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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.
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15 Comments on “2013 Honda CR-Z Getting Electric Overboost Feature...”
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Honda must not want to sell this car, otherwise it would at least offer the emergency back seat that Europe and Japan get.
Yeah, I was just about to say the same thing: It needs to get a back seat as a tweak. The back seat in my Civic Coupe is mostly useless for larger adults, but at least it’s there in a pinch and that’s all a lot of people want is something to fall back on.
Can’t say ditto enough. I’ve read about several people who’ve imported the parts to add the back seat, but it’s astonishing that Honda won’t offer it here as standard. The parts are cheap, bolt right in, and would open the car to a much broader market.
There must be some regulatory reason why Honda won’t do it…
LATCH anchors, seat belts, three rear headrests, etc.
our liability issues, perhaps easier to cert as 2 seater!
u know the safety nazis, back in 80s in US one cant have replaceable bulb’s headlamp, but is kosher to buy here.
@BUMPY – Foreign models of the CRZ have all those safety features in the back seat. (Well except for three headrests; there’s only two required because there are only two seats.)
I hope that these guys have the common sense to make a new generation, but a nonhybrid one. Rename it the CRX, give it some more room inside while keeping it smallish, give it some power…. basically make a Honda Veloster Turbo.
I’m sure plenty are holding out for a CRZ-Si with the K24. That engine would make this car a nice little beast.
How long until someone hooks up a Nitrous system to that S+ button? A good complement to the electric boost?
That sounds like a neat idea – I look forward to the racer lingo that this button creates.
I wonder whether it’s the batteries or the motors that limit this to 5 seconds. I can see the next string of eBay performance mods including ultra-capacitors, motor cooling systems and hacks to lengthen the S+ duration.
I love this car, but it simply needs more power and a back seat. 180 – 200HP, a 2+2 design, retain 35+ MPG and I’d be in the dealer tomorrow buying one.
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.