Saw one today on the M4. Looks great, hybrid, pretty clean – but not very quick really. Could do with a few more HP I reckon to make it a desirable coupe.

What do you reckon?

I saw one a couple of weeks ago at some hybrid event in Kingston. I thought it looked great, but underpowered and group 17 insurance, but most importantly way overpriced @ £25k for the top specced model FFS.

Sod all this hybrid stuff I would be putting my money on an Audi A1 if I was in the game for that sort of car.

There's a Type R due in 2011 I think. That's said to have about 200bhp. Having owned of one of the original hatchback CRX VTis from 1990 I always said I would buy a new one if they ever built a sequel. However, with two children to transport these days I doubt that's going to happen.

I quite like them. Caught between two worlds though – in London things like the Prius are hugely appealing because in traffic having auto and being able to use battery alone below 30mph for a couple of miles is ideal. Getting under 100g/km is desirable too, free VED and if the changes to the congestion charge go through, no CC to pay either.

The CR-Z doesn't tick any of those boxes. If you do lots of longer trips a diesel will probably work out more efficient, and if you want sportiness there are endless good hot hatches and coupes to choose from that are quicker and better.

I'm not quite sure what market Honda are aiming for – if they could have boosted the electric assistance to give it loads of low-down shove but with a screaming VTEC top-end I (and quite a few others) would be a bit more interested.

Might see if I can get one for the day next time my Civic is in though.

There's a (small) market for fun economical cars I reckon – the Smart Roadster was quite cool. A 200bhp CR-Z would also be good, if it could get 45-50mpg that'd be something cool.

However as it stands I agree with simon-g. It's slower than a new Prius, not as clever, significantly dirtier and a load smaller with only 2 seats. And not fast enough to be fun.

I guess it does depend on how it drives. It might be a barrel of laughs.. maybe.

My in-laws have the new Insight btw with the same powertrain – nice, but just not as good as a Prius in any way except the price tag.

JC gave it 4 stars and said that 'everytime I climbed into it, it made me happy' or something similar.

Which wasn't really expected.

Read a few reviews.. could be fun I guess.

I wish the motoring public would realise thought that MPG isn't the whole story. Petrol is much cleaner than diesel if the MPG is the same or even close.

Drove one last week. Great fun to drive.

Its not the fastest car in the world, but it wasn't a slouch either. The best thing was the handling on country roads. You could really chuck it about. Its small and you sit quite low which i find helps in the fun factor. The drive train was great – it felt more like a 2ltr car. I was intrigued to try a hybrid with a manual box. You could podge the sport button for more motor assist, which gave a bit more shove when you put your foot down.

The only big downside for me was the interior. It looked like the hifi section of the 1995 argos catalogue.

I was intrigued to try a hybrid with a manual box

Honda have always had manuals as options – the Toyota system (licensed to some other manufs too) is inherently automatic, which is why there are no manual options, but the Honda system is different – much more like a normal engine with a small amount of added poke – 14hp in this case I think.

The automatic version of the honda system in the insight is pants (IMHO the prius is far far better), but in the CR-Z it makes much more sense. Great car for razzing about in.

Evo gave it a surprisingly good write up compared to the Scirocco TSi and Ibiza TD FR with the generl gist that it worked well in all types of driving.

My in-laws' automatic Insight is a CVT but has flappy paddles, so it can pretend to be a 7 speed semi-auto. Bit weird, but ok 🙂