Super Fuel Sipper
Honda’s first production petrol-hybrid, the Insight, made its appearance here 10 years ago to motoring journalists and a small bunch of earth-loving folk. It was a mini celebrity of sorts. After all, few have seen an electric-petrol car in the metal, save for those who were at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show and saw the Honda J-VX concept.
This subcompact hatchback, which measures less than 4m long and weighs a scant 838kg, was the first Honda to feature its proprietary Integrated Motor Assist system. This is basically a clever electrical motor that adds 13bhp to the 70bhp produced by the 1-litre, 3-cylinder engine, and charges a series of commercial grade D-size nickel-metal hydride batteries behind the seats.
A computer control module regulates how much power comes from the engine and how much from the electric motor. Like the hybrid cars of today, a dash display tells how much juice is consumed, the range and so forth.
Elsewhere, the low-rolling resistance tyres, low viscosity OW-20 synthetic engine oil, auto stop-start, slippery profile (coefficient of drag of just 0.25), extensive use of lightweight aluminium and plastic all contributed to the Insight’s incredible fuel consumption figure of 35km per litre (based on Japan’s 10-15 modes).
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