The Honda CR-Z is Finally Here!

Since the first hybrid car, the Prius, was introduced by Toyota to the Philippine market four years ago, other  car companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Lexus have brought in their own line of hybrid cars as well, taking the challenge of introducing these environment-friendly vehicles to Filipino car buyers who, unlike their counterparts in many developed countries such as the United States, are only still being introduced to hybrid technology. The fact that high import taxes have forced these car manufacturers to sell their line of hybrid cars at a relatively higher price compared to other markets abroad isn't helping at all. However, the Senate Bill No. 2856 or the Alternative Fuel Vehicles Incentives Act hopes to change all that. 

Despite current market difficulties, Honda Cars Philippines is taking on the challenge of bringing in hybrid cars to the country when they recently launched the sporty Honda CR-Z, Honda's first hybrid model to be sold in the Philippines. 

One interesting feature of this sporty hybrid is the Plus Sport System, which gives the car's performance a boost whenever the battery is charged over 50%. The Plus Sport System may be activated with a push of the S+ boost button found on the steering wheel. 

The Honda CR-Z sold in the Philippines has three variants: the Standard, Modulo, and the Mugen variants. The Modulo and Mugen variants are sportier versions of the Standard CR-Z with added features such as the ducktail rear spoiler and carbon-fiber-finish underspoiler for the Moldulo variant, and LED daytime running lights, a different exhaust system, carbon-fiber side mirror covers, a large rear wing, and new sets of front grille and rims for the higher-end Mugen variant. 

So, how much does the CR-Z cost, exactly? The manual-transmission Standard variant starts at--hold-your breath--P1,390,000! Not bad for a hybrid car, eh? Imagine how much lower the prices are going to be when the Senate Bill No. 2856 gets passed and becomes a law!

What about the other variants? Well, the prices for the rest of the Honda-CRZ models are as follows: P1,480,000 (Standard CVT); P1,470,000 (Modulo MT); P1,560,000 (Modulo CVT); P1,860,000 (Mugen MT), and P1,950,000 (Mugen CVT).

This has definitely been an exciting year for the Philippine car industry so far, and Honda Philippines just couldn't resist being part of all this buzz. With the introduction of the Honda CR-Z, should we expect other Honda hybrid models to be brought in as well? Let's see!

For the latest updates, please visit the Honda Cars Philippines official website at http://www.hondaphil.com.