Cheap might be in the eye of the beholder. I priced it on edmunds it
comes in at the same price as my MINI (22k). About the same hp and mpg.
I doubt that cvt has the zippy factor of sport mode with the toggle paddles but it did include things like cruise (which I dont use on my cars that have
had it) and a sunroof. The radio is probably better.
Funny though a 1.5 SOHC I wonder where they came up with that
original idea <sarcasm>.

I actually priced a number of cars when I bought that thing, and the MINI
trimmed down, was extremely compeditive. For them to even tweak
my interest they need to come up with about 20 more mpg and 80 zippies
(or however the zippy fun car factor is measured)

 

While I admit to bias, being that I just don't dig on the CR-Z personally for a number of outlined reasons, it's worth noting Consumer Reports just slammed the R-Z as 'too lowly rated to recommend'...

http://www.wrongrobot.com/2010/12/08/wrong-honda-cr-z/

 

CR-Z EX you can get at invoice or below since they're not selling. EX has a nice stereo, HID's, ect. To equip a MINI sim would be a bit more expensive. Although with the MINI you'll get more expensive repairs and a lot more rattles Of course it's a totally different car.

 

I think one of the biggest things they didn't like was, lifting off the accelerator in mid-corner caused the tail to slide out before the electronic stability control kicked in. They also said it was noisy, has limited visibility, and the A/C turns off when you lift off the accelerator.

I had planned to drive one a little before that came out, but I'm not in such a hurry now.

 

Since I was the one that posted that comment about Consumer Reports, I thought I should caveat that I think outfits like CR are mixed bags as far as applying reviews aimed at the masses to what maybe a fringe end user desire. For example, we may gush over MINIs for many justifiable reasons, but there are a lot of arguments against them, somewhat analogous to Apple people vs PC people (or iPhone vs. Android-based PDD users)... the one is more expensive, more interestingly designed, and somewhat exclusive, but the other might be more efficient, cheaper, etc...

I don't find a lot to like in the CR-Z personally, but in contrast, my second favorite vehicle after the MINI, and the one I drove for a year in between MINI ownership, is the Honda Element. That vehicle is also eccentric, functional and cool for some, and ungainly and underperforming toothers. They don't get great reviews by mainstream review sites. Yet I LOVED it.

Nothing's going to replace actually driving one and feeling it out with your gut. That way you can assess your interest in the vehicle from the emotional side vs the rational side that may be arguing against it for other reasons.