Honda CRX 1.6i-16: Spotted

Always fancied a CR-X? You'd best catch one while you can...

You'll have noticed with increasing incredulity the not-so-slow and steady rise of prices of ... well, just about anything of noteworthy performance or geek appeal from the late 1980s or early 1990s. Like us, you'll probably have thrown your hands up, tutted and muttered under your breath something about the world going mad when you clocked the £200,000Ford Sierra we wrote about the other day.

Isn't it nice, then, to find something fast-ish and fun from that era which has a hint of sanity about its price? The Honda CR-X 1.6i-16 we've unearthed here, for example. Granted, these were once 10-a-penny and available for little more than a few bob, so the £5,495 price tag initially raises a harrumph. But this 52,000-miler is the cheapest in the classifieds, and next to the £7,500 77K example elsewhere, looks a snip.

Pretty, too. Part hot hatch, part coupe, the CR-X presaged the trend for dinky two-doors like the Ford Puma by 15 years. This second-generation version rounded off the original's idiosyncratic angles, and added a funky split rear window, referenced in recent HondaCivics. Squat, hunched and endowed with a chin spoiler of Jimmy Hill proportions, it still looks great today.

But there's substance here, too. The revvy engine doesn't have VTEC - that honour fell to the hotter 1.6iVT version - but it still pushes out 131hp, enough to keep a Peugeot 205 GTI honest. And, as with many small-ish Japanese 16v engines of the time, it sounds fantastic too.

And the CR-X is a lot of fun too. Really push it and it'll start to slip its nose wide - and there isn't the same throttle adjustability that you get in the best hot hatches of the time - but drive more calmly and the CR-X's fundamentally stable, well-sorted chassis shines through. Let's not forget the beautifully screwed-together interior, with its shiny but hard-wearing plastics, or indeed the fact it's a Honda, so with careful maintenance, it'll probably go on forever, no matter how much abuse you throw its way.

There's nothing in the advert to suggest that there's a reason this one's so comparatively cheap. Everything's original, the handbooks are there, and the panels all look pretty straight in the pictures. Of course, your correspondent has been here before with red Japanese sports cars and still carry the emotional scars - so a thorough inspection for rust is imperative before handing over the readies.

If all passed muster, though, we'd jump at the chance to own this little gem. It's a perfect example of that fantastic era of cheap, fun little cars, at a reasonable price and from a manufacturer known for reliability and longevity. What's not to like?

HONDA CR-X 1.6I-16
Engine: 1,590cc 16v petrol
Transmission: five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 131@6,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 105@5,700rpm
MPG: 35 (Official average)
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1990
Recorded mileage: 52,000
Price new: £11,650
Yours for: £5,495

See the original advert here

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Pistachio

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