Honda CR-Z – why is it not suitable for India?

Honda Cars India is doing great in the domestic market. It has various products for the Indian population. With the latest generation of Honda City, the company took the competition in the sedan segment to the next level. Also, Honda recently launched the Honda Mobilio which is expected to do some great business for the Japanese. If we talk about the compact cars segment, Honda Brio is the player from the Japanese side. Honda has always been a technology freak. It had most of the technologies way before any other car company. An example of it is the Honda CR-Z. Yeah, you might haven’t heard of it ever before.

Honda CR-Z is a compact car, well, to be precise it is compact sports hybrid vehicle, designed by Honda. The CR-Z is currently being sold in various markets like Japan (obviously), North America, Europe, South Africa, Malaysia and many more. But should Honda bring the CR-Z in the Indian car market? We don’t thing that would be a good decision, at least, not now.

The Honda CR-Z looks pretty modern and sporty and a car from the future. As it is built by the Japanese in Japan, therefore, it has got a different kind of design philosophy. You see, the front end of the CR-Z has got this angular headlamps and the bumper which has got very sharp and blunt lines. It looks nice, undoubtedly, but we think it is something odd for the Indian taste. It is something which suits best for Japan. The rear end of the CR-Z, though, has big tail lamps and a big windshield which covers up a lot of the portion of the car’s body. Perhaps, we would be digest the rear design.

The Honda CR-Z, which is being sold in various international markets, is currently being powered by a 1.5 litre i-VTEC SOHC inline 4 cylinder engine which is tuned to produce a max power output of 122 bhp at 6000 rpm and a peak torque of 174 Nm at just 1000-1500 rpm. The numbers are astounding. Also, the engine is integrated with the Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid-electric system. It is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission system and a CVT is also available. The petrol motor here produces 111 bhp while the rest is handled by the electric motor. Honda did some tweaks in the CR-Z, which includes some cosmetic changes too, and put in a more powerful electric motor. Consequently, the power output increased to 130 bhp.

We do not doubt the capability of the CR-Z. It is a great car and it is definitely selling in good numbers. But for the Indian market it would be too much for now. Ours is a market in which the price of the car plays a very significant role in its success or failure. And, perhaps, we are not ready for a true hybrid vehicle neither are the Indian conditions. Honda should invest in the CR-Z for India but it should be its strategy for the future when the people here sees a need for a hybrid.