Honda Insight Hybrid Concept: The Full Monty with Mega Gallery

The most important debut at Honda’s Paris Show stand was of course the Insight Concept, which heralds the return of a dedicated hybrid to the Japanese automaker’s model line-up. Honda’s Prius fighter will make its first appearance in production form at the Detroit motorshow in January 2009 with global sales following in the second quarter of the same year. Changes compared to the prototype seen here will most likely be limited to details such as the futuristic LED headlamps and taillights as well as the door handles and alloy wheels. -Continued

Honda’s FCX Clarity was evidently the stylistic inspiration for the Insight’s exterior design. Our opinion is that the Japanese carmaker played it a bit too safe with the Insight, but then again, so did Toyota with the Prius and look how well that turned out. At least the interior with the Civic-inspired dashboard looks pretty neat in a high-tech sense of way. Hopefully, Honda will retain the cool ‘touch screen’ buttons on the doors and the dash.

The Insight will sport a mild hybrid powertrain which is essentially a development of the one found in the Civic IMA combining an electric motor with a small displacement petrol engine and a CVT gearbox. Unlike the Prius, the Insight won’t be able to run only on electricity. Honda purposely chose to equip the Insight with a pretty simple but nevertheless, effective in terms of fuel economy and emissions, drivetrain in order to keep the price down.

According to Honda officials, the Insight will be priced from around $18,000 to $19,000, significantly undercutting its arch rival, the Prius which begins from around $22,000.