HONDA Insight Review

Year after year, car companies are pumping money into breathtaking projects that are supposed to turn the automotive industry into a whole brand new world. Most concepts are said to sport the perfect blend of superior power with very impressive or sometimes shocking fuel efficiency that would be able to meet even the most exigent tree-hugger's demands. Besides a few concepts and some promises that such vehicles would enter production in the years to come, only a few of the players involved in the green battle actually gave birth to fuel-efficient cars. And Honda is one of these names.

The Japanese manufacturer is however one of the experienced guys when it comes to making things more environmentally friendly, as its hybrid product lineup already includes several worth-mentioning models, such as the Civic Hybrid, Accord Hybrid and the CR-Z sporty hybrid coupe.

The Insight however deserves its very own page in the history books. The first time the world heard about the Insight was in November 1999 when the car went on sale in Honda's domestic market. Based on the J-VX concept unveiled two years earlier at the Tokyo Motor Show, the hybrid stepped on American soil in December the same year, becoming the first mass-produced hybrid sold in the US.

The first generation Insight proved to be a fail, with global sales barely reaching 17,000 units. It was assembled in Japan, at Honda's Suzuka plant, in the same place where the manufacturer built the NSX and the S2000.

Since 2004, the Insight entered a massive sales declining process which was actually the first sign that the end is nigh. With just 2,000 units sold in 2005 and less than 1,000 from January to September 2006, Honda decided to scrap production plans in the United Kingdom in December 2005, followed by a global production halt in May 2006. This was only the beginning of the second generation Insight, as Honda promised at that time that a revised, more efficient, more appealing and more technologically-advanced model will be released in a few years.

In fact, the first sign that Honda was pondering a complete makeover of the Insight lineup appeared in 2003 at the Tokyo Motor Show when the Japanese unveiled the so-called IMAS concept which, at that time, was believed to give a glimpse into how the future hybrid lineup of the company is going to look like. Furthermore, Honda rolled out in 2002 the Civic Hybrid, another green model supposed to fill the gap left by a potential Insight discontinuation.

The Insight designation was revived in 2008 at the Paris Motor Show, the French event where the Japanese carmaker unveiled a brand new 5-door hatchback hybrid vehicle to preview the future Insight. The mass-production version came to be one year later, this time on American soil, at the 2009 NAIAS in Detroit.

We wanted to give the 2010 Insight a spin so we took the hybrid for a ride. Read on to check out our findings on the car and if it really deserves its $20,000+ price tag.

The way the Insight looks is probably the most controversial subject surrounding Honda's hybrid. Although there are several hybrid models available, wearing various badges, the fight for the leading position in this segment has came down to only two names: Honda Insight and Toyota Prius.

The second generation Insight has always been criticized for being too Prius-like, as the design of the two is, from certain points of view, very similar. But there's a trustful explanation for this and, as far as we're concerned, it can be used as a backup excuse by each of the two.

In order for a hybrid to be as efficient as possible, it has to comply with several requirements, one of which is possessing a superior drag coefficient. In its turn, such an aspect depends on several exterior elements which are more or less contributing to the car's aerodynamics and thus change the way the vehicle interacts with the air flow.

As a result, both companies focused on the same parts of the car and the resulting design was fairly similar, exactly what we can all see today on Toyota's Prius and Honda's Insight.

Furthermore, Honda cannot be accused of copying Toyota's design. Mostly because the first-generation Insight was born a few months before the Prius so it's actually a “who copied whom?” kind of discussion.

The Insight is, just like the Prius, said to be optimized for superior aerodynamics that would further support the hybrid designation and return improved mileage figures. The front end is somewhat enjoyable, with three-line grille, designed to support the car in the way it interacts with the air flow, encasing the Honda badge.

The lateral and the rear sides are the ones that have drawn criticism all over the world. The rear is all about the two-section rear window that's divided into separate pieces by a rear spoiler lid that houses the third brake lamp.

The car measures 4395x1695x1425mm / 173x66.7x56.1 inches (LxWxH) and has a wheelbase of 2545mm (100 inches), slightly different as compared to the Prius – 4460x1745x1490mm / 175x68.7x58.6 inches, wheelbase of 2700mm (106 inches).

Captain Jean-Luc Picard would be proud to see what Honda has done with its hybrid. The interior of the car looks very Star Trek-like, with the futuristic design cleverly mixed with ergonomics.

Probably the most interesting aspect inside the car is actually that most of the things are not in the place you'd expect them to be. Except for the power windows controls that are placed on the doors, just like in most “regular” cars out there.

The center console, if we can call it that way taking into account that it's more like an irregular shaped panel full of controls, lets the driver browse among the audio system's settings and switch from radio to auxiliary modes and vice-versa. Unconventionality continues with the automatic climate controls' position: all buttons are placed right next to the steering wheel in a separate “column” that continues the dashboard cover mounted above the gauges.

And talking about the gauges, this is the moment to take your Star Trek costume on and get ready to embark on USS Enterprise. With several blue and green painted parts, in an effort to underline the car's affinity for environmental protection, the high-end dashboard lights keep you up to date with basically whatever happens to the car, regardless if we're talking about the combustion engine or the electric motor.

