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. +Continue Reading
