2010 Honda Insight Arrival

After weeks of rumors swirling around our Long Term-Vehicle Fleet Department, there it was. Parked, otherworldly among our rows of somber-colored, technologically conservative long-termers was a fish-shaped, electric-blue Honda Insight. At first glance, I spontaneously blurted, "Ack! Ack!"-then looked around to see if anybody had heard that. It's my understanding that Ack! Ack! is Martian-speak (per Tim Burton's authoritative film, "Mars Attacks!") for, well, just about anything. It felt like the best language to address this most foreign of visitors who will be staying with us for a year. The Insight didn't respond, but seemed to be smiling. And for good reason. If you were to plot ultra-gas-stinginess against low initial cost, way up in the corner of the graph sits the Insight. Of course, only Insighters ((c) Reynolds, 2009) would have any inclination to plot such things, but no matter, it's still true. The Insight starts at $20,510 (including its unavoidable $710 destination charge) and delivers a combined 41 mpg. And in the spec box, note that 0.47 pound/mile of CO2 production. In fact, get out a pen and underline it: The low-CO2 car of 2016 is here today, folks.

The same allergy to hydrocarbons is expected of our $23,810 EX NAVI example, which differs most noticeably from the $22,010 EX by a navigation system (utterly unavailable as an EX option). It's also festooned with such goodies as automatic climate control, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, steering wheel audio controls, USB and MP3 connectivity, and driver-seat height adjustment. Of note to hard-drivin' hybrid fans are our car's paddle shifters that let you liberally bang up and down through the CVT's seven, er, synthetic ratios.

The engine/electric motor combo moving it is an 88-horse, 1.3-liter four pancaked against a 13-horse (but 58 pound-foot) motor that doubles as a starter (and triples as a flywheel). Elegant. And though this might sound like any of Honda's previous Integrated Hybrid Assist system's, they've hacked away about 40 percent of the Insight's "hybrid premium" compared with the Civic's version of IMA.

But even at that, will the Insight prove a practical, dependable (and fun) driving proposition in the long term? The wheels have already started turning and the fill-up tabulations have begun. Until our first update-Ack! Ack!