The Vehicles Earth

I’m sticking with a Japanese car and I’m sticking with the coupé format but Honda’s CR-Z is a very different bento of sashimi. Out goes a thunderous 317bhp 3.7-litre V6 and incomes a dinky 1.5-litre petrol backed up a high-tech electric engine for a combined heady total of 124bhp.

When it came to speccing the Honda, we went for the £20,820 GT model, which throws in plasticy grey leather, a fixed glass roof, Xenon headlamps and Bluetooth connectivity. To this we’ve added Honda’s Dynamic+ pack, a £2,900 option which adds a set of very snappy 17inch graphite-grey Electra alloys to fill those gaping wheelarches and an enhanced external styling package comprised of carbonfibre-lookalike side, front and rear skirts and a matte silver finish for the front grille and wing mirrors. Oh, and a voice-operated satnav and phone system, priced at a rather steep £1,785

Colour? Only one to go for really – Premium White Pearl, which combined with the car’s dark alloys, black A-pillars and dark bodykit gives the Honda a very fashionable monochromatic look. I reckon the local carwash lads will be seeing a lot of the Honda this summer.

Agreed, £25,505 is a sizeable chunk of wedge for a small coupe, even a well-equipped and beautifully made one. But Honda reckons the CR-Z is effectively two cars in one: a nippy wrist-flick coupe and a misery eco runner. I have the next six months to find out if Honda is pulling our leg – and to persuade them to transform it into this!

By Ben Whitworth