![]() The first production petrol-electric hybrid car sold in the US, the Insight beat the Prius on that front, too: the odd, saloon-styled Toyota arrived a few months later than the hybrid Honda. Lightweight construction and space-age looks reminiscent of the 1983 Honda CR-X ensured the original Insight was almost ahead of its time.įaired-in rear wheels, a narrower rear track as well as a teardrop silhouette meant the Honda bested Toyota’s impressive Cd 0.29 drag co-efficient figure, the Insight recording a value of just 0.25. The engine and the electric motor are permanently connected, so, unlike the original Prius, the electric motor cannot propel the Insight on its own.īut, as the electric motor only assists the VTEC-E petrol engine, it’s smaller and lighter than traction motors in other hybrid vehicles, a key point in the Insight’s make-up. Under acceleration, the electric motor provides additional power to aid the petrol engine. A strict two-seater, behind the driver and passenger is a bank of nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries rated at 144V DC. Using both the engine and motor to power the car, recuperation of braking energy – the motor acting as a generator to recharge the batteries – maximises energy usage in order to cut emissions and boost fuel economy.Ī 995cc, three-cylinder petrol engine provides the motive power, its 67bhp boosted to 73bhp with the assistance of a 13.4bhp/10kW electric motor mounted in-between the engine and transmission. The original Honda Insight was the first production car in the Japanese carmaker’s range to use the IMA system, one of the most technologically-advanced parallel hybrid power systems of the time. We take a trip down hybrid memory lane in Honda UK’s pristine first-generation car to remember the original Prius’ only real contemporary rival. The original two-seat coupé-silhouetted Insight gave way to the second-generation model in 2009 (although production ended in 2006), which featured Toyota Prius-like styling and a five-door body. Honda is to re-introduce the hybrid-powered Insight and Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system to the US market in 2018, the third generation of a petrol-electric car nameplate which was first launched in 1999. With news that a new US version of the hybrid-powered Insight will appear in 2018, Richard Gooding drives the first generation of Honda’s pioneering petrol-electric car
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