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Wednesday, May 11, 2011
When it goes on sale Aug. 24, the CR-Z will be the first hybrid in six model years to offer a manual transmission; it will also be available with a continuously variable automatic transmission. As the spiritual successor to the wedge-shaped CRX, produced from 1984 to '91, the two-door, two-seat CR-Z joins the five-seat Insight and Civic hybrids in Honda's semi-electric lineup. Final pricing hasn't been released, but Honda says the base CR-Z will cost less than $20,000 including the destination charge. The 2010 Insight is $20,550 with destination, and the Civic Hybrid starts at $24,550.
The interior of the production car has been influenced by the cabin of the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show Honda CR-Z Concept, especially the 3D speedometer and driver focussed cabin. The high-technology instrument binnacle places all of the commonly used controls close to the driver's hands, allowing full concentration on driving at all times.
The dashboard of the new coupe has a complex and interesting form, with a dark upper portion appearing to float above a light grey lower dash section, which is continued into the centre of the inner door panels.
Equipment levels on the Honda CR-Z are generous with all grades benefitting from six airbags, active headrests, Vehicle Stability Assist and Hill Start Assist. All CR-Zs will also come fitted with Climate Control, 6-speaker CD player, USB iPod® link and an engine start button. Middle and top grades benefit from leather seats, steering wheel audio controls and alloy pedals. Top grades gain Bluetooth® Hands Free Telephone controls, Cruise Control, Panoramic Glass Roof, HID lights and 360W high power audio system - including a boot mounted sub-woofer.
The stylish interior has a 2+2 layout, opening up the possibility of carrying smaller adults for short distances or children on longer journeys. The one-touch motion folding rear seats open up a flat floored cargo area, that gives a surprising 382 litres of cargo space, on a par with most C-segment hatchbacks, allowing a wider range of luggage to be carried. The flexible luggage area also has an under-boot area of 19 litres to stow additional cargo, or store items out of sight.
The chassis was an important factor in the development of the new car, with driver enjoyment being a core part of the design brief. The platform shares some components with the Jazz and Insight models, but the wheelbase, track width and set-up are all unique to the new hybrid. Overall the Honda CR-Z has a 115 mm shorter wheelbase and is 310 mm shorter in overall length than the Insight, enhancing agility and reducing kerb weight by 57 kg compared to its 5-door, five-seat, family car cousin.
The Honda CR-Z suspension features unique, springs and dampers setting and the tolerances are also unique. One of the major detail changes is the adoption of a forged aluminium lower arm in the MacPherson strut front suspension to replace the Insight's pressed steel items. This reduces weight of each wishbone by 2 kg and also increases strength to cope with the wider track width and tyres.
The Honda CR-Z was created from a project to create a sporty coupe for the second decade of the 21st century. The compact dimensions, light weight construction and aerodynamic design brings a dual benefit of improving performance, but also cutting fuel consumption and emissions.
The design has hints of Honda's past with the split level window and shallow sloping roof, combining them with complex curves and deeply scalloped panels that would have been impossible to mass produce just a few years ago.
Modern car design has many constraints placed upon it, with the increasing number of regulations and policies which influence the shape of new models. The major challenge that faced Honda's designers and engineers was to maintain the sleek low bonnet design of the initial design studies, while adopting the 1.5-litre engine with IMA system and complying with pedestrian impact requirements. Honda's engineers worked tirelessly with the designers to reduce the height of the engine, as well as working on suspension and body hard points to allow for sufficient clearance for bonnet deformation.
The wide and low stance is enhanced at the front end by the unusual one piece grille, which extends above and below the front bumper line. This grille is a key feature of the car's "face", with a pronounced raised area of the bonnet flowing from its top line right up to the base of the windscreen. The wide tapering headlights, with day time running lights elegantly integrated into the lower edges, extend towards the edges of the strongly flared wheels arches.
The angle of curvature at the edge of the windscreen of the Honda CR-Z is the greatest of any current Honda model, and it blends almost seamlessly into the A-pillars and side windows. This wraparound effect is only possible because of the revolutionary rain gutters integrated into the front pillars that significantly reduce the usual step between the edge of the windscreen and the A-pillar by 50%. As well as creating a distinctive visual effect, the reduction in this step has clear aerodynamic benefits, reducing turbulence in this important area. The integrated look is accentuated by the gloss black surface finish applied to the A-pillars, creating the illusion of a single piece of glass.
The wraparound screen positions the A-pillars further back in the side profile, giving the bonnet a longer and lower appearance. By curving the glass around the sides of the car, Honda's engineers were able to achieve excellent forward visibility, a key factor in safety and enthusiastic driving.
