It does look good, and I'm sure it's fun to drive. I'm not elitist, I'm traditional. I like to be able to fix things that go wrong with my car, and since even the technicians have to go through extensive hybrid-specific electrical training then you can bet fiddling with the thing in my garage is out of the question.
Then by default you should dislike pretty much any modern car. I can't think of many that don't need a lot of help from factory techs to either fix or modify. The CR-Z is no different, but then by default should come under no more scrutiny because of that.
It's got a bunch of unnecessary hybrid technology packed in there which doesn't create much, if any benefit other than raising production costs and making people feel smug. It still gets the same gas mileage as all those crappy compacts from the 80s and 90s, especially various models of Honda's own CRX and Civic, both of which are perfectly acceptable cars to drive in the modern world, especially the second-gen CRX which happens to have one of the most clever interiors I've ever laid eyes on.
Except it does have the potential for significantly better economy than the cars you mention, and not only that but it produces fewer emissions (and I'm not just talking good ol' CO2, but other toxic emissions, stuff that all cars have improved upon in the last 20 years since the last CRX).
The fact that those old CRXs and Civics have the same kind of performance potential, a very heavy performance aftermarket and OEM market with parts starting at super cheaper and going up to slightly less cheap, and are easily maintained in your driveway in a rain storm by the most half-witted of car enthusiasts proves to me that they're by far the better car. They can also be had for as little as a tenth the price of this newfangled smugmobile.
What? 20-year old cars are available cheaper than new ones? Bloody hell, someone tell the public! Why are people buying new ones when they could go second hand instead! Why doesn't
everyone do that?
Oh wait...
You happen to own a 199Old NA Miata, so I know you know where I'm coming from.
I do indeed, but then it's rather foolish to assume that the fact my budget was only about £1k wasn't mostly responsible for me choosing the car I did... If I had £20k in my account sitting idle, I suspect I wouldn't have bought the car I did.
But you're British, so you like new car technology by default.
That doesn't make any sense. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people in the UK who aren't keen on more and more tech creeping into cars.
Actually, I'm one of them. Which is partly the reason I own a Miata. I like how simple it is.
But I also like the CR-Z. It's clever technology, and yet the car isn't weighed down by excess tech. At the end of the day it's still a fairly lightweight, inexpensive, manual-transmission hatchback that's fun to drive.
The top five on
Autoblog's article is occupied by two hybrids at the top and three conventional old cars, two of them being the CRX and Civic.
The leader is the original Insight...from 2000...which was very light and aerodynamic, and about as lame a drive as they get.
Rather demonstrates that you know very little about the subject, given that the original Insight is supposed to be a lot of fun to drive. Go read any review - quick steering, typical great Honda gearbox, responsive engine, very little inertia thanks to the low weight, pretty respectable performance given that it's got a one-litre engine, fairly stiff stock suspension, etc etc. Go read some reviews.
If you call yourself "traditional" and not "elitist" then surely you should be putting more emphasis on fun rather than dismissing something solely due to the technology used. These days it's pretty easy to find something that's fast but finding something fun is a bit more difficult. The CR-Z isn't fast but Honda made it fun even at low speeds, and they made it economical at the same time.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. People dislike it solely because it's a hybrid. They may dress it up with other meanings but it boils down to them disliking hybrids.
People bemoan Porsche and Ferrari now looking at that tech too, but they'll quit their whingeing when the cars they produce are still awesome to drive but manage 25% better economy than their predecessors.
Oh, and I really like the Integra that
Azuremen posted 👍