-Z..i think its one of my favorite recent FWD cars.

It would have to be in modded form since the stock form is currently somewhat pointless.

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by WingsofWar

^ iv reaaaallly wanted to get into a modded CR-Z..i think its one of my favorite recent FWD cars.

Originally Posted by Random_Art

It would have to be in modded form since the stock form is currently somewhat pointless.

+1 I've been out of the Honda loop for the past decade but I think to make the CR-Z somewhat fun to drive, it would take a lot more $ and time.

I'm going to stop by the local Honda dealership and take one for a test drive. The ol skool CR-X's SOHC was an ok car but it was night and day once a ZC or B series motor was swapped in.

[bofa]

I love the clean all-white interior... If they would only have a turbo version it would be worth another look.

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by bofa

I love the clean all-white interior... If they would only have a turbo version it would be worth another look.

That's what the race version has, a turbo, and there are rumors that the street version will get a turbo .

Stock is stock, few cars are good from the factory without being expensive. It's not like we have an abundance of entry level subcompact sporty cars either. The CR-Z has potential, but the idea needs some tweaking. Rear seats, and Hybrid as an option being two big ones.

Hopefully Honda of America gets the picture and makes the car more compliant with the US market, at least the ones that would seriously consider a Honda anyway .

And I that style.

[bofa]

Yeah.. too many production compacts have "good enough" performance but usually not enough to entice me. I've never been much of a Honda guy but something about the old CR-X (and what we thought the CR-Z would be) gets my attention. I guess it's just the light/fast/easy to mod combo.... same reason I'm following the FR now I guess.

[SharedProphet]

Originally Posted by Allch Chcar

That's what the race version has, a turbo, and there are rumors that the street version will get a turbo .

Stock is stock, few cars are good from the factory without being expensive. It's not like we have an abundance of entry level subcompact sporty cars either. The CR-Z has potential, but the idea needs some tweaking. Rear seats, and Hybrid as an option being two big ones.

Hopefully Honda of America gets the picture and makes the car more compliant with the US market, at least the ones that would seriously consider a Honda anyway .

And I that style.

I agree about needing rear seats. My wife won't let me get a car without them.

Ironically, it has them in every market but the US. They took them out for the US market, I guess because they figured people in the US are too big and they would be considered so bad as to be worse than no back seats at all?

[Maxim]

I don't really see a single positive to this car....

It's front wheel drive. It's slow. It's not nearly as light as it should be for sporting the amount of power it has. The hybrid system adds complexity and weight. The mileage is worse than a much faster diesel Golf GTD, the handling is nothing fantastic. And it seats two. So, it's a slow, complex, front wheel drive dedicated 2 seat sports car. That's a 10-word way to say "retarded."

Modifying it to make 200hp and adding a race suspension nets you a car that's prohibitively expensive, still FWD, still slow, still front heavy, and still a worse performer than a modified GTD. Maybe it will handle well...but not while it accelerates, because it's front wheel drive and you will invariably run into understeer. There is no way around that. No amount of limited slip trickery can overcome the basic laws of physics, only mask them. You cannot ask a tire to apply corning force as well as accelerative force at the same time and maintain the same amount of grip.

Honestly I'd have to say that out of cars released in the last 10 years that were just completely pointless, the CR-Z would have to rate near the top. It's up there with the Murano Cross-Cabrolet.

[Mr.Jay]

Originally Posted by Maxim

Honestly I'd have to say that out of cars released in the last 10 years that were just completely pointless, the CR-Z would have to rate near the top. It's up there with the Murano Cross-Cabrolet.

The CR-Z is not completely pointless. Its purpose was to show that a low budget hybrid sports car is possible

however Honda just failed on the hybird, sports and budget part

but the idea that one day we all have Tesla Roadster like cars was a good one however not properly planned and done terribly

[tranzformer]

Not the Type R version but here is the MUGEN version of the CR-Z.


[u2b]E_2QQbsTm5I[/u2b]

[tranzformer]

Originally Posted by Mr.Jay

however Honda just failed on the hybird, sports and budget part

I think the budget part is spot on, upper $19k-low $20k. What isn't budget about that? Even the Civic hybrid is about $5k more expensive.

For fuel economy, I will agree as a hybrid it isn't the greatest. However with the 39/35 mpg it does fall 4th on the 2011 EPA list. Still not sure that is that great when you compare what you lose in regards to the sports aspect. I haven't test driven one yet, but it is one of the next ones on my list to try out.

In regards to sports, sure compared to other cars like the Z, Mustang...etc. it isn't that great. But for a hybrid first and foremost this is the sportiest hybrid you can get for the money (Tesla aside). For just around $20k, the CR-Z is pretty good bang for the buck if you primarily commute/live in the city. Small. Good gas mileage. Easy to park. Fun to zip around in. For someone that commutes 45-60min a day in traffic I think this would be a great option. For a weekend/track car...of course not. Better options for a pure sports car.

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by Maxim

I don't really see a single positive to this car....

It's front wheel drive. It's slow. It's not nearly as light as it should be for sporting the amount of power it has. The hybrid system adds complexity and weight. The mileage is worse than a much faster diesel Golf GTD, the handling is nothing fantastic. And it seats two. So, it's a slow, complex, front wheel drive dedicated 2 seat sports car. That's a 10-word way to say "retarded."

Modifying it to make 200hp and adding a race suspension nets you a car that's prohibitively expensive, still FWD, still slow, still front heavy, and still a worse performer than a modified GTD. Maybe it will handle well...but not while it accelerates, because it's front wheel drive and you will invariably run into understeer. There is no way around that. No amount of limited slip trickery can overcome the basic laws of physics, only mask them. You cannot ask a tire to apply corning force as well as accelerative force at the same time and maintain the same amount of grip.

Honestly I'd have to say that out of cars released in the last 10 years that were just completely pointless, the CR-Z would have to rate near the top. It's up there with the Murano Cross-Cabrolet.

The big Honda Tuners have been doing some stuff to fix the problems. The CR-Z has some potential even with it's 2600lb curb weight and 1.5L Lea. There is plenty of room for weight reduction, but that is not really necessary on a DD. If a CR-Z driver wanted more power, the Lea is fairly boost compliant, but there is a distinct lack of aftermarket support(the CR-Z shares an engine similar to the Fit). Heck the Lea would make a half decent N/A engine if someone spent the coin. The Spoon CR-Z used a modified head, custom Vtec, higher rev range, and made 145BHP combined(stock is 111BHP combined).

FWD is the domain of the vast majority of DD cars, and Honda advertises the CR-Z to be sporty not a sports car. Eg the CR-X was sporty but it wasn't a sports car without a lot of work.
The handling is better than average and as far as hybrids go(which the Tesla is NOT) it is the cheapest sporty hybrid and the only one with a 6spd(even the Fit/Civic guys would be jealous of that fact alone). Plus the style, the style !

[tranzformer]

Originally Posted by Allch Chcar

The CR-Z has some potential even with it's 2600lb curb weight

I think the CR-Z is actually closer to 2850lbs than 2600.