First drive: Honda with a hint of Starship Enterprise

The needles flick around the prominent tachometer and the instrument panel glows bright blue.

Honda has ditched the traditional instrument panel layout, where the speedo and tacho dials sit side by side. Instead, a digital speedo sits in the middle of the tacho, surrounded by a luminescent ring that glows different colours depending on how you drive.

Go easy on the throttle and it glows green; drive harder and it turns blue; press the sport button and it glows an angry red.s

The trip computer has displays that encourage you to save fuel. If you drive efficiently, leaves grow and turn into flowers on the screen.

Scroll through and you'll find a diagram that tells you when the electric motor is supplementing the petrol engine.

Honda says driving styles can make a difference of up to 20 per cent in fuel consumption and using visual cues can encourage people to drive economically.

The technical look of the CR-Z's instrument panel and dash area is complemented by a classy combination of leather seats, sporty steering wheel and alloy finishes on the door handles.

For a coupe, there are plenty of storage options, including a covered cubby hole with an iPod connector.

The rear load area is also a handy size and the rear seats fold flat to accommodate longer items.

The only flaw in the cabin (if you expect practicality in a two-door, four-seat sports coupe) is a cramped back seat that is only suitable for very small children, with no leg or headroom to speak of.

On the road, a second flaw presents itself. The engine is underdone for the role of sports coupe. It revs cleanly, with a suitably raucous exhaust note, but it lacks punch off the mark and struggles to keep momentum up on hills.

It's a shame, because the CR-Z is a lot of fun to drive along a winding bit of countryside. It sits flat on the road, feels well balanced through corners and remains composed over bumps.

There's plenty of grip on faster corners and the steering is sharp, accurate and consistent. Even the brake pedal, which usually feels a little wooden on hybrids, has a confidence-inspiring feel.

The ride is also impressively calm and comfortable at speed. Unfortunately, at low speeds it's not so composed, getting jittery and a bit harsh over potholes and corrugations.

We won't give a definitive verdict until we've driven the car on local roads but it may prove a bit tiresome on rough back roads.

Honda Australia is unwilling to talk equipment and pricing at this stage, due to the volatility of the Aussie dollar and Japanese yen, but the CR-Z is likely to cost about $35,000 (plus on-road and dealer costs) and come with six airbags and stability control as standard.

Honda Australia senior director Lindsay Smalley says the company is likely to offer one CR-Z model and he expects it to be similar to the European car.

It may look like it but the CR-Z isn't really a spiritual successor to the CRX, Prelude or Integra. It's a little heavy and slow for that.

But it looks great both inside and out and it's the first hybrid to mix the business of saving the planet with the pleasure of driving a coupe.

To see a video of the Honda CR-Z in action, go to drive.com.au/video