Honda throws down the hybrid glove

It certainly attracts attention.

Even in the short time since being launched in South Africa in August the swanky little small sports coupé has drawn a lot of local interest and has made enough of an impression to make it a contender in the final run-up to the title.

And there is nothing light-weight about its opponents either when you consider the Honda goes eyeball-to-eyeball with the BMW 530d, Citroen DS3 THP Sport, Ford Figo 1.4 Ambiente, Volkswagen Amarok 2.0 BiTDi 4x2, Volkswagen Polo 1.6 Comfortline TDi, Opel Astra 1.4 T Enjoy Plus, Kia Sportage 2.0 VGT Diesel AWD, Hyundai ix35 2.0 CRDi GLS AWD and Hyundai Sonata 2.4 GLS!

No mean feat

Some of its classy competitors also come with fancy titles and prestigious achievements to their names, but, not to be outdone, the cheeky contender from sushi-land has just become the proud winner of the Car of the Year in Japan, which is also no mean feat.

Honda has won the Japanese title 11 times but equally importantly, the brand also won it in South Africa in 2007 with Civic and last year with the Accord.

There's bags of room up-front, but forget sitting in the back.

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I drove the Japanese hybrid briefly when it was unveiled to the South African motoring media in August and liked it very much, in spite of a couple of niggles.

Recently I had the opportunity to renew my acquaintance with the Honda and it was an interesting experience because there is a huge difference between driving a car for an hour or two and spending a week with a car and driving it daily.... Very much like the difference between just dating someone or moving in together.

This time round I also had the benefit of Her Majesty's opinions after she drove the CR-Z a couple of times. Interesting how male and female drivers look for - and find - different things to like and to dislike about a car.

We are agreed on a number of points such as the Honda's eye-catching looks and spaced-out Starship Enterprise cabin lay-out with its bright combination of blue, green, white and red on black gauges framed in silver.

It pays to be vertically challenged

I love the low-down driving position. She hated it. Being tall she struggled to make a dignified exit and sliding in behind the wheel wasn't easy for her.

Pick a colour.

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To me, being of more normal (re short) height, it was easy. The wide-opening doors, standard for most coupe-type cars didn't bother me, probably because I am used to them. She found them irritating, particularly in the tight confines of crowded parking lots.

We both agreed that the visibility through the rear window was terrible, particularly when it rains.

Like most cars of this nature, leg space is plentiful up front, but forget about anybody sitting in the back.... There just is NO leg space. But, and this is a huge plus, the back bench seat rest folds down flat which creates a vast luggage space, big enough for two golf bags or a number of cases of wine and a suitcase or two which is impressive for a sporty-looking small car with a sloping roof.

Cor... check that out

We both enjoyed the attention the baby hybrid attracted with its cheeky LED daytime running lights, 16-inch alloys and eye-catching, split-level tailgate which makes it stand out in any car park.

It's no slouch getting away when the lights go green.

Other niceties are its slick, easy-to-hand six-speed manual shift, small sporty steering-wheel, comfortable front seats and quality feel of the cabin in general.

The CR-Z offers the choice of three driving modes - Normal (which adds a blue hue to the gauges), Sport (which makes things turn to red) and Econ which lights up a green tree on one of the numerous gauges.

Cute... or not

I found this terribly twee, a bit like the silly dashboard flower vases and perfumed air sprays some other carmakers add to their cabins, but then I'm from Mars and like things simple and functional. Penny dear, on the other hand, said it was quite cute.

She also found the car more than sprightly enough while I thought it can do with a little more kick-ass under the bonnet.

All the features.

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Because that is the message the CR-Z shouts out. It looks nippy, the lines are certainly slick and Honda calls it a Sports Coupé, so I don't think I am being unfair - or am I?

On second thoughts, yes perhaps I am. It is a "green" car after all which is why Honda claims a combined-cycle fuel consumption of just 5 litres per 100 kilometres and emissions of only 117 which means it escapes the Government's stupidly applied emissions tax.

What's more, whilst it is not a robot racer it is certainly is no slouch, sprinting from standstill to 100km/h in 10 seconds flat and on to a top speed of 200km/h.

It tries hard

The parallel hybrid drive system is based on a combination of a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a high-torque electric motor produces 91kW and 174Nm with torque on tap from as low down as 1000rpm.

The parallel hybrid drive system combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a high-torque electric motor for a total of 91kW and 174Nm and torque on tap from as low down as 1000rpm.

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I thought the cute coupé handles beautifully and holds the road confidently even at a high rate of knots although the electrically-assisted steering is not pin-sharp and the feedback is rather dull.

But the fancy little Honda tries hard to make up for it with full leather seats, snazzy entertainment set-up, automatic climate control, cruise control, plenty airbags, ABS with EBD and EBA, Vehicle Stability Assist and Hill Start Assist - and even ISOFIX child rear seat safety mountings.

At R299 900 the Honda hybrid is a much more exciting car to look at and to drive and it's also faster and a lot less expensive than the two Toyota Prius hybrids that retail for R322 700 and R378 100.

And the final seal of approval probably comes from Penny who opted to drive the trendy Honda hybrid rather than the handsome new Hyundai Sonata, the strikingly sexy Peugeot RCZ or the blistering fast Ford Focus RS test vehicles parked in our drive-way - which just again underlines the vast distance between Venus and Mars and the clear difference between X and the Y chromosomes...

Specifications.

Honda CR-Z - Test by Top Gear

Honda CR-Z Hybrid Coupe Test

Honda CR-Z Development Film 2010

2010 Geneva Auto Show Honda CR-Z