Early hybrids are a strange world. The 1st generation Prius (1997-2003) was the trailblazer, but it looked unremarkable. Its blobby and uninspiring 4-door body seemed designed to hide its innovative drivetrain. Honda’s approach with their 1999-2006 Insight two-seater coupé, on the other hand, was far more creative. They still stand out of a crowd today.
Of course, by virtue of being a two-seater, the ZE1 Insight was never going to be a top seller. But you have to admire Honda’s commitment to the bit: full aluminium body and monocoque structure, aluminium wheels, suspension components and brakes, tapered rear end, skirted rear wheels… This all leads to a drag coefficient of 0.25, a total weight of 830-890kg (depending on the transmission) and the best fuel economy numbers ever seen (70mpg, or 3.4 litres/100km) on a production car. Light, slippery and sober – a thoroughly modern combination.
It’s almost impossible to create anything completely ex nihilo. That’s not to take any merit away from Honda, it’s just a reality of human activities in general and automotive design in particular. So when seeing an early Insight, which is not something very common nowadays, I’m guessing many of you will have flashbacks of the famous 1996-99 General Motors EV1. How could you not? Two seats, skirted rear end, super slippery body (Cd of 0.19!), and all that just a couple of years prior to the Insight’s launch.
I will see your EV1 and raise you the 1962-64 Panhard CD. Did the folks at Honda (or GM, come to that) know about this ancient oddity? I have no idea. Nobody ever accused the CD to be a handsome car, but it was very light and aerodynamic: the little 50hp flat-twin that drove its front wheels could make it reach over 100mph. Perhaps it’s a case of analogous constraints leading to similar solutions.
Of course, the Honda Insight, the GM EV1 and the Panhard CD had many commonalities, but very different engines. The EV1 was 100% electric, the Panhard 100% internal combustion and the Honda split the difference by being a hybrid – or, in Honda-speak, Integrated Motor Assist (IMA).
The IC side of the Honda IMA concept was a 995cc 12-valve OHC 3-cyl. providing 67hp, operating the front wheels via a 5-speed manual. On the electric side, a DC brushless motor is directly connected to the IC engine’s driveshaft and provides an extra 13hp during acceleration. The electric motor also acts as the IC engine’s starter and alternator, though in this early incarnation, the IMA could not run on EV power alone (though it can run on the IC engine on its own, as that retains a backup starter). The batteries, located behind the seats, are nickel-metal hydride – perhaps not pioneering technology, but reassuringly safe.
After having sneak-previewed the IMA drivetrain at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show in the J-VX show car, Honda pressed on with the Insight, which finally hit the Japanese market in late 1999. Moving quickly, Honda aced out Toyota to become the first hybrid launched on the US market, bringing their brand new coupé across the Pacific in December 1999 – half a year before the Prius took the same route.
Obviously, as a two-seater, the Insight’s appeal would be extremely limited. That was part of Honda’s plan. The car was a proof of concept more than anything else. Theirs was a long game, and the little aerodynamic two-door was rather complex and expensive to manufacture in any case. From 2001, Honda introduced an optional CVT for the Insight, which our feature car has. This did adversely affect the model’s stellar fuel economy numbers a bit, but both the JDM and North America were almost universally allergic to clutch pedals by this point.
Still, the Insight was a tough sell. Honda were allegedly aiming for 6500 units per year in global sales, but never got anywhere close. Total production only reached a hair over 17,000 from late 1999 to mid-2006, of which 90% migrated Stateside. JDM sales were particularly feeble with only about 1600 units, in spite of the car’s incredible lack of appetite (normally quite a selling point in Japan).
Why did the first Insight fare so poorly in its home market? Was it the close to ¥3m price tag? The peculiar looks? The fear of the unknown that was the IMA? Who knows. As far as Honda were concerned, that was a moot point anyway: they re-launched the Insight as a saloon in 2008 and never really looked back. Which, given that two-piece back window, is exactly what was called for.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 2001 Honda Insight – Another Insightful Piece, by Joseph Dennis
CC Capsule Monday Morning Rarities – 2000 Honda Insight, Pioneer Or Science Experiment?, by JohnH875
In Motion Outtake: 2000 Honda Insight – The First Hybrid Is Getting Scarce, by PN
I didn’t realize the low production numbers, even with the lion’s share coming to the US, that’s very low. Even more remarkable is that while these aren’t exactly *common* sights. they are far from *uncommon*, I’m aware of at least a couple that live in my area and don’t pay much attention when I see other ones in traffic. I don’t believe we got that aqua color though, most seem to be gray, then silver, blue and red.
I’ve seen one locally in North Wales too but I assume the numbers imported into the UK must have been pretty small.
Panhard CD- had not seen it prior. but the Panhard24, particularly the 2 door, is a very pretty car. they were built with strong engineers eye on aerodynamics to optimize performance & fuel economy from its horizontal twin, and could certainly seat more than cozy couple. Sadly, a dead end.
My neighbor a few doors down has a first gen Insight yet. I have not ventured over to see if it’s a manual trans or not but it sure is a sight to see on the road these days!
This was the first hybrid I ever rode in, this was back around 2000. And it was a state fleet car no less. My co-worker Paul was really excited about this new tech (he chose the car and we went about on department business) and it did fine as I recall. I didn’t see many since, though when my wife and I bought our house in Atlanta, a nearby neighbor still drove a first gen Insight as late as 2018. All I remember is asking if he had to change out the batteries (he did). I don’t know what kind of transmission it had.
I don’t remember the first gen Prius at all. It was the second gen that seemed to take the world by storm as the hybrid of the future. My (future) wife rented one for a short time around 2009 and it struck me a good commuter.
I’m surprised at the low production figures, only because I see a lot of modern stories about these online. Owners seem to fall into two categories.
The first are the tinkerers, who keep these cars IMA systems alive, and perhaps modernized, despite (from what I gather) a complete lack of support from Honda.
The second are the hot rodders who take advantage of the light weight, rip out the entire IMA system, and stuff the engine bay with 200-300HP+ engines that originated in various other Honda/Acura cars. It’s really a modern take on the original idea of hot rodding, and it’s neat.
I just adore these. I think the skirted wheels look so cool and the fuel economy is stellar. I really wanted my parents to buy one, but they chose a 2009 Prius instead- significantly more practical!
I’ve sold several of these over the years. Fun to drive, not so fun to get out of. The key to keeping the hybrid battery pack clear of issues is to have a battery tender installed and used once a month.
My mother’s 2004 Civic Hybrid 5-speed has essentially the same drive train in a less aerodynamic and heavier 4 door sedan. City/highway mpg runs about 32/48. The car is quite slow by modern standards. The battery was replaced at no charge by Honda after about 10 years even though it was out of warranty. It is still running well at 20 years and 105k miles.
Only story I’ve got on a first gen Insight is a coworker bought one. Odd choice, a retired guy who was back part time, building trades. More a pickup truck kind of guy. He did talk about the MPG, but didn’t really seem that enthusiastic about it. Except in the anti world, his wife named it the cockroach. I never heard him say anything bad about it, but he didn’t keep it all that long. Sold it to another coworker who replaced his Triumph TR7 as a commute device with it. Seemed like an odd choice to me, but he did keep it a couple of years.
I live in San Francisco. I had two friends who drove these cars, both 5 speeds. One was Korean American and one was Chinese American. I knew the car had the best production aerodynamics and was quite interested in them. I did get a ride once and it struggled up a steep hill, rather unusual said the owner. Would still like one, but so little space for extra cars…
The production numbers are dismal. I appreciate that Honda went all in its design. Very nice. Too bad it wasn’t more popular.