2010 Honda CR-Z

I'm not going to lie, when I first saw this car I almost laughed with how strange it looked. However, the more I see it the more I like it. From a looks point of view it's very interesting, at least from the front, the back looks ok-ish.

Honda is pushing the car as the "First 6-speed production hybrid" which sounds nice. Only one thing, it's not a full-on hybrid like a Prius is. There is an electric motor and a gas motor but the electric one runs at the same speed as the gas one so it's simplier but less efficient to the Toyota cousin.

On the other hand this might turn out better then it is. Unlike the Prius, this can come with a 6-speed manual gearbox but is still fuel efficient. The stats show that it can get 35/39 city and highway miles respectfuly. At the same time going from 0-62 in a little more then 10 seconds.

Lets compare this to another car with the same price frame. Lets say the Mini Cooper Hard Top.

First the engine, the Honda puts up a 1.5L 122hp i-VTEC engine. Like I said before it has 35/39 mpg city/highway with the Idle-Stop feature which turns the engine off when you come to a stop and then turns it on right after you take your foot off the brake. The Mini uses a 1.6L but puts out 1 less ph than the Honda. With a manual transmission, the Mini gets 29/37 city/highway mpg. Goes from 0-60 in 8.4 seconds.

All in all, I see the Honda with a 10.6 gallon fuel tank going 371 miles on a single tank (city mpg) and the Mini with a 13.2 gallon tank going 383 miles. Which means that the Honda CR-Z is something like a "My First Hybrid." It's like a hybrid but not really. However, this car is good because you can say that you are saving the planet while still being a fast hatchback.

I will probably talk about this a little bit more in the future so stay tuned...