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Top Safety Pick
…Rear vision is badly hampered by that dramatic, sloping roof line, especially into the blind spots over your shoulders.
…You'll wish the CR-Z was available with a backup camera-the D-pillars could block an entire neighborhood.
Put your head on a swivel in traffic. CR-Z has considerable blind spots. Fat rear roof pillars and triangular rear side windows rob glance-ability.
SAFETY | 8 out of 10
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NHTSA
Top Safety Pick
IIHS
…Rear vision is badly hampered by that dramatic, sloping roof line, especially into the blind spots over your shoulders.
Inside Line
…You'll wish the CR-Z was available with a backup camera-the D-pillars could block an entire neighborhood.
Automobile
Put your head on a swivel in traffic. CR-Z has considerable blind spots. Fat rear roof pillars and triangular rear side windows rob glance-ability.
USA Today
The 2012 Honda CR-Z has not been crash-tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives the CR-Z its highest rating of "Good" for frontal offset and side-impact crash tests, as well as for roof strength.
It's worth noting that the earlier 2011 model, however, was rated by the IIHS only as "Acceptable" for roof strength.
The CR-Z comes standard with dual front, side, and side-curtain airbags, along with active head restraints for the seats. It has the usual suite of electronic safety systems, including anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, and tire-pressure warning sensors. It also has a feature we particularly like, known as hill assist, which keeps the brakes engaged on manual-transmission cars when they are stopped on a slope.
Where the CR-Z falls down on driving safety is its visibility, or lack of it. The rear three-quarter view is almost non-existent, with no good angles to show what's to the side and rear. The pillars are thick, the quarter windows are tiny, and the scene in the rear-view mirror is split by the bar connecting the two slit-like tailgate windows, one short and vertical, the other long but almost horizontal. So while the little Honda will slot into minimal parking spaces, the process of getting it in won't be any fun.
Conclusion
Visibility is the biggest issue in the Honda CR-Z.
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