Skip to content
Honda models, news & reviews
4
Handling
3
Performance
2
Usability
Feelgood factor
Readers' rating
By Chris Chilton
First Drives
19 January 2009 15:09
That’s no Honda Insight hybrid car. Where are the Ford T-Bird wheel skirts? You’re thinking of the original petrol-electric Honda Insight from the late 1990s. This is Insight hybrid Mk2. It’s still a petrol-electric hybrid but instead of two seats, this one’s got room for five. It’s meant to be a mainstream green car, a hybrid that will appeal to people who’ve never had a green car before.
Yes, it does seem to reinforce the notion that hybrid cars all have to look the same with a gently tapering rear and Kamm tail. But as Honda points out, it also shares its shape with the FCX Clarity fuel cell car and can trace its style cues to the original Honda CRX coupe of 1984.So it’s a hybrid, but what sort of hybrid is it? Can I plug it into the mains?You’re not alone in being confused. You can’t plug the Insight into the mains, although a plug-in version may follow. And nor does the electric motor fully decouple from the engine as it does in the Prius. The Insight can be moved using battery power alone but the engine still turns. It doesn’t fire though, a separate circular cam lobe coming into play as on the VTEC cars which opens the valves fractionally, allowing the engine to spin freely.
While admirably clean, critics argue that’s barely better than a modern turbodiesel can manage. True, but Honda claims that the Insight excels not on the EU test route, but on the road – a bold claim given our real-world experience with the Prius has highlighted the poor real world economy of hybrids. The new Honda Insight 2009 also emits very few other nasty particles such as NOx that diesels spew out in vast quantities. Then factor in the extra cost of a litre of diesel and the Insight’s advantage becomes clearer…
Add your comment
Sign in You must be signed in to submit a comment.
Honda Insight (2009) petrol-electric hybrid CAR review
Subject
Your comment
By submitting your comment, you agree to adhere to the CAR Magazine website Terms and Conditions
Cancel
You must be logged in to subscribe to a topic
Login or register now
ema02 says
RE: Honda Insight (2009) petrol-electric hybrid CAR review
Indeed, this Honda Insight wants to battle against the coveted Toyota Prius. Well, I think it has a great match though. The honda parts are oftentimes thought of being that weak but let's see what the Asian automaker had done to this Insight to change that connotation.
06 October 2009 01:53
iantombs says
This month I got the chance to drive the Honda Insight Hybrid. The first thing that you notice is obviously the outside shape and style. It is modern and futuristic looking, but pleasant at the same time. The inside is a different story. Again modern, but a bit too futuristic for my taste.( Star Trek meets PlayStation). Being a hybrid and Eco friendly the emphasis is on reducing the impact on the environment, and the instrumentation reflects this. It pretty much impels you to drive ‘green’ and awards you with growing trees for you efforts. (You feel a bit bad if you don’t, and expect the computer to tell you off!) The changing colours of the ‘eco meters’ can prove a bit distracting to start with as you aim to stay within the limits. This does not help the fact that the speedo is placed on top of the dashboard as a bit of an after thought. Personally I would put the speedo as the centre of attraction, and the green bits second! Once you get used to the cockpit, it is just like any other modern car. It has all the gadgets I would expect and they are all easily accessible. The seats are comfortable and the inside is light and airy, although I would not choose the pale carpets and trim as I think it would look tired rather quickly. The boot and rear legroom is about average for that size of car. It is more aligned to shopping and commuting rather than a weeks camping with the kids and all the kit, but I would imagine that is what it is aimed at! Having said that, the trendy tinted rear window, along with the rear spoiler make for very poor rear visibility, not something you want when parking in low lit multi storey car parks etc. The rake angle of the glass is so shallow; you are in effect looking through a letterbox in to a dark hallway. The rear wiper is pretty much redundant as result. The driving is easy and the stop start function is not as intrusive as I was expecting. The automatic gearbox changes smoothly enough and there is adequate power and acceleration to keep up with the rest of the traffic around town, although it’s out of town where I was rather disappointed. I have a daily commute of 112 miles round trip which is covered on motorways or dual carriageways and I was expecting this car to have a better mpg than I achieved. My 2.0 litre diesel Avensis Tourer averages mid 50‘s to the gallon, and if nursed, can manage low to mid 60’s. The average in the Honda was a rather disappointing 51.4 for the same journey at the same legal speed limits. When on a level surface, the battery is powering the car, and it is pretty quiet, once however you encounter any sort of gradient or need more power, the 1.3 engine cuts in and the Star Ship Enterprise feels like Scotty is about to tell you ‘its not going to take it Jim’. To coin a phrase, the ‘Flappy paddle gear box’ is a waste of time. It breaks the monotony of the journey if you slip it into ‘S’ but serves little purpose other than telling your mates down the pub that your cars got one. Its better left in ‘D’ This is the point when I started to see that this car was not going to benefit me financially and offers nothing over my current car other than a better spec. This car emits 105 compared my 135 C02 so car tax will be lower, but if I did the math, I doubt if there was any great advantage when considering the extra mpg I’m getting and the extra torque. I am glad that you have given me the chance to drive the car and pass my comments on to you. They are my personal views only, and I would encourage anyone to drive this car, especially around town where it really belongs.
