Car Swap - Honda CR-Z

News of my decision to sell off my Nissan Fairlady soon traveled to my good friend's ear. He proposed an idea to swap my 350Z and his Honda CR-Z. He wanted to experience a fast and powerful, RWD car. Since I am selling the 350Z, I thought why not and I also would like to try daily driving his CR-Z. He told me the CR-Z's lighter clutch would be easier to live with on a daily basis. We met up one night, told each other the quirks of each car and went our separate ways with new rides. Previously, I have tested his CR-Z but I reckon, this time it will be a different experience. I was excited to see if it could live up to the nickname, "A poor guy's sports car". This CR-Z is completely stock except for the full body kit and you could read about my previous review here. The questions I am looking to answer would be, "Is the CR-Z, a 2 door hybrid car with a small engine, sporty enough and is it daily drive worthy or not?". I did get my answers by the end of this experience and I compiled it in a short report below. However, I will only cover areas regarding convenience and sportiness.

I will start off with the convenience of the CR-Z as a daily drive car. When you pick a daily ride, comfort would be your main concern as you will spend hours inside. The CR-Z looks like a sports car on the outside but it rides like a regular car. The ride is comfortable and very easy to drive. The clutch is light, making traffic jams an easy thing to survive. When you decide to go to the supermarket, there is a sufficient boot at the back for your bags and grocery. Although it has a small petrol tank, roughly around 40 liters, you can expect great fuel efficiency as it is a hybrid car. I was not used to this because I had to visit the petrol station a lot and all the cars I have driven have larger tanks. However, I was surprised by the mileage per tank of 400 km. It definitely saves some money for other purposes.

Good Rear Boot Space

Econ Mode that saves Petrol

There are several drawbacks to the CR-Z. This car comes with many inconveniences of a coupe. Coupes only have 2 doors and the doors on a coupe are longer than the doors of a sedan. This makes it difficult to get out of the car when parked in a tight space and difficult to access the rear seats. I mentioned rear seats but the one in the CR-Z is hopeless. A child can indeed access to it but calling that seats are too flattering because I would describe that as cardboard. The backrest is too straight and there is no cushion for support. The sitting position of the CR-Z is a little problematic for me. Some people like my wife do not like that it is too low to enter and when I  sat down, I fell on the seat because the seat was lower than expected, causing a little discomfort. It took me some time to adjust to my liking. I felt the position is quite awkward because it was not low like in a semi bucket seat but not tall enough to see ahead. Lastly, it is difficult to look into the rear while driving. The rear glass is useless due to the angle of it and the only access is the rear pane, which is small.

Large 2 doors

Now, let us look at the sportiness of this coupe. The first thing you notice when entering the cabin will be the multi-color cluster meter. The color changes depending on the driving mode; Eco, Normal, or Sports. Aesthetics aside, it is very easy to look at the meter because located in the center of the cluster is the digital speedometer surrounded by the rev meter. Both rev count and speed could be read together, making it easier to focus on the road. The next thing you noticed would the steering wheel and shifter combo. Sporty Honda models like the CR-Z tend to have a smaller diameter steering wheel and the 6-speed shifter has short throws, kind of feels like a short-shifter. These factors, coupled with a light clutch makes a great formula. The steering is light to turn with sharp response, gears easily engaged when shifting and footwork at ease. The CR-Z does not weight much and that makes it very agile and acceleration feels light, making it sporty to drive.

However, the lack of good suspension setup and brakes makes the car less sporty. The suspension is on the comfort side and during turns, body roll is significant. I could see the A-pillar waving in front of me while I turn. The front seats are without side bolster and during corners, it does not support the driver at all. Overall, it is too soft and the body roll makes me less confident to drive it harder. Meanwhile, the brakes on the CR-Z, like what most cars have, do a good job at reducing speed but it slows down the car too much. I only need a slight grip in order to switch lane or enter a corner. When there is too much speed reduction, it becomes difficult for the 1.5 liter engine to pick up speed afterward. Sometimes when driving at higher speed, the opposite happens and I find myself needing to shift down for engine braking. It feels like Honda could not decide whether the brakes should be for sporty drive or city drive. 

Fairly Basic Suspension and Brakes

The worst part of all, in my opinion, is the IMA hybrid system. Honda's hybrid is an assisting system that "boost" the power of the CR-Z. When the battery is fully charged, it really is quick to accelerate but unfortunately, when you needed it the most on the mountain road or on the highway, you will have a flat battery most of the time. Then, it becomes even slower than a regular Honda with a 1.5 liter engine. It charges when there is no acceleration and charges quicker when brakes are applied but it takes too long to charge and too quick to run out of juice. This is especially true in a cross country trip where you cruise all the time and the battery would not charge because there is no braking and feet will be maintaining the acceleration. 

Out of Battery

If I am a young adult who loves sports cars but had to survive living in the city on a budget, the Honda CR-Z would be a great choice as a daily drive. The looks of a coupe with low roofline would attract some attention and when you dress it up with a sporty body kit and wheels, some might mistaken it for a real sports car. At the same time, you get to enjoy the comfort of a regular car and get good mileage. It might lack some sporty features but the CR-Z has enough potential to become something sporty. You can get a better ride if you change the suspension, change the brakes and send for a tuning. If you have extra money, you could get forced induction like a turbo or supercharger. I have seen a Honda CR-Z with K20A engine from the Type R models. The limit of modification is your wallet. However, the owner said the CR-Z is a car that you need to grow to love over time.

4 pot Brake Calipers from Spoon