Pushing the 2011 Honda CR-Z Into The Red

Cars.com’s editors recently drove the sporty Honda CR-Z hybrid on a mileage challenge using its standard drive setting with the objective of replicating how most people drive most of the time. The 2011 CR-Z lets you select Econ, Normal and Sport modes, and they kept it in Normal mode at all times on the mileage challenge, with the trip computer registering 37.7 mpg over 330 miles. However, when switched to the more responsive Sport mode and driven in a sporty manner, can the CR-Z still return good gas mileage? I flogged a manual-transmission CR-Z for a weekend and drove it like a sporty car, not a hybrid, to see if the self-proclaimed “Sport Hybrid Coupe” could be efficient in that sportiest of modes.

Gears were revved out, throttle blips were used to rev-match downshifts and I drove it hard over the weekend. As a result, the speedometer’s efficiency ring, which changes color to indicate fuel-conscious driving, was illuminated in an angry red color throughout the weekend.

After a few traffic-filled commutes into Chicago from the suburbs and a weekend of thrashing — totaling 280 miles — the CR-Z’s trip computer registered 36.6 mpg. The six-speed manual transmission model we tested is EPA rated at 31/37 mpg city/highway, which makes the returned mileage impressive. A 1.1-mpg ding for getting the best driving experience out of the CR-Z is well worth it. I’m confident that number could be improved if I drove more efficiently and switched to Econ mode, though I wasn’t tempted to after getting used to the CR-Z’s very non-hybridlike driving characteristics.