[dougal]

Have a fresh new Silver CVT EX w) navi, bought the evening of Sept. 21st. My observations of the negative type so far:

• wish a middle armrest was standard - my old 2002 Protege5 had one with plentiful storage in the middle, and I find I still habitually go to lean my arm in the middle getting in the car or while driving!
• blind spots and funky split view to the immediate rear - like that the side view mirrors have a wide scope of view, buy the big blind spots to the left and right rear are gonna take some getting used to, including when I am backing into my assigned narrow garage space at work!
• no roof rack - had recently put a Thule kayak carrier on my old Protege5's roof rack system, but now have no kayak carrying capability with my new CR-Z or wifey's Civic Coupe!
• silly, generally useless rear side windows
• inability to actually do iPod controls via the voice controls/system
• non-adjustable headrests
• non-lockable fuel door

 

[dougal]

It does have a roof rack. I got it for mine. It can hold 4 pairs of skis or 2 snowboards. Not sure about the kayak though.

Not showing as an available option here in the USA, alas! See this link to the official Honda accessories available. May do another post elsewhere on forums to see if anyone knows about aftermarket racks.

 

[dougal]

You guys are making me think twice about getting one.

Anyone buying a car should obviously think about their priorities and weigh the pros and cons. To me the price point, attractive look, very good gas mileage (yes, NOT as good as a pure, functional hybrid like a Prius or Insight!), and fun enough performance and handling (yes, NOT as good as a pure sports car that typically costs more and/or won't achieve the CR-Z's gas mileage) made it an easy decision. I'm happy with my choice, and the reaction of neighbors and coworkers has been impressive-- though the most important person to please is myself. It's easy to dwell on a few imperfections, but in my opinion the perfect car is as elusive as the holy grail and would cost a lot more than a ~$20-21K price point!

Think about what's most important to you, shop around, test drive the CR-Z and other cars, compare and contrast, and hopefully you'll be happy with your ultimate decision. I am! :wiggle:

 

[dougal]

I've gotten into the quick detail spray after every time I drive.. Or at least every day or two. Just sort of scrub off any bugs and road dust, and it's clean and shiny as the first wash/detail.
I've never cared about a car before, so this is new, but seems like I could keep it super clean for weeks/months this way.. Until it starts raining.. (the rainy season is right around the corner)

Wow-- you sound just like me! This is the first car I've been this into in my life. I'm hoping that I continue to sing Queen's "I'm in Love with My Car" in my head as often a year from now as I do today. Washed the CR-Z for the first time the other day and made the mistake of "blow drying" it bydriving it instead of toweling/shamming it dry. End result, lots of drip and water spots and a quickly dusty car again. Is it me, or does it seem to gather on the hatch?

 

[dougal]

The top window I don't need that much, but now with winter coming and people running studded tires I find that dust from the road tends to stick to the lower rear window when the roads are wet. I clean the window off whenever I stop at a gas station, but with the Z that tends to not be that often

Yeah, there seem to be a few dust/gunk gathering spots, most of which seem to be at the rear of the car.

 

[dougal]

OK, we all know what we love about this versatile sports car/fuel sipper. But no car is perfect, so what features DON'T you like about the ...the high price....

Confused use of the quote function above, I presume?! Are you saying you feel that the car is priced too high? As I've stated elsewhere, I think the car is priced very nicely, given that it's a better performing, better looking hybrid that is also pretty loaded with features at the various trim levels. Try looking up how much a Mini Cooper customized to what you want would cost, and have a look at the pricing for the "standard" hybrids such as the Prius, Insight, or even the Civic Hybrid.

 

[dougal]

Gotta agree about the subwoofer-- sounds great to me, and with some music it gets the CR-Z hummin' real nice! A funny thing is that even at a reasonable bass setting it can be almost too bassy and do some serious car vibrating when - of all things - there are deep male voices on the radio (listen to a good bit of sports talk during football season)!

Am not experiencing the driver side window sound issue that was mentioned... when the windows are fully closed I'm not getting any noticible whistling from wind sneaking through.

 

[dougal]

I didnt know they were so loud i thought they were more looks than anything! I think the crappy drivers around my parts need a good scare to keep them driving proper

I'll look into it, because getting out of the car, locking it, and having this wimpy girlish squeak of a honk is kind of embarassing

Think of it as friendly instead of wimpy/girlish/embarrassing! Of course, it's not at all threatening or fierce when someone ticks you off and you give them a long meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! :blush: