Preview: 2010 Honda Insight hybrid

Honda has released the first official look at its much-anticipated new hybrid model, the Insight. The concept version shown here will make its public debut on October 2nd at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show, and the production version will go on sale in the U.S. next spring.

While the original, innovative Insight hybrid was a streamlined two-door hatchback, this namesake model will be a larger five-door hatchback. It draws clear design inspiration from the Toyota Prius and the Honda FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle. Rather than a hybrid application to an existing model, like the Civic hybrid, the Insight was designed specifically as a hybrid.

While official details are thin, Honda claims the Insight will use a more cost-effective version of today’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) powertrain, enabling the car to be priced under current hybrids. (The base retail price for the 2009 Civic hybrid is $23,550; the 2009 Prius is $22,000.)

Referred to by Honda as a "small car," the new Insight is about 2.5 inches shorter bumper to bumper, one inch narrower, and two inches lower in height than the Prius. The chart below compares the new Insight against the current Civic, Fit, and Prius.

                                                                                           

	Honda Insight	Honda Civic	Honda Fit	Toyota Prius
Length	172	177	157	175
Width	67	69	66	68
Height	56	57	60	58

The Insight will be built at the Suzuka factory in Japan, where the Civic hybrid is manufactured. Honda is projecting 100,000 annual sales in North America—almost twice the volume of the Fit at the current sales rate. Following the Insight launch, Honda will introduce a sporty two-door hatchback hybrid shown in Detroit, the CR-Z.

—Jeff Bartlett

Comments

[Glenn]

So Honda is going with a modified version of Integrated Motor Assist ("IMA") in this car? Isn't this just band-aid engineering? I mean General Motors has had a similar strategy with GM's Belt Alternator System ("BAS"), where a band-aid (larger alternator to function as the starter) is used to return slightly higher mileage. Both systems are 'mild hybrid' systems. Why is Honda going with such a weak engineering effort? Why are they following--rather than leading--General Motors in this hybrid endeavor?

Unlike GM's mild hybrid products however, there's no doubt the new Honda Insight will be hailed as revolutionary after it's introduced, which is a shame. Automakers should be going forward (Started with the Prius; continues with the Volt) rather than going backward (as is the case with this Honda Insight).

[Cranky_Old_Batt]

Wow! Looks just like a Prius. I wonder if it will hold up any better than the do.

[friendlynerd]

Honda's IMA system and GM's mild hybrid system aren't even remotely similar. All GM's hybrid system does is run your accessories (A/C in particular) while the vehicle is stopped so it can shut off the engine, thereby saving a little gas. Honda's system is much more comprehensive and while it doesn't return economy numbers as high as Toyota, it's no slouch.

Honda's IMA system has been used all the way back to the original Insight in some form or another and is used in the current Civic hybrid. It's hardly "a weak engineering effort" to further tweak existing, successful technology to make it more efficient and cost-effective.

[Neil]

This is good news. I was about ready to count Honda out.
No, it's not an EV but it is a step in the correct direction. They have been plain in counting out a Honda EV, but like Toyota they're controlled by BigOil so the best we can hope for is better mpg.
BTW, GM is not leading anyone, their cars are bottom of any reliability rating and while a few stand out mostly they're churning out junk. Read the latest Consumer Reports car issue.
Wait for the Volt all you like but Toyota had a 120 mile range EV ten years ago (the RAV4 EV), so forgive me if I'm not impressed with 40 miles E range in a smaller, lighter car. That's hardly progress.
With due respect to previous commenter Glenn, we won't get the progress you yearn for until the oil runs out. Then out of nowhere every manufacturer will suddenly produce the amazingly efficient electric powered cars that have been languishing in their private labs.
Can you wait till 2050?

[Rush]

Gee Glen, sounds like you're either a GM employee or a shareholder. At least Honda HAS a hybrid. Oh wait...GM DOES have a hybrid...FINALLY...and it's still a gas guzzler (see Tahoe Hybrid) that's been out for less than a year. GM has nothing else close to a real hybrid in production. Toyota has what...3? And Honda has 2 (not including the retired Accord Hybrid).

If you want REAL engineering, try reading up on the Honda Clarity FCX.

[Joe]

Too Small.

With 56" height, 1" less than the Civic, I can't see how I'd fit comfortably in an Insight.

If the next Prius is modestly bigger, Toyota will continue to dominate Honda.

[Joe]

Glenn says: "So Honda is going with a modified version of Integrated Motor Assist ("IMA") in this car? Isn't this just band-aid engineering? "

Results matter, Civic with IMA gets 37 MGP. Honda's hybrid approach will cost less than Toyota's technology (Ford and Nissan also use it) and produce competitive results.

