FastMotoring Motor News In Speed

A scenic Thursday of 21 February 2013, Honda Malaysia launched the new 2013 model of hot-hatch hybrid CR-Z at Setia Alam Convention Centre in Shah Alam. As previously mentioned by FastMotoring, Honda will be launching 5 new models in Malaysia for 2013. Thus, this new CR-Z facelift is the first new model to start off.

Speaking at the launch of the New CR-Z, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia said, “The New CR-Z is an ideal balance of technology, performance and design. With its enhanced features and styling, it is now even sportier in looks, truly embodying the concept of a “Sport Hybrid”. The New CR-Z is a car that draws attention with its outstanding body lines with upgraded styling of new colours, new materials and beautiful finishes in interior as well as exterior that further enhance its emotional appearance.”

“The New CR-Z will give an ultimate joy of driving experience to Malaysian car enthusiasts. It is the ideal car for those who recognize the value of advanced technology, desire an eye-catching car and care for the environment,” said Mr. Ueno.

The new 2013 Honda CR-Z features a several new enhancements, notably improved powertrain and IMA hybrid system for increased performance. The exterior styling and interior finishing are both updated. For interior, the red stitching on the new semi leather seats, steering wheel and gear knob similar to the Type R series. Exterior-wise, the front façade and rear bumper are both redesigned for sharper and sportier look.

For folks that really bothered to have HID headlights, the new CR-Z comes with HID headlights as standard and rear LED lights with blue clearcoat decoration.

The new 2013 Honda CR-Z comes with a 1.5L i-VTEC engine that is connected with a more powerful electric motor. Central to the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) Hybrid System is the new lithium-ion battery, which helps preserve additional electricity in its compact and durable cells. This high performance lithium-ion battery is able to increase 2x the energy capacity output compared to the previous NiMH battery. With this boost, the New CR-Z gives a more dynamic and energetic driving experience.

To extend the joy of the sporty performance and fun driving, the New CR-Z is equipped with the Plus Sport System, which gives a better acceleration feeling. This system is perfect for overtaking and it can be used in the 3 different driving modes of NORMAL, ECON and SPORT.

Other new features of the New CR-Z are as follows:-

In terms of the safety standard, the New CR-Z is remained equipped with Dual Front SRS Airbags, Side Curtain & Side Airbags with Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS), G-Force Control Technology (G-CON), Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist (BA), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE).

In view of the good market acceptance, Honda Malaysia targets to sell 300 units of the New CR-Z a month in 2013.

The New CR-Z is available in both 6-speed Manual Transmission and Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) with 7-speed paddle shift and comes in four exciting colours – Premium Northern Lights Violet Pearl, Premium White Pearl, Polished Metal Metallic and Milano Red.  Pricing-wise, the new CR-Z 6-speed manual model is priced at RM 119,000.00, while the 7-speed CVT model is priced at RM 123,000.00 in Peninsular Malaysia.

Honda Malaysia is now offering a 5-year warranty with unlimited mileage for the new 2013 Honda CR-Z, including the IMA Battery. In addition, a new free service package comprising up to six free labour services alternating with paid services until 100,000 km is offered to all owners of the New CR-Z as well.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Honda CR-Z Launch in Malaysia

Honda CR-Z is positioned as a successor for the Honda CR-X. Both are categorized as the compact sports car, both front wheel drive and both do not need to have a big engine under the bonnet. If this is the 21st century CR-X, how good can it be? Read on the find out about this sporty car.

First off, the looks. The Honda CR-Z is definitely one of the good looking cars on the road, even sportier looking if you put on a good set of wheels and maybe the Mugen body-kit. The low bonnet, LED integrated daylight and the bullet design of the entire car certainly fit into the modern compact sports car requirements. It has 2 doors and seats at the rear. The rear part of the car is recognizable design cue from the Honda CR-X.

As we step inside the Honda CR-Z interior, the blue illuminance further embraces how modern sports car should look like. Advanced dashboards like this are usually seen only in concept cars. However, Honda had successfully brought this to a production vehicle like the Honda CR-Z. It may seem to be sophisticated at first glance with the numbers of buttons and informations displayed on the dash, but once you get used it after a while, you will love it.

