When Honda showed the CR-Z concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007, the design and idea behind the eco-friendly coupe was so simple and flawless that Honda barely changed it for the model going on sale August 24th.

The CR-Z's look is very original, not stealing much from other Honda vehicles. It has an expansive glass rear hatch that seems to extend half the length of the vehicle, almost as if someone chopped a car into thirds, pulled out the center section and fused the two ends together.

As two-door hybrid that seats two people, it resembles the original Honda Insight of 2000 but sadly delivers noticeably lower fuel economy, despite the wide-ranging technology improvements of the past decade.

That original wedge-shaped Insight was rated at 65 miles per gallon in combined city-highway driving (a figure adjusted to 53 mpg after the calculation method was changed in 2008). The new CR-Z gets 34 mpg with a six-speed manual transmission or 37 with a continuously variable automatic.

The 2011 Honda CR-Z is the least expensive of the new hybrid small cars out from the competition.  I The sporty EX version with navigation system has a sticker price of $23,310. The Honda Insight starts at $20,550.

CR-Z's sold in other countries come with a small, third back seat. It seems odd that Honda decided to go with a two-seater, given that a chief complaint about the first-generation Insight was the space taken by its batteries, leaving room for only two people. The current, second-generation Insight seats four.

For more on the upcoming 2011 Honda CR-Z coupe, contact Scholfield Honda - 7017 East Kellogg Dr, Wichita, KS 67207.



Source:  http://www.startribune.com/cars/100474974.html?elr=KArksDyycyUtyycyUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU