The Honda CR-Z started production in August of 2010 and was meant to be the spiritual successor to the original Honda CRX. Unfortunately, it was a bit of sales flop and never really hit it’s stride.
Where did Honda go wrong?
To understand where Honda went wrong you have to understand their goal. The original Honda CRZ was touted as a “budget Ferrari.” The newest Honda CR-Z was noted as “trying to be both a fuel miser and a sport hatch, with limited success.” There’s a saying if you try to please everyone, you please no one. And that’s what happened with the CR-Z. It wasn’t really great at being anything in particular. Or was it?
Enthusiast eco-sleeper
Where most enthusiasts have forgotten or discredited the Honda CR-Z, I see a bargain enthusiast sleeper. Let’s talk specs. From the factory the Honda CR-Z came with a 1.5-liter engine that made 111-hp and 106-lb-ft of torque. But what made the CR-Z special was it came with an electric motor that produces 14-hp and 58-lb-ft of torque.
What deterred enthusiasts was it’s painfully slow 0-60 time of 8.3 seconds while only returning a so-so MPG rating of 31. What intrigued me is that awesome high torque electric motor and a curb weight of 2,600 pounds. That makes for tons of fun on the autocross course.
The best part is the current market price. There are a bunch of Honda CR-Z’s on Autotrader for super cheap. And the first model year was 2011, so these cars are 6 six years old at most. They have tons of safety features, and modern technology. It’s a total bargain in the enthusiast market.
Honda actually killed off the CR-Z in 2016 and you probably didn’t know because you never knew this model even existed. In another ten years this car will be an absolute steal in the used car market, and definitely might have a spot in my garage.
Where the CR-Z failed is that it tried to be both a sports car and a fuel sipper at the same time. The original CRX did that by very different trim levels. The economy minded HF got better gas mileage than a modern Insight or Prius, while the Si kept the enthusiasts happy with great (for the time) performance. The CR-Z tried to do both at once, and while hybrids don’t have to be boring, this one was far more Insight than CRX.
Totally agree Justin! Sometimes I think you’re the only one who reads my articles 🙂
No, he’s just the one who replies. Which we should all do more of!