There are 3 modes for select to change the way the ECU (Engine Control Unit) interacts with the engine, throttle control and air conditioning etc. In other words, there’s a “ECO” -mode to set your CR-Z to save the planet, a “Normal” mode, as well the rev-happy “Sports” modes that makes the car come to life by burning more fuel for performance. The dashboard changes colour instantly on the way you drive as well, green for good fuel efficiency driving, blue for moderate, and red means you are consuming a lot of fuel. The dashboard also indicates when does the hybrid system is charging the vehicle to its battery and the number of trees appear in the dashboard is to remind you how fuel efficient is you driving pattern.

The Honda CR-Z model we drove was equipped with a 6-speed manual gearbox, and Honda claims that it is the first of its kind to have a 6-speed manual gearbox on a hybrid car. The gear change is smooth and solid into each gear position. Powering the Honda CR-Z is the Honda’s 1.5L i-VTEC with IMA hybrid system that gives the CR-Z a 124ps and 174Nm of torque, not a number range you see in a usual sports car. Considering it is a hybrid and it is designed with the element of saving fuel, who says sports car need to be high horse power?

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Honda Malaysia just announced the CR-Z is now available with Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) with 7-Speed Paddle Shift for Malaysian market. The CR-Z CVT with 7-Speed Paddle Shift extends the current offering option, since the CR-Z was previously launched with manual transmission only.

The Honda CR-Z CVT is available in 4 stylish colours of Premium White Pearl, Storm Silver Metallic, Milano Red, and Crystal Black Pearl. The Honda CR-Z CVT 7-Speed Paddle Shift selling at RM 119,000 on-the-road (OTR) in Peninsular Malaysia.

Honda Malaysia Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno said, “Being the pioneer of hybrid technology in Malaysia, we are constantly studying the market to fulfil their demands. As the feedback to bring in the automatic version is overwhelming, we are now proud to introduce this CVT version to the Malaysian market. We will continue to bring in more hybrid options for Malaysians in the future. The introduction of the CR-Z CVT adds another variant to the Honda Hybrid Family in Malaysia which has Insight, Jazz Hybrid and the 6-Speed manual CR-Z. 

The Honda CR-Z CVT is powered by the same engine as the manual variant – a 1.5L i-VTEC engine coupled with Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) Hybrid System that gives a combined power of 123 PS. This efficient combination enables drivers to have a responsive and exciting driving experience. The overall engine performance provides exceptional fuel economy and a fun-to-drive performance. The CR-Z CVT retains the versatile 3-Mode Drive System, which allows the driver to switch the mode to SPORT, NORMAL and ECO depending their driving style and road conditions.

Honda Malaysia targets to sell 1,800 units of the CR-Z CVT by the end of 2012. To-date, Honda Malaysia has received 1,500 bookings for the 6-speed manual and CVT versions of the CR-Z.

“Honda will continue to provide more quality products and services to uphold customer satisfaction. CR-Z CVT customers can enjoy a 5-year or 140,000km warranty, whichever comes first, for the IMA battery,” said Mr Ueno.

Today, Honda Malaysia announced that the recently launched award-winning All-New CR-Z has received overwhelming response by Malaysian motorists recording robust sales of over 300 bookings within a month of its launch. At its launch in early November, the Hot-Hatch hybrid model was targeted to sell 100 units by end of this year.

Expressing his delight over the positive acceptance of the CR-Z by Malaysians, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia commented, “Honda Malaysia is very pleased and encouraged by the overwhelming response for the All-New CR-Z. We believe that the world’s first 6-speed manual transmission hybrid vehicle has broken new grounds in the automotive choices for Malaysians. In our commitment to exceed customers’ expectations, we are pleased to announce that Honda Malaysia will be bringing in three more exciting new colours to add to the CR-Z lineup and to give Honda customers more options.”

Mr. Ueno added that the new colours for the CR-Z, which are STORM SILVER METALIC, MILANO RED, and CRYSTAL BLACK PEARL are scheduled to arrive by early 2012. “With the introduction of the new colours, we are confident that the environmental friendly and fun-to-drive CR-Z will continue to appeal to customers in Malaysia. However, there are still no CVT Auto options for Malaysian market.

