2003 Honda Insight Reviews

The hybrid car world is about to receive a big wake-up call when Honda's new Insight arrives in November priced from an expected $30,000. It seriously undercuts Toyota's two hybrid offerings, the expensive Prius and the locally made Camry hybrid.But that's only half the story because Honda's hybrid range going into the latter part of 2011 will include a new hybrid sports coupe called CR-Z. Like the CR-X sports coupe from the early 1990s the CR-Z has striking styling and a truncated, three door body wrapping its petrol/electric powertrain hooked up to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.But first cab off the rank is the long-awaited Japanese-manufactured Insight, a big hit in Japan to the point where the rest of the world has had to wait its turn to buy one.Insight runs a relatively simple parallel hybrid powertrain based around a 1.3-litre, petrol, four-cylinder engine with a 10kW electric engine tacked onto the end. Total power and torque outputs are 72kW and 167Nm. It's all electronically controlled with the electric motor basically an engine assist for acceleration or moving heavy passenger loads.Insight is a five-door hatchback built on a Honda Jazz-based platform with modifications at the rear to accommodate the battery pack and electricals. This was done to control costs and make Insight more affordable. The same applies to the powertrain where Honda has shied away from a more complex hybrid set up like Toyota favouring what it calls the IMA system (Integrated Motor Assist).Honda has a fairly pragmatic attitude to mainstream automotive engineering rarely lashing out with unnecessary technology. It places more importance on reliability and in Insight's case, economical, low emissions driving -- almost guilt-free driving for want of a better description.Some regenerative energy capacity is provided  through the brakes and electric motor but there's none of the efficiency optimizing trickery you find on Bluemotion cars from VW for example. That's due next time around.It does have simple but effective ways to minimise fuel use such as a driver educating function called Eco Assist that prompts drivers to use less throttle and to drive more smoothly. The system challenges drivers to use less fuel "rewarding" them for economical driving by growing a tree icon on the instrument panel. It makes a measurable difference for drivers with a competitive nature.The CVT (Constantly Variable Transmission) helps reduce fuel use as does the dual ignition system and engine shut down under deceleration.Honda has determined that it isn't efficient to make your hybrid car move off under electric power and nor is it efficient to lug around a large battery. Insight has engine stop/start to cut fuel use around town and in Econ mode, limits the air conditioner, throttle response and cruise control.This is the second Honda Insight with the nameplate first appearing in 1999. That car was an unwieldy thing that offered barely adequate performance, minimal accommodation and a style that attracted the wrong sort of attention. New Insight is a more mainstream effort and is quite an attractive car from some angles. It looks pretty good sharing a family resemblance with other models in the current and forthcoming Honda range.It's not as big as Prius but clever packaging allows Insight to take five at a squeeze and their luggage in the big boot. In practical terms, Insight is a mixed bag with limited rear seat headroom an issue if adults are going sit there. But the load space is expandable to huge proportions thanks to split folding rear seats. There's even underfloor storage.We will get Honda's ‘affordable’ hybrid Insight in two spec' levels offering generous equipment even in the base model. Safety equipment provided includes six air bags and stability control along with what Honda refers to as its ACE body structure_code for reinforced passenger cell.As a drive experience, the Insight is like your average family small/medium car. It goes OK and has adequate acceleration when you floor the throttle. Ride and handling are much the same too with a relatively supple ride ensuring you arrive in good shape.  But a sporty car it most certainly is not.

