Honda Is Entrusting CleanMPG With the 6-speed CR-Z For A Week :D

Hi Sean:

With all the additional safety gear and HS steels, the much larger and more potent 1.5L Fit engine with IMA attached, it did perform well.

Robert, when between 28 and 38 mph with LOD < 33% and IGN between 23 and 27, the CR-Z would hold 70 to 80 mpg. The window was not nearly as large or as fast as the HCH-II but when in it, 65 + was an easy target to shoot for. After I got off of US Hwy 20 in Webster City, I headed north on desolate country roads in the middle of the night. The HID’s were great for lighting but they were pointed just a little low so I had to use the Hi-Beams (standard Halogen) for most of the North facing drive. The deer out there do not run across the road like they do in IL, they walk slowly as did the Skunks, Possums and Raccoons. I kept it under 45 mph for probably 50 + miles other than the occasional small towns with 35 mph limits until I got to Woden which saw her at 64.2 mpg and 400.2 miles when I stopped for the night.

Dan, I was skeptical of the CR-Z doing anything compared to the HI-II and HCH-II when this car arrived. The CR-Z w/ the 6-speed is rated at just 34 combined while the HI-II is rated at 41 mpg combined. I would say the CR-Z is a lot closer to the HI-II vs. the EPA delta’s between the two. I am guessing the HI-II would have allowed maybe 68 to 70 mpg for that trip? 65.8 vs. 68 is nothing really. This is not blasting down the freeway at 65 + mph however. It is a relaxing 50 to 55 mph with the occasional FAS thrown in for the steeper sections and droop to the minimums during the steep climbs when no traffic was around on US-20.

Darrell, the S2000 was a 21 mpg combined rag top with no space in the rear and cost south of $34,000. A total waste and only helps to keep us hooked to the oil addiction habit. The CR-Z w/ a 6-speed stick is rated at 34 mpgUS combined (same as the Golf and Jetta TDI’s), has room in the hatch to stow “stuff” and costs less than $20K brand new. I think you can do the math on this one… It is the same reason I do not blast the Tesla Roadster. They are not tying us to the pump like an addicted junkie shooting heroine in the back room of a flop house. The S2000 did exactly that.

The 2011 Honda CR-Z

​

The Lake Theater in Clear Lake, Iowa was the first movie theater I was given permission to go to by myself. IIRC, my dad gave me two bucks for the movie, some pop and popcorn and away I went. I was about 8-years old and saw the movie Tora Tora Tora. One of my fondest memories and it occurred over 400-miles from my home at this very location almost 40-years ago to the day.

Just to the right but I cropped it out was the corner drug store with a malt shop inside. My parents took my sister and me there and we used to order the best milk shakes money could buy…

​

The Boat Launch right at the end of the street in downtown Clear Lake, Iowa. It was 95 degrees F with a heat index of 114 yesterday. Just to the left of this pic is the municipal beach which I spent many a Saturday afternoon at swimming.

Just to the right was the Municipal Park with band shell. When I was 5, I won a prize (a stuffed bunny IIRC) by finding one of the special Easter Eggs at the Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday morning in 1967. Made the local paper and just another one of those memories not 75-yeards from the spot the CR-Z is parked for the pic.

​

This is a shot of the CR-Z at the Mason City Airport. My father spent many hours there as a kid helping pilots do stuff for free rides up into the sky. While he never did pick up a pilot’s license, he still loves to fly and anytime it’s a single or dual prop job including float planes, he is almost giddy with excitement. He’d rather fly in a Bombardier or Cessna twin over a jet any day of the week.

That however was not the purpose of this shot. My mom flew out to Iowa in 1960 or 61 and landed at this very airport in what had to be a DC-3 of all things… I will have to look at the pics in my parent’s photo album again but it was big, silver and had twin props… She went out there to meet my grandmother for the very first time and spent much of the next two days in bed due to being air sick from the experience.

