Like most cars these days, it'll look best in black.

 

 

[quote=TRL;2893717]Depends on what you are looking for in a car. If my intent was to buy either as my "main" car, put 150,000 miles on it in 3 - 4 years, like I usually do, then I'd buy the Honda, no contest.

That's not my intent with my Mini. It's strictly my smile why you drive device. A mechanical anti-depressant with no harmful side affects. I should put on maybe 10,000/yr and I will trade it in as soon as the 4 years are up regardless of mileage. With these requirements, I can't imagine I would buy the Honda next.[/quote

I Love the mechanical anti-depressant quote!!!!!! omg, I've got to use this!

 

I had a Honda Civic SI and after the 5th gear syncro wore out it wasn't much fun commuting in 4th all the way home..

 

As a side note the mini dealer has always been great to me.
The honda dealer was always the butt wipe to me.

Enough so that I only bought one new honda in my lifetime.

 

I saw it a few months ago and said "ewww" and now I've seen the producton models and said "eww" again. I was never a fan of the CRX either though.

And what we got in the US is not a 2+2, it's just a 2. The 122 hp engine really isn't any comparison to the MCS either. It gets about 40MPG. If I wanted good MPG, I'd go Prius for the same price.

I'm not really sure what niche Honda is trying to fill here. I love small cars but this one reminds me too much of an Insight, which just didn't fit the needs of many people. Mind you, I drive a two seat car every day so I cna certainly attest to them fitting the lifestyles of some but with two seats in a sporty coupe, I want a whole lot more than 122HP.

Oh well, to each his/her own. A lot of people loved the CRX, maybe they will enjoy the CR-Z as well.

 

+1. Almost word for word what I was going to post.

 

I've seen the CR-Z at the local dealer. Not what I'd call attractive, but not a total dud either. It does remind me of a over inflated CRX. I may go for a test drive this weekend just to check it out. I'm not a fan of hybrids so my hope is that it has enough fun factor to override that hybrid image.

 

Like someone said earlier, wait for the Fiat 500. I forget the msrp but I know that they are supposed to be ridiculously cheap for a premium subcompact. Or wait another year or two for the Fiat 500 Abarth. Top Gear reviews say that the 500 handles just like a MINI and it has just as much personality and character.

Not to sound immature, but it is a Honda. From a styling standpoint, I for one would get very tired of it after a year no matter how good the drive is. Every generation of the MINI will always look good. Hondas just don't age as gracefully. Don't get me started on that interior.

I will admit that the last generation Prelude, the first generation NSX, and the S2000 will always be good looking and drive quite well as far as classic Japanese cars go. The interiors, on the other hand, look like any other 90s Japanese car.

If being green is your concern get a full electric like the upcoming Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt. If you want to be green and have fun doing it, then get yourself a MINI. If you want to be green and also look good doing it, then... get yourself a MINI.

 

I had a 500 Abarth as a rental and loved it. It's not exactly like a MINI though, it's taller and narrower and doesn't have the same bulldog stance but it is quite fun to drive. I would not at all mind having one in my garage. I'd have to drive a newer turbo MINI and the 500 back to back to really say which one I like better. The 500 is cute, but I think the MINI is more aggressive looking, which I like.

 

Prepare to be disappointed. Chrysler had a meeting to recruit FIAT dealers last week. While they did not release official pricing, it was suggested that the MSRP on this car will start in the $17k-18k range. End of the day, I think the 500 will not be "ridiculously cheap" and will end up within a few hundred dollars of a MINI Cooper when comparably equipped.

And people are complaining about MINI reliability? When was the last time you heard about FIAT winning any quality awards?

 

Sarafil: I've had that thought for quite awhile myself. There always seem to be those that are very quick to bring up all the Mini faults, but I'm not so sure that the Fiat will improve on Mini's reliability. I've known some that live in Europe and have had to deal with the unreliability of the Fiat, there are many. Including parts, literally falling off the vehicle. And, talk about the ride quality? Right, not much there. Handling is decent, but not up to what the quality of even stock handling of the Mini. Sure, the Fiat Abarth 500 or whatever will offer competition, but I think that on the Fiat forums in three years, there will be many complaints that make Mini seem like a Rolls Royce. Just my humble opinion of course.

 

Fiat is just not going to be the answer for someone that wants a more reliable car. Fiat has a terrible reputation for quality and Chrysler has a marginal reputation for quality. Put these two companies together and you're looking for marginal quality at best.

