[bizzybear]

Just drove a blue ex automatic @ Marone Honda in Hollywood Fl. Nice little car. I want to see it in other colors before I buy one.

mg: they have a Blue one at Maroone Honda in Hollywood?? i'm so there tomorrow... wow, good thing i'm gonna be down there this weekend... i really would love to see a blue one in person...

just got off the phone with them over there... gonna see about test driving it tomorrow!! :woowoo:

 

[bizzybear]

i'm just excited i get to see AND test drive one tomorrow :woowoo: :woowoo: :woowoo: :woowoo:

 

[bizzybear]

Well, I took a CVT for a test drive last night. It's slow as expected. For as small as the engine is, the exhaust note is absolutely fantastic. I'm not sure what sort of wizardry they have going on there, but I'd love to transfer that over to a ton of other cars. The interior is as fantastic as it looks in pictures. Top notch with great plastics, smooth operating buttons and doors, great ergonomics and a perfect steering wheel.

Is it fun to drive? I think so. The chassis is pretty fantastic. It's taught, not sloppy, responsive and noticeably light compared to the other options on the road. It reminded me a lot of the Fit. In fact, it was like a Fit with more power. Having not experienced a 6-Speed, though everything I've read and been told says that it's fantastic, I can't say that it was super exciting to drive. It's seems to get around pretty well in Sport, it's tolerable in Normal driving mode. The only time I ever see myself using Econ is when I'm on the highway on a road trip. It brings the car to a screeching halt. My biggest complaint is the stupid low rolling resistance tires. The ones on the model I drove were 480 tread wear. Totally crap as far driving goes. I think a set of sticky rubber even on the stock wheels will make huge improvements in the handling characteristics. Otherwise, you're just going to get under steer.

Will I buy one? It's still up in the air. I want to drive a 6-Speed before I make the final decision, but I'm about 80% on getting one right now to replace the Shoe for daily driver duty. I've already started picking out wheels.

nice mini-review... if you're driving a non-Si civic like i am right now, then even the CVT CR-Z is better IMO... i test drove a blue EX at Maroone Honda earlier today and i was really impressed with how it felt...

 

[bizzybear]

I arrived with check in hand to buy the fully loaded silver cr-z - 1st one in my town, but was woefully disappointed. First, the visibility inside is quite limiting, especially looking towards the rear driver, and passenger sides. Backing up was quite concerning as you could not clearly visualize while turning your head back to see... Further, no keyless entry or keyless start - the old fashioned key start - ludicrous for a 2011 vehicle. Also, no satellite in the fully loaded navigation options, in spite of an ugly shark's fin on top of the roof. Acceleration was poor, especially to get on an onramp with cars going 65 mph plus... I know a lot you are lovestruck, as I was, but take a test drive before you fork over the dough... I'm not a big guy either, but still felt really closed in... All the best to you on your travels... :sadwavey:

sorry u didn't like, more for us i guess lol :thumbsup:

i test drove a CVT (slower) and it was quite capable of speeding up if needed even in Normal mode... i am disappointed that no XM is available... as far as size... i'm 5'10" 220lbs and the salesguy in the car with me was 6'2" at least 190lbs and both of us fit just fine in the car with plenty of leg/headroom to spare... i also agree push start SHOULD come standard and possibly the keyless entry but what do you REALLY expect from a sub-$20k car??

 

[bizzybear]

I thought we could specify XM/Sirius as an option on this car? (Sirius and XM merged right?)

We have XM (now Sirius) on our '05 TSX and '97 M3, I definitely want it on the CR-Z.
Hope this is available...

yes XM/Sirius merged to what is now "Sirius XM" but XM kinda coined the initials for satellite radio so when talking about it they just say "XM" instead of the whole thing or just Sirius...

sadly, it's NOT available even as an upgrade

normally it would say on the HU (head unit) "XM Ready" if it was even capable of it... or at the very least have an XM button on the radio itself but nothing on there says XM and according to the sales guy it's the same Navi unit offered in Fit is the same one offered on this car and they don't offer it on that car at all either...

this news alone is making me lean towards getting an EX non-navi and just buying an aftermarket HU even tho i prefer OEM parts... this one is just lacking a few features i really like...

Went to my Honda dealer on Friday morning. The sales guy said they would not get them in until the end of the month, they didn't even have any sales brochure or nothing either. I went home and four hours latter he called and said they just got one in. It was a base automatic. I didn't even bother because of the difference between the auto and manual as far as power goes and I didn't want to become tainted LOL! I told him to give me a ring when a manual comes in.

lol, sounds EXACTLY like the local dealer by my house...

i wanted to see and drive the car so bad that i didn't care if it was auto haha... and i wasn't disappointed either... although i wouldn't buy the auto version, it still has its pep and moved when i wanted it to... especially in "Sport"... for my full "review" check out this thread http://www.crzforum.com/forum/u-s/676-cr-z-hits-showrooms-august-3.html#post7060

 

[bizzybear]

i'd really love it if it came with XM but i've personally sat in both models and i don't recall, and i looked, seeing an XM button... and i'm not saying you're lying or the salesguy knows all, but he said it's not available even on the navi model...

Chris, can you confirm this with a picture of the radio playing an XM channel on display??

 

[bizzybear]

hitting the Aux button might explain why the "USB" sign is showing on the radio... unless you have something plugged up on the USB...

but if i'm right, it might just be a dealer add-on like you said that plugs via the USB port which is not the same as coming XM-Ready or with XM installed...

do you have a separate device to change the station or can you do it straight from the radio/steering mounted controls?? btw, that antenna looks huge...

 

[bizzybear]

Awesome - thanks for confirming the XM capability, and for pix!

WTH on the XM antenna... I thought the sharkfin was for satellite radio/XM/Sirius??

on the Civic the nub-thingy was for the GPS and the antennas for both XM and FM/AM were mounted on the rear glass... in this case since his XM "seems" to be dealer installed, the sharkfin looks to be the antenna for FM/AM and/or Navi...

 

[bizzybear]

silly me... i scanned/uploaded this earlier and didn't even realize that it says it right on the flyer at:

XM Satellite Radio IS included as an accessory add-on... just click the bar to make the image bigger and read for yourself

 

[bizzybear]

We understand the CVT automatic is better gas mileage than the manual shift for the 6-speed.

Martha, even though the CVT is "rated" to get higher mileage, real-world driving might prove otherwise... with a manual car you have more control over the use of the engine/gearing... with the CVT the car will keep the rpms low and consistent... with the manual car you can shift at a lower rpm and as long as YOU'RE consistent, you should get better results than with a CVT... manual also helps if you're in an area with a lot of hills b/c you can just leave it in the same gear instead of the car downshifting to maintain speed...

and i'm not sure how accurate this information is, but i read somewhere on here that the 6MT was tested in 5th gear and not 6th...

hope that helps