2010 Honda Insight Review

Specifications

The original Honda Insight of 2000 was a groundbreaker without a doubt. In North America, it pioneered a major new trend with its high-tech hybrid gasoline/electric powertrain. It started a rush on this kind of technology from rival automakers that continues today, though the overall market for hybrid vehicles remains very small on a worldwide basis. It’s also worth noting that manufacturers were building hybrid vehicles as long ago as 1901, so perhaps the current surge of enthusiasm is more of a revival than a breakthrough.

The old Insight actually had quite a long life, remaining in Honda’s range until 2006. By then, Honda was offering Civic and Accord models in hybrid form and the Insight was never a paragon of practicality. It was sleek, sporty, thrifty and lightweight, but cargo space in the snug two-seater hatchback was always tight and it was not the best choice for any kind of road trip - especially with two occupants.

The Insight won numerous awards for economy and most of those built are still around and much-loved by their owners. I drove one quite recently and was impressed by the way it had weathered nine years of intensive competition by rival automakers. This car can still hold its own, except when it comes to the aforementioned interior space.

All major manufacturers have now developed hybrids, ranging from compact crossovers to those huge Cadillac Escalade SUVs now available with this technology. But it has been the Toyota Prius that most caught the imagination of buyers, possibly because it was a “standalone” body style and not adopted from another model. Perhaps hybrid owners yearned to be easily recognizable as such - to “make a statement,” in fact. They’re seemingly not happy about their “green driving” commitment being marked by little more than a modest trunk badge or a stick-on leaf on the body-sides. Be that as it may, Honda decided that its all-new 2010 5-passenger Insight hybrid would get a unique body of its own and not be an adaptation of an existing gasoline-powered product.

The Insight is certainly a striking piece of styling and will please buyers who’ve been waiting for Honda to take a run at Toyota’s market-leading Prius. It actually looks a little like a Prius (is there a “hybrid look” emerging?) but it has enough of its own character to prompt very approving comments from the people who checked out the one I was testing. Prominent are the projector-beam halogen headlights and the car’s low-nose, high-tail styling. The glass area is substantial, so visibility is above average.

Honda points out that the car has styling cues from its Clarity fuel cell model, now in production, and was planned as what the automaker’s designers term “an aero athlete.” It certainly has a very impressive aerodynamic efficiency figure of just .28. To further enhance this aerodynamic performance and thus make the car even more economical, there’s a full undercover beneath the bodyshell and the tires are of low rolling-resistance design. Target fuel economy for this car is 40 mpg city and 43 highway. Emission levels are, as would be expected, correspondingly low.

Powering this slick new Honda is a 1.3-liter, 4-cylinder i-VTEC gasoline engine with a 10-kilowatt electric motor to help out. The electric motor is located inline between the engine and the continuously variable transmission (CVT) to form what Honda calls its “Integrated Motor Assist (IMA)” hybrid system. The electric motor boosts power during acceleration and in some cruising modes and recaptures energy from the Insight’s forward momentum during braking.

A novel feature of IMA is what Honda dubs its “Ecological Drive Assist System” or Eco Assist. This is a fascinating (and all-new) feature and I had a lot of fun with it when I test drove the Insight. It’s a driver-selected fuel efficiency mode that really works. By pressing the ECON button on the dash, various vehicle systems affecting fuel economy can be controlled for maximum effect - throttle control, CVT operation, idle stop duration, air-conditioning and cruise control. To help get the best out of the car from a fuel economy standpoint, there’s a 3D screen within the speedometer that changes color to reflect how efficiently the driver is accelerating and braking. It’s easier to try than to describe, but if a driver is truly serious about saving gas and drives with care, the benefits are undeniable. Plant leaf graphics, appropriately enough, are used to “log” the driver’s economy performance from one to five, so a constant check can be made. It sounds complex, but in use, it’s very entertaining - and you’ll make even fewer visits to your local gas station if you become a five-leaf Insight driver.

Basically, the Insight is a four-door hatchback, which is fine by me. Short of an out-and-out SUV or minivan or perhaps a wagon, there’s nothing more practical than a small or mid-sized 4-door hatch. The company has claimed the space under the rear hatch will take three sets of golf clubs, though I haven’t tried that. Two would be more than acceptable and there’s certainly an amazing amount of room back there. The rear seatbacks fold in 60/40 fashion, creating a very roomy little rig for hauling loads around. The battery and related components are smaller than those previously used by Honda hybrids and tuck away neatly beneath the rear load deck.

The cockpit is an interesting mixture of current Honda practices and technically advanced instrumentation and control design - like the economy monitoring system mentioned earlier. Honda calls it “futuristic” and that’s as good a description as any. It’s a “busy” layout alright, with lots of controls and dials, but it’s easy enough to get used to. The front seats are very well done with excellent hip and lumbar support if you decide to turnoff the ECON button and get into some spirited driving, which the car is fully capable of. The interior is an interesting mixture of tones and colors - so much better than those “everything from the seat belts to the carpets” days when monotones were very much in vogue. Rear seat room is better than you’d expect from what is quite a compact car.

The car is tremendous fun to drive, whether zipping along in something of a hurry or watching each graphic leaf come up on the screen to reward your economy driving skills. It will be interesting to see whether this Honda takes a big bite out of Prius sales (that car is new for 2010 too) or carves its own segment out of the hybrid market. Perhaps it’ll achieve both goals.

It’s almost unnecessary to add that the Insight is beautifully built and trimmed in the best Honda tradition. You can search this car far and wide for a bad panel fit or a piece of trim going astray – the quality is that good.

There are two trim versions - LX and EX, with the latter having more features. Both versions have very full spec sheets, but the EX adds a voice-recognition navigation system with Bluetooth, stability control, alloy wheels, door mirror turn indicators, variable intermittent wipers, steering wheel paddle-shifters and one or two other items. Both models have excellent sound systems, but with the EX, you get a 6-speaker setup.

Obviously, any new hybrid that’s going to take on the Prius must offer something special in addition to advanced technology and smart design. In the case of the Insight, this might well be its price tag. The car is set for an April launch and there’s no word yet on how much it will cost. Honda is being cagey and talking about something in the $20,000 range, but super-optimistic industry analysts are hinting at under twenty grand. On that point, we’ll have to wait and see. Frankly, the car deserves maximum attention from hybrid buyers - or anyone interested in saving resources - because it offers so much automobile in addition to its remarkable fuel economy.