Refreshed: 2016 Honda CR-Z Receives New Aero, More Tech, And Better Handling

Honda has refreshed the CR-Z just enough to keep it relevant and bumped up the price to justify all the new standard tech.

Believe it or not, there are still a couple people in the market for a Honda CR-Z but not much. 310 units were sold in September in the United States with a whopping 2 units in Canada. Earlier in the year Honda threw a mild refresh the CR-Z’s way and unveiled it in Japan and according to Honda earlier today (Nov. 2, 2015) that refresh comes to North America. For 2016, potential CR-Z owners can look forward to more aggressive looks thanks to more attractive front and side aero, more standard tech and potentially better handling.

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First there’s the front and side aero treatments. Honda calls it edgier and chiseled and we sort of agree with those adjectives. The front end now features “sharp character lines” that include fog light borders that mimic aero sills.  The sideskirts are flared and run the full length of the side profile and creates a “planted and sucked-to-the-tarmac look. The new five-spoke alloys take a cue from newer Honda’s and add a bit more character to the side profile.

Touchpoints have been improved with brushed metallic on the door handles, front paneling, and center console. The center console is all new with a deep strorage compartment and new standard electric parking brake. Also standard is push button start/stop.

Underneath the CR-Z is where the performance has been tweaked. The front stabilizer bar is thicker by 1 mm to 20 mm, the rear wheel track grows by 10 mm and front and rear brake discs are larger growing from 10.3 inches up front/10.2 inches in the rear to 11.1 inches all around.

Unchanged is the power plant with a combined output of 130 HP and 140 lb-ft thanks to a 15 kW electric motor. Base MSRP creeps up just a bit across the board. The cheapest CRZ increases by just $165 from $20,965 to $21,130.

Next: Honda Has 350 HP All-Electric AWD Sports Car In The Works

The Honda CR-Z is still a solid choice if you want a bit of sportiness and good fuel efficiency (36/39/37 mpg city/highway/combined (CVT.) We think Honda is developing the CR-Z to stuff a hotter motor underneath the hood thanks to all-electric power and chuck this hybrid setup altogether. We hinted at this in our previous article which we’ve linked above.