2000 Honda Insight

First Test
With environmental alarm bells ringing, this wasn't the first time an automaker has unveiled its latest answer to global warming to skeptical media and lawmakers in Washington, D.C., a city largely responsible for spawning the push for promising-but usually disappointing-alternative-fuel vehicles. But this time was different. A 140-mile jaunt from downtown D.C. over choked suburban roads and into rural Maryland proved the 2000 Honda Insight-the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle on sale in America-is the real deal. This snappy front-drive two-seat coupe delivers 70 mpg and ultra-low emissions with easy driveability and desirable comfort-at a base price of $18,880. Indeed, the only option is an automatic climate-control system, bringing the typical as-purchased price to $20,080.

What makes the Insight a breakthrough? It starts with Honda's Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system. At its core is an ultralight 1.0-liter three-cylinder VTEC-E gasoline engine that uses lean-burn technology, low-friction design, and lots of lightweight aluminum, magnesium, and plastic. The 12-valve 67-horse engine gets up to an extra 13.4 horsepower-and 25 more pound-feet of torque-from a 144-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack that drives an ultrathin (about 2.5 inches) DC-brushless motor. This unit acts as a generator during deceleration and braking to recharge the vehicle's batteries (eliminating the need for an outside charge), and as the Insight's starter motor. A Power Control Unit keeps it all in sync.

Think of it as a little electric turbocharger that kicks in on demand and, teamed with a five-speed manual transmission (the only one offered), helps hustle the Insight 0-60 mph in 10.5 seconds. In the real world, it proved quite sufficient to get us through traffic on all kinds of roads during a follow-up encounter back in our Los Angeles home base.

From its experience with the aluminum-bodied Acura NSX, Honda created a rigid, lightweight aluminum body for the Insight that's 40 percent lighter than a comparable steel unit, yet meets all current worldwide safety standards. An aluminum chassis and body panels with front fenders and rear skirts of recyclable plastic, brings the whole package in at just 1887 pounds.

Combined with an aerodynamic design that yields a dramatic 0.25 Cd, the Insight earned the EPA's highest mileage rating ever, with 61 mpg in the city and 70 mpg on the highway. And the first-ever "Excellence in Environmental Engineering Award" from the Sierra Club. According to the onboard fuel-economy monitor, we got 55 mpg, while flogging it without conscience through traffic and over hill and dale. Featherfoot it, and the 10.6-gallon gas tank should easily deliver the promised range of 600 to 700 miles.

And it won't be a stressful drive, either. In what Honda calls a "personal fit capsule," the Insight's sporting cabin is equipped with a full complement of standard comfort, convenience, and safety features-though some of the plastic trim in the preproduction unit we tested didn't seem quite up to Honda's usual standards. The electronic digital-analog instrument panel, which takes a little getting used to, divides information into three sections: gasoline functions on the left, electric on the right, and speedometer in the middle.

The Insight's front MacPherson strut/rear twist-beam suspension, combined with variable-assist rack-and-pinion steering, and a 60/40-percent weight distribution offer handling and steering response reminiscent of the CRX. But the 165/65SR14 low-rolling-resistance tires are aimed more at high fuel economy than sticky road holding, and you'll have to adjust to somewhat vague throttle response and shift points that come much quicker than in a 1.6-liter.