Fail of the century #27: Honda CR-Z

You know that sinking feeling when you’re baking a cake and, having mixed up the batter, slopped it into the tin and popped the whole thing in the oven, you spot a vital ingredient – the eggs, maybe – still sat proudly on the kitchen counter, rather than where it should be, inside the cake? (Yeah, Top Gear, always down with the relatable youth references.)

That was the Honda CR-Z. The eggless cake. Because the little coupe’s list of ingredients looked frankly excellent. Honda pitched the wee Z as a sporty hybrid, its petrol-electric drivetrain promising a consummate blend of entertainment and economy. It looked neat as a pin, especially in white (all Hondas look best in white), with its pinched rear deck referencing Honda’s iconic CR-X of the Eighties. The Mini Cooper and Lotus Elise were referenced as dynamic benchmarks. It boasted a snickety six-speed manual box. All very promising.

However. The one thing Honda forgot to include in its sporty hybrid... was any sportiness. With the petrol and electric motors giving it their all, the CR-Z mustered a mere 121bhp, and slightly less torque than a Nutribullet. Zero to 60 required around 10 seconds, and a long stretch of road. It’s possible the handling was tidy, but it was very tough to get the CR-Z going quick enough to find out. Economical? Yes. Entertaining? Not really. Shame.