If we need any more proof that the world is addicted to gaming, it's in the instruments of the Honda hybrid Insight.  All hybrids have gauges to tell you how economically you are driving. In the Insight, they're joined by a row of five 'twigs' that spout leaves and - we swear we're not making this up - flowers, when you're doing well. And they wither and die if you get lead-footed.This apparently so entranced the buyers in the US market that they were texting, tweeting and facebooking to each other about their daily results and the levels they'd reached. We managed to get a first sapling to sprout during our brief drive - apparently it takes time to get a full forest - but even though we spent a bit of time trying to kill it off as well, it stayed with us.  The Insight will arrive in November after a launch at the Australian International Motor Show in October.Appearance and fit-outThe Insight was first launched in Australia in 2001, but was discontinued a few years ago in favour of promoting the Civic Hybrid.  Built on a Jazz platform, the Insight now returns to Australia as Honda's refreshed attack on the hybrid market with a car that is identifiable straight away, unlike the Civic - which is distinguished from the normal model only be discreet badging.The Insight's styling has an echo of the Toyota Prius around the rear - dictated under the same aerodynamic laws.  It looks modern and sharp, both front and back, and the nipped lines and accents like the blue headlight clusters are eye-drawers.Cabin space is workable for drive and first passenger, but it's cramped in the rear seat for large adults. However there's enough space in the boot area for a fair bit of luggage at 350 litres, which expands to just over 400 with the use of underfloor storage compartments.The cockpit is attractive enough, with the signature mesh-accented steering wheel fronting a deep instrument binnacle, but there's a sense of the utilitarian in the hard plastics.  Equipment lists for the two spec levels we will get haven't been finalised, but it's been confirmed we will definitely get the front, side and curtain airbags and stability control as standard.Pricing and marketThe lack of luxury is intentional. "Honda wanted to create a car that was affordable for everyone," says the Honda Australia senior director, Lindsay Smalley. "Assuming a favourable exchange rate, we're confident we can come in around the $30,000 mark.  The principle is affordable hybrid."DrivetrainUnder the bonnet, a 98kW/123Nm 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine is joined by a 10kW/78Nm electric motor, with the drive going to the front wheels via a continuously-variable transmission (CVT).  It has stop-start technology that temporarily cuts the engine when you halt, with variable cylinder management, which can shut down all the valves to reduce pumping losses when you're driving on the electric motor only.The fuel economy is estimated at about 4.4L/100km, with CO2 emissions coming in at 101g/km.  The Prius, by comparison, has an official economy figure of 3.9L/100km with emissions of 89g/km.So Prius driver saves 0.5 litres ever 100km - and save the planet by 12g/km - but the Prius starts at about $10,000 more than the Insight, which means at least a generation to make up the price difference.DrivingThe car feels light and nimble, and it zips around the city streets quite happily at undemanding speeds.  But we couldn't awaken any sense of urgency in it when we hit the autobahn. It will do the higher speeds, but it can take a while to wind up to them.But having said that, the Insight is not intended for racing. While there wouldn't be any problem in having an unhurried cruise on the highway, it's primarily an urban dweller.The CVT transmission will take a bit of getting used to, as the continuous band system it doesn't have the 'feel' of gear changes. But it's smooth and aids the economy.  But when you push the speed to the limit, the engine replies with a bit of noisy protest, and it grumbles a little - but eventually does the job - if you want to tackle a steep slope with a load of two large adults and minimal luggage.The steering feels vaguely wooden, but it responds adequately for normal driving - and buyers of this car won't tend to get too enthusiastic around corners . it's not that type.  The ride on the highways was quite good, but over more pockmarked back roads we could hear and feel the surfaces.Honda InsightPrice: from around $30,000Engine: 98kW/123Nm 1.3-litre, 10kW/78Nm electric motor,Transmission: CVT; front-wheel driveEconomy: 4.4L/100km (95RON)RivalsToyota Prius from $39,900)Honda Civic Hybrid (35,990)

