2005 Honda Insight Road Test

Time spent in traffic becomes enjoyable, nipping in and out spacesbetween cars, while on free-flowing highways, there's still enoughjuice to pass with ease. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

Time spent in traffic becomes enjoyable, nipping in and out spaces between cars, while on free-flowing highways, there's still enough juice to pass with ease. One thing that Canadian-market Insights don't have is the option of an "Automatic" CVT gearbox. The CVT would most likely help increase sales, but the fact that it's a manual makes for a little more fun behind the wheel, and the cachet that it's the only hybrid car currently in production with a manual gearbox.

According to Honda, the Insight, with all its advanced fuel-saving gadgetry, should consume an average of 3.8 L/100 km in the city, and 3.3 L/100 km on the highway, which calculates to a range of roughly 1,250 km (775 mi) per tank. While my conservative driving style is usually able to best the government's averages, I simply couldn't match them this time around. Tried as I did, I can conclude that the only possible way of achieving figures this low is down hill with a tailwind. But when driven like the average consumer, the returns are still respectable; I managed 4.5 L/100 km, with the A/C on full blast and plenty of city driving. It's well off the mark of the suggested economy, but a huge savings over even the most economical gasoline or diesel-powered cars. A week's worth of driving normally drains my pocket of $50 to $60, but nearly 700 km eased my bank balance of a mere $21.86. Fantastic!

The thing that strikes most people as odd, if it occurs to them regarding the Insight's interior is that it's completely opposite of the typical hybrid cabin. Because of its low-drag, teardrop shape, you slide down into the cockpit rather than climbing in, much the same way as you'd hop into a

The centre stack features two separated units, including a slim CD-stereo system, above which rests the digital automatic climate control. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

sports car. You also sit as if you're in a sports car with arms and legs outstretched and all the major controls intuitively positioned and well within reach. Driver and passenger sit in one-piece mesh-weave buckets that have thin, flat cushions which are more comfortable than they look. There's not much to the simple dashboard, or console for that matter, which has been seriously downsized from anything Honda has produced before or since to fit into this narrow car. The two separated units include a slim CD-stereo system, above which rests the digital automatic climate control. Both devices have a strange deficiency of buttons, which might leave the user puzzled at first, but the controls for each can be easily deciphered.