2011 Honda CR-Z A/C and FE

​

For those that do not think the CR-Z can handle A/C, I would say this is a respectable result. While in Eco Mode, the CR-Z’s A/C would pulse with a few seconds on and a few seconds (maybe 20-seconds or so between the cycle) off to keep you cool. The way I notice it was I a higher speed NICE-ON and the SG-II kept popping back from 230 mpg to over 400 mpg a few times. I shook my head for a while trying to imagine what the heck was causing that as the DC to DC Inverter was not kicking out. I put my hand to the A/C vent and you could feel it cool quickly when the FE went down with temperature increasing while the FE went up. From a personal standpoint, I could not feel the difference unless I put my hand right up to the vents. Probably well under the 2-degree comfort delta threshold that most would feel anyway. And cool it would. Run it at 65 degrees and it would get you down to that level fast and hold it there as fan speeds dropped automatically even with ambient exterior temps in the mid-90’s in the mid-day sun.

During an Auto-Stop, the Fan would go to a very slow speed (barely moving anything) and would hold this mode for at least two minutes as that was my longest light while driving around Clear Lake and through downtown Mason City. After a minute, it was getting warmer in the car but nothing I would move from Eco to Normal or Sport Mode and allow the Engine kick on for.

Standard fan based ventilation (no A/C) from both the driver and passenger side was a bit weak even with the fan speed jacked up to full. Anytime you were above 50% of the Fan bars, it got noisy as well.

Where the worst FE hit came was between Madison and Racine, WI. It was raining so hard that 50 mph was overdriving my lights big time. The CR-Z was barely pulling 45 mpg until the rain stopped and then she picked right back up again.

2011 Honda CR-Z Blindspot

​

This one is a real bitch to put it lightly. I think I know where it is coming from too. Honda got smashed in the latest IIHS crash test results because their roof strength numbers were not nearly in line with the IIHS’ standards for Top Pick recommendations. Just like the 11 Hyundai Sonata, the CR-Z’s A, B and C-Pillars are massively thick which I could not figure out until the IIHS crash test idea. I am not sure but I believe the IIHS has a lot to do with this and if so, there will be a lot more side swipes in the future as manufacturers beef up the A, B and C-Pillars for that once in a billion mile rollover… In terms of the number of accidents, injuries and deaths, this could end up being a losing proposition for all of us?

I have to take my wife out in the CR-Z and will be back later

Good Luck

Wayne

 

Hi All:

G.Schmitz drove the little beauty back home this morning but not until I got its Comp P&G and Finals w/ and w/out AC from Iowa and back completed…

2011 Honda CR-Z – Saying Goodbye

​

JP, I adjust the mirrors into the blind spot and away from the car but a head check is still a necessity with the mirrors backing what is seen up. I check my mirrors initially, perform a head check and check the mirrors again before a lane change but I never trust mirrors alone. The blind spot to the left is possibly the worst I have experienced in an automobile unfortunately as you simply cannot see into it even with my head against the window and leaning as far forward as I can

Unadjusted 113.5 mpg (114.9 mpg actual) RT Comp P&G segment. Unadjusted
59.3 mpg (60.0 mpg actual) w/out A/C heading out and with A/C coming back.​

Dan, as you can see from the above, the stick based 2011 CR-Z would destroy the CVT based HI-II and I am quite positive the CVT based CR-Z as well when taking it to its limits. The highest I have achieved in an HI-II (they come std. with CVT's) was 96.x mpg something and the CR-Z literally took it to the woodshed. Honda CVT's are poor performers in our realm other than a really tall ratio while on the highway... Something Honda could have remedied but decided they needed a 30% lower ratio so someone racing around in sixth gear could stay in sixth gear instead of downshifting to fourth like they will be doing anyway? The Comp P&G segment at just under 115 mpg was a RT loop just to my north with two lights and four stop signs encountered. I had one blown FAS but recovered after maybe 15 seconds or so...

I forgot another item. Bluetooth hands free is not to Honda’s usual HQ standard? It is hard to understand incoming calls for some reason and Honda uses essentially the same setup in all of their vehicles? I tried playing around with the Bass and Treble, Fade and Balance and even the sub-woofer control and could not make an incoming call sound clean for some reason?

