Honda Insight

Even in an industry as ruthless as the car-making, it’s hard not to feel a bit for Honda. Despite developing the first production hybrid car with the truly innovative first-generation Insight in the late 1990s, and before that pioneering clean and efficient petrol engines, the environmental limelight has been well and truly hogged by arch rival Toyota.

When the Insight was launched in 2009, sales of the Prius had sailed past the one million mark, whereas sales of Honda hybrids of any description languished well behind at just 275,000 units.

Although arguably the first-generation Insight’s hybrid powertrain and unique styling made it ahead of its time, the rebirth of the Insight with this second-generation model is designed for much greater global appeal. Not least because the latest Insight is the first stand-alone hybrid in Honda’s range since the original, with its other previous hybrids having been hidden in the Civic range.

Although not as ground-breaking as either the original Insight or the current Prius, the Insight boasts a simpler approach to hybrid technology in a familiar five-door bodystyle and a much lower price.

The Insight is offered with just the one powertrain option – a 1.3-litre petrol engine mated to an electric motor and battery pack – although buyers can choose from five different trim options, spanning roughly £4500 in price

When launched, the Insight was the cheapest hybrid on the market. And although smaller hybrids, including Honda’s own Jazz Hybrid and Toyota's Auris hybrid, have arrived, the Insight is still the cheapest hybrid next to its similarly sized rivals.

Honda’s thinking is that by eroding the premium, more buyers will migrate from conventional family cars. Will they? Only if the Insight’s talents extend further than this value proposition.

DESIGN

The original Insight had its fans – and indeed now achieves a cult status – partly thanks to its radical sleek aerodynamic body, but those hoping for similar daring and innovation from the Honda design department this time around will be disappointed.

Indeed, for the mass-market appeal and, in turn, sales, Honda opted to play it safe this time and offer a much less controversial design, which does away with flourishes such as the partly covered rear wheels of the original.

Honda gave the Insight an initial dynamic makeover in 2010 after customer and media feedback, but the mid-life facelift wasn’t seen until the Frankfurt motor show in 2011. So the model now sports the front end similar to the one seen on the latest-generation Civic rather than the look of Honda’s fuel-cell FCX Clarity model that it sported before the changes.

With aerodynamics dictating a steeply sloped windscreen and A-pillars, the Insight’s small windows ahead of the wing mirror help with visibility. 

Key to achieving the Insight’s aerodynamic shape is the gradual, almost imperceptible transition from roofline to rear window. It’s a carefully judged balancing act, though, to ensure sufficient rear passenger headroom. View the Insight in profile and you can just see the slightest kink. The top half of the body tapers in towards the rear of the car, which helps the air pass more smoothly over the top.

Like the Prius, the Insight’s slippery shape demands a high-reaching and near-vertical tail. Although the top portion of the tailgate is glass, the joining bar that links the tops of the rear light units restricts rear visibility.

INTERIOR

If you think the Insight’s exterior style and dimensions closely resemble the Prius’s, you won’t be surprised to find that the Honda also matches the Toyota for interior space. The Insight, for example, has the same 408-litre luggage capacity and a similar-shaped boot. The rear seats can take three adults at a pinch (headroom is at a slight premium because of the sloping roof, and it’s also a tad narrow for three grown-ups), and the front is roomy.

Spaciousness aside, the Insight and Prius could scarcely be further removed. The Toyota feels totally unlike a conventional car, but Honda has gone out of its way to make drivers accustomed to regular hatchbacks feel immediately at home in the Insight.

Front seat occupants sit in a conventional, low-slung position, far back in the cabin, in a way that’s straight out of the Civic rulebook. The seats – supportive, well sculpted and comfortable – feel all but identical, too, as does the small, intricate steering wheel. There’s even a conventional, mechanical auto-style gear selector to control the CVT gearbox and a conventional key and start button. Although the Insight has the ability to run without its engine, it needs to be fired initially.

The Insight’s fascia has a similar layout to that of the Civic although it’s slightly more softly sculpted. You look through the steering wheel at the lower of two display consoles for the temperature and fuel gauges, revcounter and trip meter, and above it for the digital speedo, backed by the blue-to-green hue of an econometer.

But despite the pleasing and almost futuristic styling, the interior’s perceived quality is adequate rather than premium, even after its recent revisions.

PERFORMANCE

Honda keeps it simple with the Insight: just one powertrain is offered. It is known as Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) and comprises an 87bhp 1.3-litre petrol engine assisted by a 14bhp electric motor.

As hybrid systems go, IMA is one of the more simplistic, with a permanent connection between the petrol motor and transmission. If the wheels are turning, so is the engine. Whether it is using any fuel is a different matter.

Although the Insight will not move off from standstill on electric power alone, once moving it can run on just electric power. But because it still has to turn the engine, it is less efficient than the more complex system found in the Prius, which allows the engine to disconnect completely. Drive is channelled to the front wheels through a CVT transmission.

With the combined force of the electric and petrol propulsion, which together produce 97bhp, the Insight took 11.7sec to go from rest to 60mph – a touch quicker than Honda claims.

In the real world, though, the manner in which the Insight delivers its performance is less satisfactory. On anything but light throttle applications, the engine is pretty vocal, and not in a pleasant way. The problem is exacerbated by the CVT transmission, which under full throttle keeps the engine spinning at constant high revs. It requires a committed approach to get the sort of performance suggested by the headline numbers, and especially to pick up speed on the motorway; effortless it is not.

In less pressing driving, the Insight is a quieter companion, but still the transmission isn’t the smoothest. The action of the petrol motor cutting in and out is more noticeable than in the Prius. Switching to Econ mode, which reduces power slightly and smooths out the throttle map and CVT operation, improves matters marginally.