If you ever want to be uninspired, just take a trip down to the local car lot and walk through the compact car section. There you will see row after row of basic transportation, vehicles designed to take you to work, go get groceries and in a pinch make a day trip outside the city. Given that buyers in the segment don’t expect much more than a reliable vehicle that starts every day and is easy on gas, manufacturers tend to engage in the most pedestrian of styling. This renders these vehicles no more attractive than a nice refrigerator or other appliance. Given their size and economy-orientation, many entry-level hybrid vehicles also get painted with the same brush by automotive designers, especially given the difficulty in placing enough battery capacity in such a small package. When push comes to shove, these designers almost always opt for form to follow function.
There was a time, however when companies tried to inject a little bit of excitement into the looks of subcompact cars. While they might not have lit any fires when it came to performance, vehicles like the
Honda CRX at least set themselves apart from the rest of the pack by being fun to drive and looking the part as well. The new 2007
Honda CR-Z Sport Hybrid concept is an attempt to echo the CRX and put forth the assertion that small hybrid cars can be exciting as well as economical. Powered by Honda’s standard gas-electric system, this attractive coupe marries a long, sloping front with a truncated rear deck, managing to avoid any abrupt or hard lines. The vehicle closely resembles the egg-shaped Civic SI of years passed, but with a more updated feel. The hybrid setup generates 93 horsepower from a 1.3 liter 4 cylinder gas engine, and this output is assisted by a 20 horsepower electrical motor. During braking the engine can drop down to using only one cylinder, maximizing fuel economy while the regenerative braking system recharges the vehicle’s batteries.
In addition to the drive train, the CR-Z Sport Hybrid helps save fuel by incorporating as many lightweight materials as possible. Gently illuminated flowing glass surfaces form the interior of the car, although this type of ornamentation is unlikely to make it to the final production – given the market that the CR-Z is targeting, costs will have to be cut somewhere. The car’s wide pillars and 19 inch wheels help to make it feel larger than it really is, another useful strategy when trying to get people out of another manufacturer’s compact car and into your own.
CR-Z stands for Compact Renaissance Zero, a typically befuddling Japanese acronym that refers to the rebirth of the compact car. This second coming involves both the styling and hybrid power, which
Honda feels sets the CR-Z Sport Hybrid head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. Will consumers see things the same way?
Honda has decided to focus their hybrid initiatives on their SUV’s and the CR-Z exclusively, as no other hybrid cars are in the works at this time. This means that there will be a lot of pressure for the CR-Z to compete with the likes of the Smart car, the Yaris and Korean offerings from
Hyundai and
Kia. The CR-Z Sport Hybrid is fortunate in the sense that it can build upon the heritage of the CRX, but the world has changed a lot in the intervening 15 years since we last saw the CRX on our shores. Drivers now have much more choice when it comes time to choose which compact car suits them the best, and only time will tell if the CR-Z’s combination of sport and sensibility will have buyers flocking to
Honda.
A new Sport Hybrid from Honda
Shorthand for "Compact Renaissance
Zero," the CR-Z forward-thinking
exercise in using inspired design and
the latest technology to create a
vehicle that delivers thrilling
perfomance, as well as reduced
enviromental footprint. Futuristic
styling. Hybrid power. Advanced
interrior design and it's all wrapped up
in a lightweight fun-to-drive package.
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May 6, 2008, 8:42 am
