Is the improved CR-Z now powerful enough to match its looks?

Having driven the original-spec Honda CR-Z on launch and on a road trip, the cheeky sports car looks with hybrid power and manual gears was sure to be a fresh new way to excite – has Honda pulled out another unique rabbit out of its hat?

The CR-Z re-issued the idea of a compact sports hatch with a vertical upright rear end – 2 decades ago people took notice of Honda when it turned the popular Civic hatch into a type sports hatch named CR-X.  Its hot DOHC 16-valve engine and short wheelbase made it a cut-and-thrust little sports car of sorts – there was nothing else like it.

Back to the present calendar, when Honda takes the lively spirit of the CR-X across to CR-Z – same idea of wedge-shaped upright rear and short wheelbase, but instead of a super-high-rev screaming 1.6 16-valve, a much more gentle 1.5 is joined by an electric motor.  The theory?  Install hybrid drive for an eco-conscious small sports car, and create the world’s first hybrid sports hatch.  And it gets more promising – rather than the drab drone CVT transmission, Honda blessed the CR-Z with its switch-like light crisp precise manual gearbox – and what you get is the only manual hybrid you can buy.  Great!  The reality?  Despite the 1.5 engine + electric power + manual gearbox, it is an exciting prospect that droops into a disappointing drive.  The electric boost doesn’t provide any extra spark, if you’ll pardon the pun.  The Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) doesn’t make much of a difference – where we’re familiar with Honda engines being quite rev-happy and offering sprightly performance, this somehow fails.  Ironic, considering this is currenly Honda’s only “sports” car, now that the S2000 roadster and NSX supercar were killed off.

The recent facelift upped system power total from 91 to 101kW, which in percentage sounds great… but still doesn’t perk up the CR-Z nearly enough.  A problem encountered on the road with the pre-facelift CR-Z was its sheer gutlessness – cruise control couldn’t do its job of keeping a set speed of 120km/h, as any uphill saw the speedometer lowering closer to 110km/h… and driving in Eco mode just ended up being a race between snail and tortoise.  The improved energy has seen the 0-100 sprint (okay let’s not call it that) reduced from a very un-sports hatch 10.0 to 9.4 seconds.  And then Honda added the CVT transmission option, to put it back at 9.9 seconds.

One area where the CR-Z should shine, thanks to its IMA, light weight and manual combination, is fuel economy.  In Eco mode the Tokyo-by-night dashboard lets you see how many “trees” you’ve grown, or chopped down – these graphs in the instrument cluster let you see how green, blue or red your driving style is.  The pre-facelift CR-Z manual figure was combined 5.0 and just 117g/km (according to the company) but speaking from the real-world these are not attainable – the problem is the accelerator pedal which has to be kept hard down for long stints long before and during overtaking, and planning ahead is crucial to maintain surrounding traffic speed up an incline… all taking the axe to those trees.  The facelift claimed figures – 5.2 and 124, which is worse than before. 

Clearly Honda is admitting the CR-Z is underpowered.  An S+ (Sport Plus) button has been added to the multifunction steering wheel, available when the battery charge is at more than 50 percent, kicking in instant access to the extra power boost provided by the electric motor, for up to 10 seconds under full throttle.

The interior is also an unusual place to be – very busy and still plasticky despite the claims to have improved materials.  The hopeful red starter button stays, as reminder of some hot sports car… until you press it and hear but a whirr. 

Some appreciable extra specification was added to the facelifted CR-Z, including a panoramic sunroof, Bluetooth (a serious oversight on the earlier car), and must-have safety items like rain sensor and auto headlights.  Xenon headlamps, LED daytime lights and 6 airbags stay, as do stability control.  The friendly light interior with pleasant ambience in light grey was swopped for black. A new extrovert purple was added, named Premium Northern Lights Violet Pearl (for real).

When it first saw the light of day in early 2011, the CR-Z came in just under the R300k threshold, at R 299 900.  At facelift in April 2013 it had swelled to R 332 800, and is now priced at R 358 400.  Unless you really like the looks or something about the CR-Z and feel it’s the right car to buy, you may as well go test drive it, then skip to a variety of dealers where you can buy a proper sports hatch with real power and personality, get the new 2.0 turbo MINI Cooper S at R 363k.

Great idea not executed properly.  The facelift was meant to make the CR-Z racier and keener, and expectations from Honda (who had given us so many sporty cars) were high… but their only “sports” car is more underpowered hybrid than fun-to-drive hatch.