Honda CR-Z takes fight to Prius

A hybrid that matches Toyota's Prius on price but has sporty looks and the promise of a more engaging drive is the carrot Honda is waving at potential CR-Z buyers. Not that there will be a lot of them — Honda sales and marketing manager Stephen Collins predicts 600 sales of the petrol-electric CR-Z in the first year.

Prices start at $34,990 for the CR-Z Sport with a six-speed manual. The continuously variable transmission is another $2300, which should help push buyers to the auto-only CR-Z Luxury at $40,790. Both models are powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, boosted by an electric motor to produce 91kW and 167Nm in the auto or 174Nm in the manual.

Claimed fuel consumption is 5.0 litres/100km for the manual, sliding back to 4.7 lites/100km for the CVT. Standard features include rain-sensing front wipers, cruise control, climate control airconditioning LED running lights, Bluetooth telephony with steering wheel-mounted controls and a six-speaker stereo with USB and iPod connectivity.

The Luxury adds heated leather front seats, a satnav system that will play DVDs when the car is stationary and a panoramic glass sunroof. It delete's the Sport's rear parking sensors in favour of a reversing camera that displays on the satnav screen.

Honda says the sporty looks of the CR-Z — which takes its exterior inspiration from the CR-X of the 1980s — is matched on the road with a suspension and chassis tailored for driving enjoyment. There are also three driving modes — Eco, Normal and Sport — that adjust throttle response, the electric motor's output and even how hard the airconditioning system pumps.

Honda Australia says the Prius is a logical, but not natural competitor and prefers to compare the CR-Z with prestige small cars such as the Mini Cooper and Audi A1. The CR-Z joins the 1.3-litre Insight in Honda's hybrid line-up but sales and marketing manager Stephen Collins says "the demand for other fuels, like diesel" will lead to the company's first oilburner arriving in Australia in 2013 housed in a European-sourced Civic five-door hatch.