What's the news?
It's a bit of a shame that, at the moment, Honda has no plans to bring the new Insight to Europe, the UK, or Ireland. OK, so the last Insight didn't exactly set the sales charts afire, but this new US-only model looks rather slick and attractive.
It'll be unveiled, officially, next week at the Detroit motor show (or North American International Auto Show, NAIAS to give it its official title) and it's set to be Honda's US rival for the Prius.
"The new 2019 Honda Insight signals we are entering a new era of electrification with a new generation of Honda products that offer customers the benefits of advanced powertrain technology without the traditional trade-offs in design, premium features or packaging," said Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior vice president of Automobile Sales and general manager of the Honda Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "The Honda Insight is anticipated to receive fuel economy ratings competitive with the best hybrids in the segment, with styling that will have universal appeal inside and out and best-in-class passenger volume."
It gets the new 'flying wing' front end design, which is gradually being applied to all US Hondas, and the company claims that the car's long wheelbase gives it best-in-class cabin space. That cabin gets multiple digital displays, smartphone connectivity, a wifi hotspot, and Tesla-style 'over-the-air' software updates.
There is some relevance for us, though, because the Insight gets Honda's new gearbox-less electric hybrid powertrain, which will also be fitted to the new CR-V, arriving later this year. The system uses two electric motors - one for propulsion, and one for power generation, and the petrol engine - in the Insight's case a 1.5-litre Atkinson cycle unit - drives the wheels through them, not a gearbox. Honda says that most of the time, the car operates under electrical power, only using the engine as a generator, which should make for some impressive fuel economy figures. The batteries are mounted under the back seats, so as to leave the boot free from intrusion.
Honda is also playing up the Insight's safety credentials. All models come with the Honda Sensing safety pack, which includes a collision mitigation braking system, lane departure warning, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow and new traffic sign recognition. Higher spec models will get Honda's LaneWatch active steering system.