In the next while, I’m looking at a significant change to my commute. Changing from 10 kms to about 70, if I get the house I’m considering.
My current DD, 03 VW Golf 2.0L doesn’t get great mileage.Good but not great.
I’ve looked at Prius, Volt, CT200H and they go for crazy cash around here.
I found a CR-Z for reasonable coin and the big plus - 6spd manual. I understand that the Honda is more like a gas car that the electric motor assist, but I would like to get some opinions on it.
Can the mods change the title for me. I don’t know why Apple decided to put my name there.
I wanted it to say, Thoughts on CR-Z
I like the CR-Z, but never driven it. Looking at it in terms of MPG being most important, but closely followed by fun-to-drive, it is really the best thing there is at a reasonable price point.
My new commute has me in a similar position; if I thought that I could make do with a two seater I'd be considering it strongly. Other things that were/are on my list that you haven't mentioned are following:
Smart car
Smart car-electric (not sure about the range and your charging options)
Volt
Cadillac ELR (low $20's, depreciation is a bitch)
Lincoln MKZ hybrid
Fusion Hybrid
What's the reason for wanting better fuel economy?
Title updated. Phones see that as a name field and try to auto fill sometimes
I’d add the Fit to the list. From what I’ve read it gets similar mileage to the CR-Z while offering way more practicality. They’re fun to drive & bulletproof too.
My boss bought a CR-Z new and loved it. Just traded it on a new Civic last year with about 50k on it I think. I rode in it a few times but never drove it. Seemed like a decent small car, adn he was very careful driving and got good mpg. Mid 30s maybe? At 6'2" and 250lbs I barely fit in the passenger seat and was only marginally comfortable once there.
ultraclyde said:My boss bought a CR-Z new and loved it. Just traded it on a new Civic last year with about 50k on it I think. I rode in it a few times but never drove it. Seemed like a decent small car, adn he was very careful driving and got good mpg. Mid 30s maybe? At 6'2" and 250lbs I barely fit in the passenger seat and was only marginally comfortable once there.
Ok - I'm 6'4" and 330, so there maybe an issue here!
Suprf1y said:What's the reason for wanting better fuel economy?
Not dumping cash into the tail pipe. I can't afford a house closer to work location due to proximity to Toronto.
EastCoastMojo said:Title updated. Phones see that as a name field and try to auto fill sometimes
Thanks!
Can't comment on the size, as I am shorter than both of you, but my sister had one until last month that they had purchased new. As to the car, it was nice and drove well. Of course being a Honda there was very little that went wrong. I drove it a few times and remember it being fairly quick, and although not CRX tossable, was still somewhat fun to drive. You could stuff a fair amount in the hatch as well.
I drove two CRZs when shopping for a new daily driver (ended up with a Focus ST). I really liked it. It is very small but I'm 6'5" and fit fine. It was fun to drive, great shifter, peppy for what it is, decent handling. I especially liked it in purple.
The rear and 3/4 visibilty was scary-bad. I got pretty paralyzed during a test drive in a blind merge situation. This was probably my biggest ding against it.
My g/f has an 09 Fit and honestly is does every normal-car thing better than the CRZ. If it was a stick, it would be a toss-up in the fun-to-drive category. We can actually fit more stuff in the Fit than in the Focus.
The CRZ is cool, IMO. If you're into weird cars or ok having something very tiny it's good. If practicality is a priority at all, I'd probably get Fit.
I've driven a manual one and I really liked it. If I was in the market for a sporty-ish hybrid I'd seriously consider one if I could live with the 2 seats.
If its the torque converter or CVT that makes you want a manual, maybe check out some lease deals on direct drive EV's. They aren't so bad feeling to drive. I'm not sure what your monthly gasoline $$$ is, but after a certain point it can make sense. Especially if your region has incentives.
NGTD said:Suprf1y said:What's the reason for wanting better fuel economy?
Not dumping cash into the tail pipe. I can't afford a house closer to work location due to proximity to Toronto.
I moved for the same reason and played the game for over 20 years. I always found that it was more economical to drive something like what you already have vs a car that's actually worth something.
Didn’t Rutledge Wood say it was slow but fun?
Top gear season 1 episode 7.
Honestly I can't see a CR-Z with the relatively short ratio 6 speed getting much better highway mileage than a ABA gas Golf from that era. Factor in the cost difference of the car itself and I think you are still cheaper keeping the Golf.
The CR-Z is not a gas saving eco car like an Insight. It's a fun little car that happens to have a hybrid system but still gives pretty lame MPG's for being a hybrid. (Mid 30's average is very disappointing for a small car with a manual and the electric assist) I bet if they put a K series in it factory it would return the same highway MPG.
If you have to buy a new car, look in to a used Prius C. We've had ours over 3 years now and get 50 mpg with a rack on top in the summer and 45 mpg in the winter on studded tires.
Both of my Honda fits were more fun than the crz I test drove. My second gen got 52mpg one time. No joke.
Suprf1y said:NGTD said:Suprf1y said:What's the reason for wanting better fuel economy?
Not dumping cash into the tail pipe. I can't afford a house closer to work location due to proximity to Toronto.
I moved for the same reason and played the game for over 20 years. I always found that it was more economical to drive something like what you already have vs a car that's actually worth something.
I was thinking that you are probably right. I’ve owned the Golf for 5 years and only paid $2K for it. It only has 208K kms on it. Other than some surface rust that I need to clean up, it has no major issues.
Driving the wheels off the Golf maybe the better option and save the cash for a fun car. Or a 2-wheeler!!
NGTD said:Suprf1y said:NGTD said:Suprf1y said:What's the reason for wanting better fuel economy?
Not dumping cash into the tail pipe. I can't afford a house closer to work location due to proximity to Toronto.
I moved for the same reason and played the game for over 20 years. I always found that it was more economical to drive something like what you already have vs a car that's actually worth something.
I was thinking that you are probably right. I’ve owned the Golf for 5 years and only paid $2K for it. It only has 208K kms on it. Other than some surface rust that I need to clean up, it has no major issues.
Driving the wheels off the Golf maybe the better option and save the cash for a fun car. Or a 2-wheeler!!
That depends on the math. At 55% city miles, $3.00 gas, and 11k miles a year, the Golf will be approximately $1,400 in fuel a year; the CRZ $950, and a Prius $700. To make it easy math, we'll go with the Prius--assuming a $2k sale price on the Golf and a $6k sale price on the Prius, we make up that delta of $4k in just under 6 years. Probably not worth it. But if we're driving double that (is the 70km commute one way or round trip?), a 3 year break even starts to look pretty decent.
Obviously this is using easy numbers, and doesn't take into account personal preferences (I personally have tried to look at Prii, but can't stand the interiors)... but the point is, do the math.
In reply to mtn :
The 70km is one way. 140km per day.
My Golf would likely get $1k-$1500 due to rust.
CR-Z is $8K
I have seen Prius in the $6-$7K range.
The question is how long this will go on. I'm hoping that it is short-term, but I need to get back to work.
Funny I followed one the other day for a few blocks. First one I'd seen in years. Still looks good. From the rear at least. 
A yaris gets better gas mileage, a fit gets close so does a 1.6 fiesta.
NGTD said:In reply to mtn :
The 70km is one way. 140km per day.
My Golf would likely get $1k-$1500 due to rust.
CR-Z is $8K
I have seen Prius in the $6-$7K range.
The question is how long this will go on. I'm hoping that it is short-term, but I need to get back to work.
I would drive the wheels off the Golf.
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