The Honda CR-Z emits just 117 g/km of CO2 on the EU test cycle and consumes just 5.0 l/100km of fuel. This CO2 figure is just 1 g/km higher than the original Civic IMA, an incredible achievement considering the over 30 PS power advantage the CR-Z has over its saloon ancestor.
The Honda CR-Z engine used is based on the 1.5-litre Jazz unit with changes to the valve timing allowing for one intake valve to be deactivated at low engine speeds. This creates an additional swirl effect which enables fast combustion and higher exhaust gas recirculation. The effect of this additional turbulence is to reduce emissions and improve fuel consumption. At higher revs, both intake valves are opened to increase power output.
Numerous small changes are made to the engine to suit the characteristics of the Honda CR-Z, integration of the IMA system and installation in the coupe body. The original engine, as it was installed in the Jazz, would not fit under the low bonnet of the car as it stood. The development engineers developed a new intake manifold and a flat air cleaner assembly, to give sufficient clearance and allow space for pedestrian impact protection.
The 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine has not been seen in an EU specification car before and was chosen for its combination of light weight, fuel efficiency and compact size. The block of the 1.5-litre engine is similar to other Jazz engine variants and the Insight meaning that integration of the IMA system is simplified. Because the basic block layout is shared with the 1.3-litre Insight engine, the sump pan that was developed for that car was adopted. This measure assisted the team in the task of reducing the overall engine height and lowering the position in the chassis.
A Manual Hybrid
Of the two transmissions, the standard six-speed manual is the more responsive and certainly the more fun, as manuals usually are. The six-speed stick has a decent feel, with reasonably short throws. The gear ratios are well chosen to give the car a respectable launch, and the clutch and all other aspects feel like any other manual, which is nice when compared with all other hybrids, whose continuously variable characteristics vary in refinement and all feel a bit foreign in the best of circumstances.
It doesn't hurt that the engine-motor combination has 5 pounds-feet more torque at a lower rpm when teamed with the stick: 128 pounds-feet at 1,750 rpm versus 123 at 2,000 rpm. The horsepower rating is constant at 122. The hybrid system is Honda's relatively simple Integrated Motor Assist, in which an electric motor is effectively mounted to the crankshaft — an oversimplification, but the point is it turns only when the engine does. The gas engine automatically turns off when the car comes to a stop, and the electric motor restarts it when you lift your foot off the brake.
The motor also assists in acceleration, contributing 13 horsepower at 1,500 rpm and 58 pounds-feet of torque at 1,000 rpm to the overall rating. When coasting or braking, it serves as a generator, regenerating electricity and charging the high-voltage battery pack.
Where the Insight uses a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine, the CR-Z has a 1.5-liter. This higher displacement and sportier, higher-rolling-resistance tires play a part in the car's decreased mileage, as does a higher coefficient of drag: 0.3 versus the Insight's 0.2.
The brake pedal feel is also quite good for a hybrid. Regenerative braking tends to make the pedal mushy and nonlinear. (If anything, the current-generation Prius is worse in this regard than the previous one.) Between its stick shift and decent brake pedal feel, the manual CR-Z is the least hybridlike hybrid we've driven.
It's good to drive a manual hybrid again, as the last one went out of production with the previous-generation Civic Hybrid in 2005. There is a tradeoff, though, in gas mileage. In regular cars, manuals often are more efficient, but it all depends on how you drive them. This goes double for hybrids, because the alternative, a computer-controlled CVT, does a better job of maximizing regenerative braking. However, Honda says a driver who follows the manual CR-Z's shift-up and shift-down indicator arrows can come close to the CVT's rating.
Continuously Variable Automatic Transmission
I also drove the CVT version, which behaves pretty well. CVTs sometimes accelerate abruptly from a standing start or come to a stop awkwardly. The CR-Z lurched a bit upon launch, but it improved once the car had warmed. I also noticed smoother response if I let off the brake and waited for the engine to spin up and engage the transmission before hitting the gas pedal. Otherwise I'd catch the sleeping engine by surprise and it would jump out of bed and whack its head on the transmission, if you will. Like other CVTs, when you accelerate hard, the engine zooms to its top speed and the transmission accelerates the car as the engine drones on at a constant and rather loud level.
The CVT makes full use of the CR-Z's three-mode drive system. In both versions, Sport mode decreases the power-steering assist, and Econ mode switches the air-conditioning compressor to a more efficient cycle. With the manual transmission, the modes vary how much the car accelerates based on accelerator-pedal depression. It's more responsive in Sport, reluctant in Econ and up the middle in Normal mode. In the CVT, it varies the throttle response less and the gear ratio quite a bit.
As a brand-new model, the CR-Z hasn't been crash-tested yet. Standard safety features include frontal, side-impact and curtain airbags and active head restraints. Also standard are antilock brakes with discs at all four corners and an electronic stability system with traction control.
reference:www.netcarshow.com,www.cars.com
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