On the boulevard of hybrid car dreams Honda's new Insight is a bit Jimmy Stewart ... a little low-rent, a little folksy and — at first glance — not the sharpest tool in the box.Featured on the same billboard as Toyota's super-slick Cary Grant of petrol-electrics, the clever and polished Prius, it would seem to be a foregone conclusion as to who is taking home the awards. The urbane Prius seemingly holds all the cards.  Yet, there is something about the down-home, common-man appeal of the Insight that — like Stewart — could be a winner with the masses.Oh, yes. And it is going to be something in the order of $10,000 cheaper than the Prius when it finally hits our shores late next year. That sort of cash advantage does a lot to spruce up a chap's appeal.Honda Australia is pushing ahead with plans to land its all-new Insight — only a distant kissing cousin of the underwhelming, overpriced model that bore the same name back in 2000 — with a benchmark sub-$30,000 price tag.  "It is going to depend on the strength of the Australian dollar when we start importing the Insight," Honda Australia senior director Lindsay Smalley says. "That was our original price plan when we first looked at the car and it is still our intention now."However, plans to get the four-seater Insight to Australia by early 2010 have been shelved and the new schedule will not see an Insight in an Australian showroom until closer to the end of next year."It's a question of supply and the popularity the Insight is enjoying in markets around the world," Smalley says while weaving an Insight through LA traffic. "We are just going to have to be patient until we can get supply.  At the top of the list is Japan, followed by the United States and Europe — and then us."It is no co-incidence that the Insight's styling, said to be driven by aerodynamic efficiency, closely mirrors that of the Prius. When the original Insight went flat and left the hybrid field to Toyota it was the shape of the car as much as the shape of the future that set the Prius apart.  It looked different and it was different. A passing glance was enough to tell the world that your social conscience was well in hand.Honda's comeback attempt in the hybrid world with the Civic was hoppled by its sameness ... apart from a little green badge there was no obvious indication that you were helping save the planet.  With the Insight that has been addressed. The car looks like what society has come to accept as a green car."There is no doubt that the Civic Hybrid lacked an immediate recognition factor for those owners who wanted it known they were driving a hybrid," Smalley says. "That is not the case with the Insight and while acceptance of hybrid technology is definitely growing, I believe even greater numbers are willing to embrace it as long as the pricing is right."To get that price advantage an Insight buyer will make concessions. The Insight's hybrid system — the fifth generation of the company's integrated motor assist (IMA) technology — is less powerful and less complex than Toyota's series parallel hybrid which allows the Prius to drive short distances on electric motor alone, something the Insight can not do.In the Insight the 1.3-litre 4-cylinder engine produces 98kW and 123Nm which is supplemented by electric motor's 10kW of power and 78Nm of torque under heavy load and hard acceleration. The fuel efficiency upshot is that the Prius will return better figures in the order of around 1-1.5L/100km which equates to around $500 a year in fuel savings.While it sounds impressive it means a Prius owner will need to drive the car 30,000km a year for 20 years to recoup the difference in purchase price.On the road the Insight owner will quickly notice where some of the savings are coming from. The car feels lighter than a Prius. The doors shut with a less satisfying solidity, hard plastics dominate the touch surfaces and the CVT gearbox and lightweight engine combine to produce a screaming cacophony when maximum acceleration is demanded.The on-centre feel of the steering is vague to the point of being disconcerting yet it weights up nicely and gives quite acceptable feedback when the going gets enthusiastic and the twists and turns more challenging.It is not all one way traffic, however. The Insight has reach adjustable steering (to go with the rake adjustment) and adjustable seat height — neither of which are offered in the Prius.  The upshot is a more real world driving position behind a dash that is well sorted and easily read.Interior space is good, if a little cramped in the rear for a full-size passenger. The boot is adequate for average requirements, although the load opening is on the narrow side and the space a little shallow.Ride quality on the MacPherson strut front suspension and H-shaped torsion beam rear is at the lower end of average on anything but freeway-smooth surfaces. With a lowered ride height for efficiency, and 15-inch rims and low rolling resistance 175/65 rubber there is plenty of information about the road surface transmitted to the cabin.There will be no compromise on safety for the Australian models with front, side and curtain airbags and stability control standard on all cars.  Smalley says the marketing plan will include two trim levels, although he says it is too early to confirm what other inclusions each model will have."They will not necessarily be the same as the two levels of Insight available in the United States. We will have our own model specifications but I can't say exactly what they will be just yet."  It is the same "too early to say" comment about sales expectations.