GM's Volt will be pricey. It's a solution that doesn't address entry/mid level buyers.

[Alex]

I'm with Glenn, the EV1 was ahead of it's time, but it was rolled out AT the right time so as to work out all the bugs, set up inferstructure, AND NOW would have the lithium-ion batteries for even better performance. I HAVE NO IDEA why they don't just re-introduce the EV1 now. GM wold make a fortune and be at the forefront of electric vehicles. That's what happens when you have a bunch of crusty old f**ts that are afraid of trying to break away from the internal cumbustion engine. Prius is the only true hybrid, and will be for some time. Pitty...
Another hope, and a 'simple' retro-fit, convert today's cars to run on hydrogen. Yes, you'd have to build the inerstructure, product the hydrogen, but the result out the tail pipe is just water. Honda has one, they just need to market the heck out of it. Other cars can be modified. Anyway, back on subject, I hear Dodge will come out with an all-electric vehicle in 2010(?)

[Arthur Prokosch]

Joe commented: "Too Small. / With 56" height, 1" less than the Civic, I can't see how I'd fit comfortably in an Insight."

At 6'3", I fit fine into my 1992 Civic DX Hatchback, which is all of 51" in height. It's all in the engineering, and Honda has proven itself to engineer much more comfortable spaces to my tall frame than I've ever encountered in a Toyota (much less an american car).

[RobertsMx]

"So Honda is going with a modified version of Integrated Motor Assist ("IMA") in this car? Isn't this just band-aid engineering?"

No. By your definition, just about any technological development would be a band aid. Let me begin with a quote by Einstein: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage, to move in the opposite direction"

IMA is a simple solution that could have been more complex without additional benefits. It replaces an engine's flywheel with an electric motor, and simplifies the design around size and weight of a hybrid's worst enemy: batteries. It is built around every bit of efficiency that can be extracted from the engine as well as from otherwise wasted energy.

Small batteries also mean that when it is time to replace them (due to age or durability issues), it would be lighter on your pockets. And as batteries age, even though they won't need replacement, they will lose their capacity, continuously over time. With reduced reliance on that aspect and more at the heart of system itself (engine), you take away a substantial part of it.

Honda knows how to build a car to run on electric only power (in fact, they had a hybrid scooter prototype several years ago that was able to run in series and in parallel mode). Honda was also first to offer plug-in electric vehicle (1997 EV Plus) that used the kind of battery pack that hybrids use today (GM's EV1 used lead acid battery and moved to Honda-like system in its last year... in 1999).

[David]

These mpg numbers are unimpressive. I drive a vw golf tdi diesel and get 43mpg highway and about 37 in mixed driving.

[Shelby]

A 5-year cost of ownership is the comparison I want to see. I hope CR will continue to update readers from time to time like they usually do. CR is the only organization I trust for providing unbiased data for car performance. Keep up the good work!

[Tom Gee]

This is good news. I'm wondering if the MPG wil be competitive with the Prius?
By the way in answer to some of the posters on here, we're not running out of energy anytime soon. The politicians and probably the media are too stupid to realize that we're sitting on the largest Natural Gas reserves in the world, some of it just recently discovered in NY, PA, CO and TX. By some estimates, almost 100 years worth. Cars like the Honda Givic GX are sold to run on Natural Gas. They come with a little compressor that hooks to your natural gas line just like a BBQ grill. You turn it on and fill your tank for the equivalent of $1.50 per gallon.

[ken]

David, you are correct but let me state it a little more forcefully.
why isn't every vehicle (cars,trucks,and busses) getting 43mpg highway?
this would be a truly significant reduction in the consumption of oil, which is what we need right now...not drilling for more oil and burning more oil and drilling for more oil and burning more oil and on and on...

[David]

I'd like to see a 5 year cost of ownership study that includes the information on the variables used, unlike the study published in the latest issue. CR is not unbiased, but their bias is pretty close to my own. I'd like to trust their conclusions, but I find it hard to trust anyone, even CR, without that data. I'd also like to be able to adjust for my own situation.

[Jeff Bartlett - Consumer Reports]

For a more detailed explanation of the owner cost data, read:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/pricing/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own-4-08/overview/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own-ov.htm

Also, when you look up a vehicle in the model pages, there is an "i-text" rollover for each factor that can provide more insights.

In a nutshell, the "subjective" elements were based on national averages. While each person's variables are unique (state, age, miles driven, etc), we feel these figure provide an excellent basis for comparison between models.

[Glenn]

Rush, I am neither a GM employee or a GM shareholder. I am, however, very keen on automobiles and current automotive trends.
If this blog did have picture-displaying capabilities, I'd post a picture of Honda's IMA system. It really is nothing more than a stator of wire retrofitted to the flywheel (there's also a small battery pack and some assorted electronics). With this hurried and thoughtless approach to hybrid technology, Honda's hybrid won't realise MPG returns any better than a diesel VW, let alone the brilliant Toyota Prius.

