Perhaps I’d gotten my hopes up a bit too much for this one. The concept of the Honda CR-Z sounded brilliant: tiny short-wheelbase two-seater, electric motor assist, 6-speed manual transmission, basically a combination of Honda economy and reliability with a bit of funkiness and fun-to-drive.

But I’m just not so sure.  The production CR-Z debuted at NAIAS yesterday, and I don’t quite think they’ve perfected the formula.  I’ll get the bad parts off the table first: the CR-Z has a total of 122bhp, yet with a stick shift it only manages to attain an average of 33mpg on the US cycle.  For a car this small with this little power, I was sort of expecting fuel mileage numbers starting with a 50, not a 30.  If I wanted to average 30mpg in mixed driving, I’d get a Golf Diesel (preferrably the 170bhp GDI with the GTI suspension!) and cane the life out of it constantly.  But this isn’t the sole appeal of the CR-Z, and I’m not going to dismiss a car this interesting on the surface for it’s less-than-amazing MPG numbers.

At it’s core, the CR-Z is sort of an “Insight-lite.”  It’s obviously shorter and lighter, being a 3-door hatchback with only two seats.  It’s styled up to remind people of the old, much-loved Honda CRX with it’s vertical rear glass, pinched greenhouse, and short stubby athletic-shoe proportions.  Viewing the side profile makes the humongous front overhang more prominent, but it seems to disappear entirely at some angles – a neat trick! It does seem like the production CR-Z lost some of the drama and neat, sharp detailing of the concept – but I suppose that’s to be expected.

It still uses the 10kW DC Brushless electric motor (hooked up to a tiny NiMH battery) but instead of the Insight’s weezing 1.5L, it gets a slightly larger 1.8L SOHC 16v I4.  There are all the usual Honda tricks: i-VTec cam timing, regenerative braking, start/stop technology to save gas, etc etc.  It adds up to 122bhp@6000 rpm, and 128lb-ft of torque@1,000-1,500 rpm (CVT models only have 123lb-ft, however.)  This tiny IMA setup qualifies as an AT-PVEZ powertrain accord to CARB (California Air Resources Board), and they take their greenwashing seriously.

As you may have gathered, the big deal about the CR-Z is the combination of an efficient gas-electric hybrid powertrain with a traditional six-speed manual transmission.  It’s been a long time since you could get a hybrid with a stick shift – in fact, the last one was most likely the early Honda Insight from the late ninties – all 3 cylinders and 69 horsepower of it.  Honda says this car will “bring driving joy to the hybrid equation,” and a clutch pedal is pretty important to meeting that requirement.  I’m not sure 122bhp will, though.

Now, as for the mileage numbers.  This is where I begin to scratch my head.  The CVT-equipped model has preliminary ratings of 36 city/38 highway, which averages out to 37mpg (obviously.)  Which, again, is not bad.  But the MPG drop for the manual is pretty severe: 31 city and 37 highway equates to 33mpg combined, which isn’t even much better than the full-sized Civic non-hybrid (29mpg average) or the Fit (30mpg average.)  What’s the point of having a tiny engine and all those fancy battery packs and electric motors if the regular gas engines are so efficient already that you’ll never make back the hybrid premium here?  Or maybe it’s not supposed to make sense – you know, these crazy niche products.  Interestingly enough, there’s also a three-mode performance selector for the car, which alters engine and electric motor responsiveness as well as power-steering assist – Sport, Normal, and Eco.  Imagine that – a hybrid with a “Sport” button.  I feel the ground getting cold beneath my feet.

Still, disappointing power and mileage numbers aside, I’d have to imagine the CR-Z will be a fun steer.  With a light kerb weight, short wheelbase, and what hopefully will be a typically Honda-awesome manual trans, it will probably be an amusing runabout of a car.  And you can’t say it lacks for equipment – that interior is pretty neat.  Standard equipment includes VSA, a 6-speaker stereo with AM/FM/CD/USB capabilities, auto climate control, and a bunch of other mod-cons.  Stepping up to the CR-Z EX model gets you HID headlights, a 360 watt 7-speaker premium audio setup with a subwoofer, Bluetooth compatability, a leather steering wheel, and available satnav.  No pricing has been announced yet, but you know all those batteries and motors and goofy hypbrid stuff isn’t cheap – it’ll probably start in the low 20′s.

Does this car make any sense?  Perhaps not to me.  Perhaps I’m not the target demographic.  But I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by this car – it promised so much, but I just don’t think it’s going to be able to deliver on those promises.  Now, if they would do the right thing and drop a K20Z3 in the engine bay (the 2.0L 16v screamer from the Civic Si, 197bhp and an 8500rpm fuel cut!) we would be in business!  Besides, who buys a tiny sports coupe to get good fuel mileage, anyway?  C’mon, Honda.