The speedometer's colors vary on your driving style: if you're the kind of tree-hugger and drive very economically, it would glow green, but it would turn to bright blue as soon as you press the throttle pedal a little bit harder. Obviously, it would be colored with a blend of blue and green if you're driving somewhere in between.

In the middle of the dashboard screen there's the multi-information display, a tiny device that provides feedback regarding your Eco way to handle the car. It shows several graphs supposed to help the driver improve mileage, plus a number of other figures, such as fuel consumption and exterior temperature.

We saved the best for last: just next to the steering wheel, there's the ECON button that changes certain settings of the car for increasing mileage. Drive as economically as possible and you'll be rewarded: a plant symbol will appear on the dashboard. Continue that way and you'll add some leaves and, in the end, get a flower.

Theoretically, a hybrid vehicle should be a perfect urban cruise, ideal for drivers who are traveling from home to work and want to save some fuel while being stuck in traffic jams. Practically, the hybrid is indeed some sort of a solution, as it brings fuel consumption to an impressive low level.

Speaking of fuel consumption, Honda's official figures are pointing to an impressive 4.5 l/100km (52.2 mpg) rating when driven in urban conditions. Unfortunately, we're not living in a perfect world, so things tend to differ from reality. We couldn't get better than 5.9 l/100km (39.8 mpg) during rush hours, with Eco mode activated and the best possible economical way to drive the car.

The CVT is surely a plus, especially in urban conditions where slow-moving traffic drives us crazy. We'll talk about its performance a little bit later but the CVT also plays a key role in the final comfort level of the car.

Probably the most important function of the Insight is the start-stop system that automatically idles the engine when not in motion. In other words, every time you'll be stuck in traffic, or just wait at a traffic light, the engine is automatically turned off partially, while the electric motor takes charge of powering active systems, such as air conditioning. Once the driver gets his right foot off the brake pedal, the engine is automatically restarted, thus saving a significant amount of fuel.

Although on paper this sounds like a brilliant idea, and we must reckon that it is indeed a great feature, it might become a bit annoying especially in extreme traffic conditions where driving basically resumes to moving forward for around 5 meters and then wait for another 2 minutes until the green light turns on. In order for the start-stop function to be disabled, the ECON mode must be turned off entirely.

Handling on the other hand is impressive. Cornering and parking are no longer a problem and there's absolutely no reason to complain of these two. Parking however might raise some problems to inexperienced drivers, mostly because there are no assistance systems or sensors to guide the car through an empty spot.

Visibility is another controversial issue. From the driver's point of view, the Insight provides mediocre visibility, but it all depends on the part we're referring to. The windshield for example should not give you any headaches, but the rear window is a bit of a mess, sadly. Basically, rear visibility is compromised by the awkwardly-styled rear window split into two pieces by the lid spoiler. Honda tried to compensate with two large exterior mirrors and, although this manages to fix things up a little, rear visibility remains a major issue.

The hybrid's suspension setup seems to be biased towards comfort, so speed limiters and potholes should not shake passengers too hard. The car's ground clearance however, measuring only 144.7mm (5.7 inches) at the front, could be a problem when trying to get over bigger kerbs or larger limiters.

Although some people say that hybrids are more like city-dwellers rather than cars intended for longer journeys, Honda Insight manages to do its job outside the city in a pleasant and enjoyable way.

As always, fuel consumption is the main topic of discussion. Driven on Honda's perfect roads, the Insight should burn around 4.2 l/100km (56 mpg), but real figures aren't far from that. Highway, 130 km/h (80.7 mph), cruise control on, fuel consumption of 5.4 l/100km (43.5 mpg). Things are far better on a country road where the on-board computer's estimates matched Honda's – 4.2 l/100km (56 mpg).

However, such an impressive mileage can only be achieved if the driver adopts the old man's style. Meaning that the car should be driven as smooth as possible, with slow acceleration and easy braking, without exceeding speed limits and using the Eco mode. But how specifically does this pre-defined mode act?

Without going too deep into details, the Eco mode modifies certain settings of the car to improve mileage as much as possible, but don't expect to save more than 1 maybe 2 mpg. Specifically, pressing the ECON button makes the throttle pedal less sensitive, thus limiting the effects of hard acceleration. In addition, it re-adjusts the CVT for increased economy, while also taking control of other systems, such as the air conditioning which is turned off more often to save fuel. One thing worth mentioning is that the cruise control function also changes the way it operates, allowing the car's speed to vary a little bit for smoother acceleration and deceleration.

The experience you get when driving the Insight outside the city is not too bad though. There are some sources of noise at high speeds, but the main sound you'll hear when cruising on the highway is actually the one of tires rolling on the ground. Unless you're having a heavy foot...

In this case, you'll be surprised to find out how noisy the engine actually is... In a bad way, that is. The lag between throttle push and acceleration per-se is highly noticeable, especially when driving in Eco mode. Furthermore, driving in sport mode (yes, the CVT configuration also boasts a Sport mode for a “blood-pumping” experience – you'll understand what's with the quotes a little bit later) doesn't change too many things in the car's behavior. The throttle is slightly more responsive, but performance won't be improved too much.

As we mentioned before, the car comes with cruise control, which helps the driver further increase mileage by choosing the optimum cruise speed for the given driving conditions. The trunk is spacious enough (408 liters), but the rear seats can also be folded to get as much as 584 liters of storage volume.