This month I got the chance to drive the Honda Insight Hybrid.
The first thing that you notice is obviously the outside shape and style. It is modern and futuristic looking, but pleasant at the same time. The inside is a different story. Again modern, but a bit too futuristic for my taste.( Star Trek meets PlayStation).
Being a hybrid and Eco friendly the emphasis is on reducing the impact on the environment, and the instrumentation reflects this. It pretty much impels you to drive ‘green’ and awards you with growing trees for you efforts. (You feel a bit bad if you don’t, and expect the computer to tell you off!)
The changing colours of the ‘eco meters’ can prove a bit distracting to start with as you aim to stay within the limits. This does not help the fact that the speedo is placed on top of the dashboard as a bit of an after thought. Personally I would put the speedo as the centre of attraction, and the green bits second!
Once you get used to the cockpit, it is just like any other modern car. It has all the gadgets I would expect and they are all easily accessible.
The seats are comfortable and the inside is light and airy, although I would not choose the pale carpets and trim as I think it would look tired rather quickly.
The boot and rear legroom is about average for that size of car. It is more aligned to shopping and commuting rather than a weeks camping with the kids and all the kit, but I would imagine that is what it is aimed at!
Having said that, the trendy tinted rear window, along with the rear spoiler make for very poor rear visibility, not something you want when parking in low lit multi storey car parks etc. The rake angle of the glass is so shallow; you are in effect looking through a letterbox in to a dark hallway. The rear wiper is pretty much redundant as result.
The driving is easy and the stop start function is not as intrusive as I was expecting. The automatic gearbox changes smoothly enough and there is adequate power and acceleration to keep up with the rest of the traffic around town, although it’s out of town where I was rather disappointed.
I have a daily commute of 112 miles round trip which is covered on motorways or dual carriageways and I was expecting this car to have a better mpg than I achieved.
My 2.0 litre diesel Avensis Tourer averages mid 50‘s to the gallon, and if nursed, can manage low to mid 60’s. The average in the Honda was a rather disappointing 51.4 for the same journey at the same legal speed limits.
When on a level surface, the battery is powering the car, and it is pretty quiet, once however you encounter any sort of gradient or need more power, the 1.3 engine cuts in and the Star Ship Enterprise feels like Scotty is about to tell you ‘its not going to take it Jim’.
To coin a phrase, the ‘Flappy paddle gear box’ is a waste of time. It breaks the monotony of the journey if you slip it into ‘S’ but serves little purpose other than telling your mates down the pub that your cars got one. Its better left in ‘D’
This is the point when I started to see that this car was not going to benefit me financially and offers nothing over my current car other than a better spec. This car emits 105 compared my 135 C02 so car tax will be lower, but if I did the math, I doubt if there was any great advantage when considering the extra mpg I’m getting and the extra torque.
I am glad that you have given me the chance to drive the car and pass my comments on to you. They are my personal views only, and I would encourage anyone to drive this car, especially around town where it really belongs.
04 August 2009 13:40
babametca says
My only consern about this tipe of vehicle is that the elecricity needed for the batteries comes from the engine of the car. I think this is not so power efficient as if the batteries are charged from the electric network, or this 1.5l Petrol engine is more efficient than a Nuclear power plant. My point is that if I am driving a lot in urban traffic or in urban conditions what will happen when the batteries "go off". Then I'll run only on the 1.5l petrol engine and I don't think that this engine is more economical then a new diesel engine especially in bad traffic. And how about the making of the batteries? I have heard that the process of making those kind of batteries is very unfriendly to the environment. Personally I Love the idea of an electric car or any vehicle, but it needs to be really efficient all the time, at allmost any working conditions. And for a car of this type it is typical to travel a lot in urban conditions which does not give a lot of time to recharge the batteries. I think that when they make a car with a larger batteries that is able to cover a distance of at least 60miles on batteries and rechargable from the "plug" this type of product will be really energy efficient and FRIENDLY. Until then I believe that at the moment the diesel is the most economical and friendly type of a car fuel for any conditions for this type of vehicle.
08 June 2009 13:17
v0lterra says
JohnnyBimmer: Still rude and still a member of the flat earth society I see. If you're not interested in this sort of car, why comment just to insult those who are? It seems you also get aggressive when you have to slow down for other road users too. All a bit worrying for the rest of us.
28 February 2009 17:03
wseroyer says
people in the United States are so dumb about cars. I would just buy a Civic ex and call it good they get like 35 MPG, it's not like Hybrid's get all that better gas mileage and with the money you would save buy buying the Civic it would all but rule out the gas savings of the Insight. why will people not buy diesel cars here I just not get it.
28 January 2009 22:03
Upload stories, photos or videos direct to the site, or email newsdesk@carmagazine.co.uk.
Alternatively, call 01733 468 485 (+ 44 1733 468 485)
Seen a secret new car, fabulous exotic or have news we should publish? Then get in touch now.