2011 Honda CR-Z front storage spaces


Deep front storage w/ 2-Cup Holders, Aux port and 12V outlet. Battery charger, camera, cell phone
and charger plus SG-II stored as shown. Small glove compartment on the right of course.​

About the handling… While coming through Dodgeville, WI on highway 18, you go from a 55 or 65 mph 4-lane to a 55 mph 2-lane IIRC and into a Roundabout. Little warning about this either. I came in and saw it ahead. Instead of bringing her down to sub 20’s, I let her hang in the 30’s in the outside ring with no traffic entering or exiting the roundabout just before dusk the other day. That thing held like it was on rails. While I am exaggerating of course, it really does handle well as written a few pages back.

Good Luck

Wayne

 

Hi All:

More on the 2011 Honda CR-Z’s storage capacity…

Max and Minimum Storage Setup


Rear Hatch setup for minimum and maximum capacity with separator (what would normally be a rear seat) first up and then down.
My carry on luggage, back pack with Laptop, very large rolled up 0 degree sleeping bag in back and the Atlas, water (and usually a
12-pack of Pepsi but I drank it all already ) in the rear storage recesses. With its max cap, everything is laid out and there is still
room for another carryon, sleeping bag, air mattresses and tent if need be...

Privacy Shade installed


As seen, the shade hides everything. And can be pulled out in seconds as
you push in a side and pop it out. It stores behind the rear seats easily.

True Reclining Seats in the CR-Z


Reclining seat angles. Passenger seat is adjusted fully forward and laid back
to its max. Driver’s seat is adjusted fully back and laid back to its max.​

An area where the 00 – 06 HI-I fell apart was the inability to recline the rear seats much beyond maybe 20 degrees at best. If you needed to sleep in the HI-I, you were quite literally screwed. The 2011 CR-Z cures that problem with seats that almost fully recline… finally

Good Luck

Wayne

 

Huh. My civic, a generation before the HCH-1, will recline the seats until they're on the rear seat cushion - nearly flat. I wonder why they designed that out of the next version, and then added it back in now. ??

Nice that the cargo cover is easy to remove, and has a place to ride along. Unlike some cars where it ends up living in the garage for years.

 

Hi Andrew:

The HI-I had no rear seats and the rear deck was high so it could cover the spare plus the IMA systems back there. The HI-II is fine as the seats fully recline… Even more so than the CR-Z I think The Seats in the HI-I simply had no room to recline even when you moved them fully forward as the rear deck halted the angle to maybe 20 or so degrees from Vertical at best.

And so true about that cargo cover being stored in the garage forever… I know lots of Prius drivers doing that JP actually found the place for the Privacy Shade directly behind the front seats when the rear seat (it is not really a rear seat but separator or whatever we should call it???) is folded down to maximize the hatch accessible cargo space.

Good Luck

Wayne

 

I misread that as HCH instead of HI. Makes perfect sense now, especially with the overseas option of a rear seat for the CR-Z.

 

Hi JP:

I never even opened it up (the spare tire recess under the rear deck). Sorry about that...

Wayne

 

It also hides in this same area in the Prius, in the little "magic" storage area. I always use mine, so it's hardly ever stored. The only hitch is you need to pull up the left side panel as well, and shift the jack rising arm out of the way. My wife, however, seems to have a hatred for the shade and never resets it back to closed.

 

Hi Karen:

Nothing wrong but it gets expensive

Sean, started at 6 bars and finished up at 4 from the 100V pack.

Wayne

 

Hi Sean:

100 + would be easy without hitting the pack in a competition based segment. Just like the Insight-I, pull her SoC down and then get serious would be the order of the day for a tank at 110 +. It was strange though. Not pulling any assist and LOD down in the mid 50’s range while Accelerating. Not at all what I would have expected yet the CR-Z w/ a stick would easily blow out the Prius-III, HCH-II and HI-II under a similar regiment. If only fifth and sixth gears were tall (1,800 R’s at 60 mph vs. 2,450) for the much higher steady state highway numbers :ccry:

I never really afforded myself the opportunity to HS P&G the little beauty on the big slab as G. Schmitz arrived about 45-minutes early this morning leaving the HS P&G testing unfinished.

Good Luck

Wayne