2002 Honda Insight: Overview

Vehicle Highlights

Honda's first hybrid-power car is a 2-seat hatchback coupe that leads all other cars in EPA fuel-economy ratings. It has aerodynamic styling, lightweight aluminum-intensive construction, and an electric motor to assist its 3-cyl gasoline engine. When coasting or decelerating, the motor becomes a generator for recharging its own battery pack, so no plug-in charging is required. Manual transmission is standard and a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is optional. The CVT furnishes variable drive ratios instead of conventional gear changes but has steering-wheel "D" and "S" buttons to select normal and higher-performance ranges. Antilock brakes are standard, but air conditioning is optional. Honda limits U.S. sales to about 6500 a year. Introduced in mid-2002 was a Civic Hybrid sedan, a direct challenger to Toyota's 5-passenger Prius hybrid.

COMPETITION

A perennial favorite, the Honda Civic, is as good as ever. We love the wide range of bodystyles, engines, and equipment. Civic is a solid car that has good performance, a nice ride, and a high degree of civility. We also love almost everything about the Ford Focus, but were reluctant to rank it a Best Buy because it was new from the ground up. After a year of living with a ZTS model, we can say that the reliability is good. Focus ranks a notch below Civic in some areas but costs less.

Topping the crowded Recommended list are the Volkswagen Golf and Jetta. They easily could be Best Buys. However, they are among the most expensive cars in this segment. Other Recommended choices include the no-frills Toyota Echo, the sporty Nissan Sentra, and the roomy Mazda Protege.