The world’s first hybrid sports car promised so much but doesn’t wow with its on-paper prowess.
Honda’s radical hybrid powered concept car stopped showgoers two years ago in Tokyo, but the Detroit motor show production version was a lot less sassy.
The Honda CR-Z's proportions are underwhelming; the long, low overhang at the front was partly an attempt at sporting style but also an unhappy necessity prompted by the need to comply with pedestrian safety requirements.
Of course, the Honda CR-Z is meant to be a petrol-electric hybrid sports car, rather than the far more common petrol-electric hybrid eco-car.
The potential problem with that appears to be the basic hybrid system it shares with the Civic Hybrid and the Insight.
The 1.5-litre engine (up from 1.3-litres in Civic and Insight) and its supplementary electric motor manage to produce 90kW, 173Nm and a preliminary best fuel consumption estimate of 6.2L/100km.
This system is old-tech enough to still be employing nickel-metal hydride batteries. Chief engineer Norio Tomobe told Drive the CR-Z retained Honda's existing hybrid system for cost reasons.
So when it turns up in Australia in the second half of 2011 let's hope it's an affordable drive - as well as more enjoyable than it looks.
Bookmarks