Thursday, February 17, 2011

2011 Honda CR-Z EX Review

The 2011 Honda CR-Z EX is the first sport hybrid out on the market. Many think of sports cars as fast on acceleration, a road hugger, and a sleek design. Usually something that doeesn't exactly fit with a hybrid. The sports side wants to focus on power and handling, while the hybrid side wants its focus on lowered emissions, and fuel efficiency. How can they work together?

This article makes a good point about how early sports cars were anything but fast out of the gate, or all that powerful:

Historically "sports cars" have not always been exceedingly powerful -- the MG TC that started American fascination with sports cars produced all of 54 horsepower from a 1.25-liter engine, for a top speed of less than 80 mph and a 0-60 time around 20 seconds. While it and many of the British and European sports cars that followed it from the late 1940s through the late 1960s were none too quick in acceleration or top speed compared to American sedans of the day, they were considerably better in their roadholding abilities, and much more pleasurable to drive.

While that was the case then, does the same apply today? Any reason why the sports hybrid isn't possible? car insurance quotes possible with one?

Enter the CR-Z. Think of it as a descendent of both the now-legendary CRX coupe of the 1980s and early `90s and the original Insight of 2000. It's not "the new CR-X", it's the CR-Z. Yes, it looks like what a 2011 CRX would look like, and its suspension is tuned well for sporty ride and handling characteristics, but it's a very different car than the CRX, or the first Insight. It's the sportiest hybrid yet, but its focus is broader than merely sport.

No comments: