[Editor's Note: This story ran in our November 2010 issue. Some information, like David owning a CRX or Honda's CR-Z being new are no longer the case.]
If you’ve already made up your mind about the Honda CR-Z—Honda’s new sporty two-seat hybrid that not-too-accidentally invokes the spirit of the legendary CRX—you may as well stop reading. If you think that there’ll …
Generally of note is that CR-Zs really seem to be tanking in value lately. You kind of really have to not want a Fit in order to justify one, since they are objectively slower and less practical than a Fit yet return similar real-world MPG, but they are much easier to accept as a novelty compromise car in the $6-7k range. There are more aftermarket parts available than there were when I last looked as well.
In reply to pointofdeparture :
That's a pretty solid take and I agree with your logic. The CR-Z and Fit of a similar age are very close in price.
In reply to pointofdeparture :
Fits are really uncomfortable, though. And I thought CR-Zs were good for 45+mpg while Fits were 35ish.
Knurled. said:In reply to pointofdeparture :
Fits are really uncomfortable, though. And I thought CR-Zs were good for 45+mpg while Fits were 35ish.
Fuelly shows most users in the 37-41 area being the top of the bell curve for the CR-Z. I saw in the 32-34 range in my manual fit at Houston's 70 mph freeway speeds.
And the CR-Z uses the same type of rear suspension as the Fit, rear twist beam.
The Fit isn't perfect, but I've never thought they were uncomfortable and I've got a bunch of miles in 1st gen and 2nd gen's They're actually 1 of 2 cars with perfect seating position for my weird ergonomics so I really like them. They're a bit louder because they skipped on sound insulation, but they're worlds more practical than the CR-Z.
We drove a crz before buying our fit. "Fits" like a glove. The crz didn't.
Knurled. said:In reply to pointofdeparture :
Fits are really uncomfortable, though. And I thought CR-Zs were good for 45+mpg while Fits were 35ish.
Having driven both and before buying a 2g Fit, I would say they are equally uncomfortable. And the CR-Zs don't get anywhere near that kind of fuel economy in the real world.
I really wanted to like the CR-Z but it felt like I had to make a LOT of compromises for 5.4 MPG. The Fit felt quicker and lighter on its feet. I would probably still have my Fit if I didn't get a job that required a 20 mile freeway commute at 70MPH.
Why was this posted now? Honda doesn't even sell the CR-Z anymore.
They also don't sell Porsche 356s but they just had tech tips for them posted.. ;-)
I enjoyed the CR-Z in Forza 4. That's all I can contribute to this topic.
jstein77 said:Why was this posted now? Honda doesn't even sell the CR-Z anymore.
When I went to post this video to our video page, I noticed that it referenced an article that had never been digitally uploaded. Since both cars can be found for sale still, I decided to upload the story to complement the video.
In reply to pointofdeparture :
"Comfort" is one of those things that varies person to person. This person finds the sippycup high-chair Honda Fit driving position to be a lower back killer. As always, your mileage may vary, etc.
Don't they make supercharger kits for these cars? They could make a fun daily commuter with 180-200hp under the hood.
boxedfox said:Don't they make supercharger kits for these cars? They could make a fun daily commuter with 180-200hp under the hood.
There is a supercharger for the CR-Z from HPD
https://www.collegehillshonda.com/product/06100-F27S-A00.html
Sprintex makes a supercharger for the Fit as well.
I really enjoy the looks of the CR-Z; however, the driving experience leaves a lot to be desired for. If you were going to track a CR-Z vs. a Fit it does have some benefits. Rear discs vs. rear drums. 5x114.3 vs. 4x100 (negotiable on which is better), CR-Z came standard with a sway bar vs. the Fit which only got it on Sport models (3rd gen ditched it all together), and I'm pretty sure some of the older generation Civic Type R rear suspension bits bolt up to the CR-Z as well. The CR-Z doesn't have the best cupholder locations ever, it has that IMA stuff, a weird cargo area,
In reply to Knurled. :
Yeah, I get that. Generally speaking though the CR-Z seats were pretty much equally economy-grade with awful lumbar support which is a big deal for me personally. The lower seating position was better, but the seats themselves still sucked.
Half the reason I ended up with a GTI over safer options was the great seats...
Edmunds also did a take on this back in the day, only they used a first-gen CRX. Here's what JPH had to say.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/2011-honda-cr-z-vs-1987-honda-crx-si.html
I liked my Insights and wanted to like the CR-Z, but it's a little big and a little underpowered to have such mediocre fuel economy. I posted in Mazdeuce's Fit thread about how i spent years waiting to be disappointed and give up when Honda decided not to bring the Fit Hybrid to the US. I think there IS a middle ground for a sporty hybrid, but the CR-Z didn't find it, at least not stock. I'd be more interested in the supercharger thing if it didn't drive the cost of the entire car up by 30%, and im too lazy to turbo one myself when... I still have an Insight that would end up cooler with the same effort. 
I kinda forget these exist, and half the time that I see them, I think that they are an Insight. There was one that showed up to my local race track (Pineview Run) with a Rotrex supercharger kit, that I, as a big proponent of Rotrex blowers, was excited to see go, but it had a pretty inexperienced driver, so it just poked around the track at low speeds.
I'll just leave this here. Running with Honda's R&D rally team (along with a new Passport and a Fit)
The CR-Z was a huge disappointment for me. I really like the way that it looks, and really liked the CRXs. Can you imagine what a hoot the car would be with some real cojones?
Kreb said:The CR-Z was a huge disappointment for me. I really like the way that it looks, and really liked the CRXs. Can you imagine what a hoot the car would be with some real cojones?
A K swap into one with the batteries removed sounds like my idea of a good Time. K swapped Fits are friggin awesome. This is a lower fit.
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