2013 Honda CR-Z Getting Electric Overboost Feature
You wouldn’t know it from the outside, but the Honda CR-Z is getting an interesting tweak for 2013; a KERS-like overboost feature that adds an extra hit of power from the revamped hybrid system.
With a new 144 volt battery pack, and an added 8 horsepower/12 lb-ft of torque (now up to 130 horsepower and 140 lb-ft), Automotive News reports that
Honda also had added a “Plus Sport System,” which allows on-demand electric boost via a steering wheel-mounted “S+” button, which gives five seconds of increased thrust
Honda seems to have gone out of their way to avoid publicizing this feature, and the CR-Z is likely to continue languishing in the dead zone of unpopularity. High exchange rates between the yen and the dollar won’t help either.
More by Derek Kreindler
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2+2, 180 HP, 35mpg, Ford sells a car like this, the C-Max. (47 mpg EPA rated, most owners report 35-40) Unfortunately, it looks like a C-Max. (Actually, I don't think the C-max is unusually ugly. It is simply utilitarian-looking.)
Just put the engine from the Civic Si in there and call it good. Then it will sell.
A muted step in the right direction. It took a while, but F-1 and enduro racing have pretty much shown that KERS/hybrid racing cars are a thing now. The CR-Z, not in that category, more of a proof of concept than the real thing. If this was the only thing to base my opinion on about the hitherto unseen Gen 2 NSX, I'd be worried, but seeing where the technology is leading at the highest levels of competition, I'm not quite so much.
I'd rather just take the money and get however many CRX I could afford instead.