The other problem that most people do not think about is aftersales service-- not only will it be a long time before you get qualified Fiat technicians trained to work on these cars, but it will also be a while before Fiat has a full network of trained field engineers to help the dealers fix these cars, and the existing Chrysler engineers won't know a thing about the 500. The current BMW/MINI field support is lightyears ahead of anything that Chrysler/Fiat can think about, and most BMW techs with basic training can also work on a MINI.

The cliffs-notes version: When (not "if") your Fiat breaks down, good luck finding anyone out there that actually knows how to fix it.

 

I didn't know that Fiat had major reliability issues. Top Gear and Fifth Gear rave about the regular 500 and even more so for the Arbarth version. That's all I know about them. I guess most of us stateside readers are ignorant when it comes to the Fiat group, as well as other "foreign" brands. What is a Fiat anyway? Would you compare the brand to a Suzuki, a Kia, a MINI, Honda, etc.?

I've not been a close acquaintance to anyone that owns a modern Chrysler even, so I have no reason to read into their products either.

I guess I made the assumption that it would have been a similar situation to when the MINI first came out. Actually, a major reason why I was even ok with getting a MINI was because it was part of BMW.

 

I've seen one. They are not as ugly in real life.

Although the opinions do not seem to be too varied at this point
(from honda crx club people who have bought one, as well as
a variety of auto magazine reviews that I have read) as
far as being a CRX replacement it rates an "Epic Fail" performanc-wise,
mpg-wise, etc etc.

I've not seen any comparisons with the MINI, and frankly there shouldn't be
any as the MINI is 100 times the vehicle in every catagory (except possibly
repair costs).

 

I think the Fiat will be more reliable than my S! My relatives in Europe with Fiats have had no major issues.

As far as service goes, I have such a hard time getting anything fixed on my MINI under warranty, I have no doubts in my mind that the Fiat could possibly be any worse.

 

MINI for sure.. CRZ is hybrid and low n HP

 

The CR-Z is at least much better equipped than a base MINI and will surely be much more economical to drive, especially past warranty. I drive an S, but I swear it's had more problems than all my other cars combined!

I highly doubt, however, that it's as fun to drive and it only holds two people, but it is what it is.

 

I sat in a CR-Z this past weekend. It is pretty lame. It is not comfortable at all, it has no back seats, and frankly the interior just looks chinzy with low grade materials used. But that is just me

 

It's not as classy as our serving platter sized speedo for sure!

 

I saw one live this summer as a guy brought one out to E@rtc. Just didn't do anything for me. Boy racerish and only a two seater. If I wasn't a two seater I would buy a 2 seat sports car which this is not. Got drive one. It is not a MINI or even close. Can you say dumb and lifeless steering. Typical Honda boring. The Accord of 2 seaters.

If you wanted Mileage you would buy Prius? Really. They don't get what everyone thinks for mileage. If you drive like an old man at 55 all the time they are good. If you drive briskly they suck fuel! On Top Gear a BMW M3
followed a Prius that was run very hard. Prius got 17MPG and M3 19MPG.
Of course the BMW didn't have to work as hard to keep the pace. If you want mileage get a Jetta TDI. 42 MPG and it is quick, fun and fairly sporty.
Love surprising other hotter cars with the TDI. The look when they see on the back it is diesel is priceless. Secondly put some miles on Prius and see what the cost of ownership really is. My Maserati is cheaper to operate.

Fiat looks good but not sure as good as the MINI. I would maybe get the Abath version when it gets here but that is a few years away. Love the soul you get in an Italian made car. Just different than anyone else on the road. Fiat's always had electrical issues. FIAT- Fix It Again Tony! With Chrysler doing the service now I do not see it getting any better in the future. Their service is the worst of any domestic car dealer. Just awful. Love my Dodge Diesel (Cumminings) but hate dealing with the dealers. They never want to cover anything even when its under full warranty. Good a good partnership in the long run I will bet.

 

Anyone bashing Fiat cause it's Italian needs to remember that we drive British (OK German-British, so they're overly value engineered AND crap) cars, which have equally bad reputations!

 

The current Consumer Reports just tore up the CRZ. They won't recommend it! Too bad .

 

WOW
What did they say?

 

I can imagine that they blasted the performance, economy, lack of seats, driving experience, ect. It's not an amazing car in its present form, but it is cheap and well equipped I think.

There is supposedly going to be a turbo 1.6 liter version coming out in the next year or two, so that should be a much more interesting car, likely with similar fuel economy to the current manual as well. We'll see I guess!