It also must be known that there is more than just the Tahoe hybrid in GM's lineup. In fact, GM has a larger portfolio of both mild and full hybrids than any other automaker today, including Toyota (GM is not present in the full hybrid, small-car school, howevr). If you want a full hybrid, there's always the Saturn Vue, Escalade, Silvarado/Sierra, Yukon and others. If you want a mild hybrid, there's the Malibu, Aura, etc.
Toyota hybrids are just as good, and include the Highlander and Camry hybrids. Unfourtunately, Toyota has no counter to Cadillac's Escalade hybrid, but Lexus does have the LS 600h.

In closing, we must proactively and preemptively cast our vote against Honda in this rather listless hybrid attempt in their latest Insight hybrid (this is an instance when an automaker's first model is better than subsequent attempts, as the first-generation Insight was an innovative vehicle). The real mileage savings in the Honda system doesn't even come from the electric motor--the savings come from the engine, which is a very small-displacement, 1.0L 3-cylinder powerplant.
We must cast our vote by not buyng a car with a stator of wire bolted to the flywheel, and either buy the Prius or wait a couple months until the Saturn Vue full hybrid comes out.

[Mike H]

The rumors I have read estimate 60 MPG out of the new Insight. Considering the original was near 70 MPG ten years ago (although it was much smaller) I wouldn't be surprised. I also know someone with a hybrid civic that regularly gets 45 MPG so I don't see how people can say their technology is bad. 45 is not much lower than the Prius. If the Insight steps up to 60, and prices at 18,500 like some people think, they will definitely give the Prius good competition. If only the other auto makers would step up. The more, the merrier (and cheaper).

[bob]

glenn,

Introduced in 1999, the Insight was the first mass-produced hybrid automobile sold in the United States achieving 70 miles per US gallon.

prius gets 50 and copied a russian companies patented tranmission.

[Rio]

Don't you guys remember that Toyota Cars are not that very inspiring to drive. Honda cars are much more inspiring to drive. So, if this Honda could post up competitive mpg numbers with the Prius, at a lower price tag, and be more inspiring to drive, it could probably beat the Prius in sale numbers per year.

[MIke S]

Folks unless this turns out to be a lemon I am sure this new car will be fine. I know honda is saying that it supposed to get about 60 highway driving. Even if it gets 40-45 Still the starting price of $18500 isnt to bad for a hybrid it will still be cheaper then the prius and even the civic hybrid itself.
Just a thought

[Andy]

Finally someone gets that the public isn't willing to pay an extra $5000 for a hybrid. So what it looks like a slightly sportier Prius, it will get the job done for people on a budget looking to save money or just wanting to be a bit more green.

[andrew]

I'm very happy to hear Honda plans to release an entry level hybrid. I wish there was a 100% EV available too, but it still looks like we'll have to wait a while for that one.

I have a '92 geo metro right now and it will take one heck of a good new car to get me to part with it. It gets good mileage and is very cheap to own.

By good new car I mean it would have to be efficient (>40 mpg) and affordable even if that means fewer bells and whistles. Give me a small hybrid w/AC for under $18,000 and I'd consider buying new, not until then. If it was a plug-in hybrid, it would probably be a done deal for me.

[Troy]

Quite a debate on here about hybrid technology. Honda's system is very simple, much as Glenn descibes; simple doesn't mean bad, however, and on a pound-for-pound basis, Honda's simple system is at least as effective as Toyota's. I agree with Rio that Hondas are much more rewarding to drive than Toyotas, or for that matter, GM's barely-good-enough products. I bought a 2010 Insight on Saturday and am enjoying 43+ mpg in a car that's mildly entertaining to drive, at a price 15-20% less than other small hybrids. For me, GM & Ford's hybrids are just made to make people feel better about buying already gas-guzzling SUVs and overweight sedans -- if hybrids are about burning less gas, why can't these domestic companies make theirs get anywhere near 40 mpg?? The Geo Metro is to this day the best gas mileage vehicle a domestic manufacturer ever sold...and unsurprisingly, it wasn't built here either.

[Tim]

After being tempted to buy a Prius because of the great lease deals I decided to wait a couple of weeks to drive an Insight. I finally got to drive one two weeks ago and bought one that day.

I don't pretend to be able to discern the fine points between the hybrid technologies. All I know is the Insight was more fun to drive and has a more comfortabls driving positon. Admittedly it's a little smaller that the Prius but having had it for over a week now, I too am getting 45 mpg. and still find it fun to drive.