What is it?
The original Honda Insight, a car that made early hybrid motoring a damned sight more interesting than the yawn-worthy Toyota Prius of the same era. Now, while Toyota's long-serving model went into production first, the Honda has the honour of being the earlier of the two cars to 'break America', as so many third-rate popstars and soap actors with delusions of Hollywood grandeur are wont to bleat on about these days. Indeed, of the 17,020 units that were shifted worldwide in its seven years on sale, the vast majority of these future-gazing Hondas went to the States - almost 14,300 of 'em, to be precise, with 2,340 sold in their homeland of Japan... and a mere 392 on European shores. The UK, apparently, only took about 200 Mk1 Insights.
The thing is, Toyota has persevered with hybrid technology, while Honda... kind of hasn't. Oh, sure, it made another Insight from 2009-2014, and then there was the Civic IMA (that's Integrated Motor Assist, the technology you'll find in the Insight), and the current NSX is of course part-electric, but in reality Honda hasn't quite committed to the technology in the same way Toyota has. And as even the Prius is reasonably interesting these days, in its fourth-generation guise, it's a shame Honda didn't continue whole-heartedly with the idea - because there's certainly a magnetic allure to the slippery, teardrop shape of RV51 SYF, finished as it is in the misleading green shade of, erm, Citrus Yellow.
Why are you driving it?
Much of the 'ZE1' Insight's appeal these days comes from its place in motoring history as an early hybrid and also its use of Honda's typically brilliant engineering solutions to make its modest power outputs go as far as was technically possible in the early Noughties. The shape, so redolent of what a 1980s science-fiction film might have presented as a vision of 2026, is not just there for aesthetic effect but because it is aerodynamically optimised - its drag coefficient is just 0.25. The bodywork was made out of aluminium, the fuel tank was made of plastic and magnesium was even used in the VTEC engine to save weight; without air conditioning, the Insight clocked in at 838kg, but with it fitted, like this Honda UK car, it's 852kg on the scales.
Then there was the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine itself, which could run on a lean-burn cycle to conserve fuel and which predated the wider use of 'triples' in supposedly fuel-efficient cars by about ten years. While a CVT (shudder...) model became optionally available in 2001, the Insight started life with a five-speed manual gearbox; something that makes it very rare in hybrid circles, even to this day. Its ultra-thin, brushless electric motor lives on the crankshaft and is rated at 144-volts, or 10kW (13hp), and is powered by nickel-metal hydride batteries. Overall, the Insight turned in quite staggering eco-numbers of 83.1mpg with just 80g/km of CO2 emissions, data that would still be deeply impressive in 2018.
Is it any good these days?
Oh yes, it has a huge amount of appeal. But don't think its near-instant electric torque and trim kerb weight make it in any way fast. Because it isn't. Stick the slick-shifting five-speed manual into second and plant the throttle, and if you're on what is only a very modest incline, the Insight will struggle to add any extra mph to its velocity at all. You'll also need to work it through the gearbox a lot to make anything like decent progress, because that 113Nm IMA-bolstered peak output at a lowly 1,500rpm is a misleading figure; the Insight never feels anything but like a very small, very normally aspirated petrol car.
What it is, however, is massively endearing in the way it drives. Everything is silky smooth and the ride quality is magnificent, while its aero ethos leads to superb rolling refinement - wind noise? What wind noise? It also has a sparkling chassis with almost littoral-zone-mollusc levels of grip, which means the skill in driving the Insight at a fair old lick is to spend some time building up a bit of speed, and then cornering as fast as you dare to maintain as much of your hard-won pace as you can.
Thankfully, with great steering and wonderful chassis balance, driving in such a fashion in the Honda is immense fun. A Prius of the same age would be a right pudding in comparison, and even the current Mk4 Toyota isn't as joyous to be in as the Insight. Add in the Insight's funky, two-seat interior with lime-green details and futuristic dials, and those faired-in rear wheel arches, and it's hard not to fall for this ingenious little Honda in an extremely big way.
Is it a genuine classic, or just some mildly interesting old biffer?
Tough one. Its bold engineering make-up, relative rarity and the fact that used prices seem to be on a terrific upswing (we've seen clean UK cars and JDM imports alike going for £10,995 recently) suggest it's a classic in the making. But do car enthusiasts truly lust after hybrids, even really clever and pioneering ones? Tricky to say. There's no doubt the Insight is a hugely important model in Honda's history but as a stone-cold motoring classic, it might not go the distance. We, though, absolutely love it.
The numbers
Model tested: Honda Insight (ZE1)
Price: when new in 2001, £17,170 (circa £26,995, inflation-adjusted for 2018); used examples from £5,000-£11,000 today
Build period: 1999-2006
Build numbers: 17,020 (global sales)
Engine: 1.0-litre three-cylinder VTEC petrol with Integrated Motor Assist electric drive
Transmission: front-wheel drive, five-speed manual
Body style: two-door hybrid coupe
Combined economy: 83.1mpg
Top speed: 112mph
0-62mph: 12.5 seconds
Power: 68hp at 5,700rpm (without IMA), 76hp at 5,700rpm (with IMA)
Torque: 90Nm at 4,800rpm (without IMA), 113Nm at 1,500rpm (with IMA)
