First Drive: 2011 Honda CR-Z
 

Filed under: Budget, Hybrid, Hatchback, Honda, First Drive

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Let's get this out of the way right now: the 2011 Honda CR-Z is not a CRX redux. To compare the two - no matter how much Honda may want to - is to misunderstand the former and besmirch the latter.

No, the hybrid CR-Z is an entirely different beast. Despite its three-door shape and two-seat configuration, it has about as much in common with the O.G. hatch as a big-screen remake of your favorite childhood TV show. The basic components are there, but the whole concept has been throttled to within an inch of its life with high-tech gadgetry, odd casting decisions and a questionable demographic.

But to Honda's credit, its rhetorical comparisons to the CRX have died down considerably since the CR-Z debuted in concept form and then progressed into a production model. Honda may have recognized after a lukewarm introduction outside the U.S. that glomming onto nostalgia will only get you so far (see: Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro). And to make something special - a vehicle that transcends the emotional baggage of its predecessor - you've got to evolve the concept and avoid relying on rose-tinted sentimentality.

To an extent, that's exactly what Honda has created. It hasn't built another hot hatch - the lightweight, K20-powered three-door enthusiasts crave - and instead it has attempted to meld the technology of the moment into a greenified competitor to the Mini Cooper. Think of it as the rogue lovechild of the original and current Insight, with a few sporting genes spliced into its DNA. But can a hybrid hatch be an entertaining steer? We took to California's twisties and clipped a few cones to find out.


Gallery: First Drive: 2011 Honda CR-Z

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Photos by Damon Lavrinc / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Honda CR-Z

First Drive: 2011 Honda CR-Z originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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