He continued, “In Malaysia, there is a growing acceptance towards green technologies and hybrid vehicles, especially with the support from the government in offering full exemption of import duty and excise duty for Hybrid vehicles until December 2013. As the pioneer in introducing hybrid technology in Malaysia, the CR-Z is the third hybrid model that Honda has successfully brought to Malaysians. The All-New CR-Z has been able to fulfil the demand for a stylish hybrid vehicle that is not only eco-friendly but also a performance vehicle that is fun-to-drive. Malaysians can expect to see the CR-Z on the roads from this month onwards.”

The All-New CR-Z is the first model to feature Honda’s versatile 3-Mode Drive System, which enable the driver to choose and switch modes seamlessly depending on their driving style and road situation. The three modes – SPORT, NORMAL and ECON in the CR-Z alters the responses of the throttle, steering, idle stop timing, climate control and the level of assistance provided by the IMA Hybrid System.

After adding three (3) more colours to the CR-Z line-up. The All-New CR-Z which now comes in Premium White Pearl, Storm Silver Metallic, Milano Red, and Crystal Black Pearl is priced at RM115,000 with a 5 years battery warranty or 140,000 km whichever comes first.

Recently, the long awaited 2011 Honda CR-Z made its debut and launched in Malaysia after the latest announcement in the Budget 2012 about the full exemption of import duty and excise duty for Hybrid models (for 2.0-litre or below) until December 2013. The CR-Z is the third hybrid vehicle that Honda introduces to Malaysians, after the Honda Civic Hybrid and Honda Insight.

Malaysia is the first country in Southeast Asia to introduce this hot hatch hybrid. Quite simply, I believe many boy racer and amateur car enthusiasts have waited long for such car with 6-speed manual gear stick and a price tag of slightly above RM100k mark. Thus, it is doubtless that Honda Malaysia will be able to achieve the sales of 100-units by end of 2011. The 2012 Honda CR-Z Hybrid 1.5-litre is selling at RM 115,000.00 on-the-road with insurance in Peninsular Malaysia. Does it sound tempting?

After the Honda Civic Type R discontinued from the production, the Honda CR-Z is gradually positioning to be the substitution. Although the CR-Z is not comparable with the Type R in terms of performance, but it is definitely greener and more fuel efficient. One more in common, the CR-Z comes only in one colour – Premium White Pearl.

According to Honda officially, CR-Z stands for “Compact Renaissance Zero”, which represents Honda’s commitment to go back to the basics to take on the challenge to create a new compact car without being bound by the values of a traditional hybrid.”

Technically, the CR-Z is designed to deliver exceptional fuel economy while offering an entertaining and engaging driving experience. It combines an efficient 84-kilowatt (114PS) 1.5L SOHC i-VTEC engine, a 10-kilowatt (14PS) electric motor and a sophisticated Intelligent Power Unit (IPU).

Additionally, the All-New CR-Z is the first model to feature Honda’s versatile 3-Mode Drive System, which enables the driver to choose and switch modes seamlessly depending on their driving style and road situation. The three modes in the CR-Z alters the responses of the throttle, steering, idle stop timing, climate control and the level of assistance provided by the IMA Hybrid System.

In safety aspect, the All-New CR-Z has been rated one of Japan’s safest cars in 2010, having been awarded the 6-Star JNCAP rating. The CR-Z is equipped with Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) which offers a more stable and sturdier drive while the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure enhances self-protection. The CR-Z also complies with Pedestrian Impact Requirements where head and chest injuries to the pedestrian are minimised during an accident.

In Malaysia, the warranty structure for the Honda CR-Z’s is similar to the hot-selling Insight’s. It comes with 3-years warranty (or 100,000 km), 5-years warranty for IMA battery, 2-year warranty for standard battery. On top of that, it also comes standard with 6-month free service (or 10,000km).

Lastly, the CR-Z was awarded the 2010/2011 Car of the Year (COTY) in Japan as well as the 2010 Top Gear Green Car of the Year in the UK. Once we got the Honda CR-Z in our hands, do expect more photos and follow by a review. So stay tune with us!!