A pair of Hybrids starred for Honda in Sydney – the budget-busting Insight hatchback and CRZ coupe. The Insight is due for local sale in December, while the CRZ is scheduled for early next year.
Priced at $29,990, the entry-level Honda Insight VTi undercuts the starting price of Toyota’s Prius by almost $10,000 to become Australia’s most-affordable hybrid. The higher grade Honda Insight VTi-L is stickered at $33,490.
The Honda Insight is a handsome five-door hatchback that’s a bit more conventional in appearance than the arguably polarizing Toyota Prius.
Typical for Honda, the technology is breathtaking and includes features (like the Prius) to encourage fuel-saving driving techniques and lets you keep score of your performances. There’s also Variable Cylinder Management which makes the petrol engine effectively dormant during idling and cruising – during which time the Insight is electric-only in operation.
The Honda Insight’s nickel-metal hydride battery is stored under the boot to lower the vehicle’s centre of gravity and improve battery cooling. Insight’s petrol engine is Honda’s 1.3-litre, four-cylinder i-VTEC.
Inside is a clever interpretation of Honda’s split-level instrument cluster - adapted for hybrid use and the required multi information displays – plus the usual high-standard trim and seats.
Honda has been working with hybrid power for more than 20 years and for the latest Insight delivered a lighter, more durable system in a very impressive five-door hatch.
It’s a similar story for the all-new Honda CR-Z – the first mass production petrol-electric vehicle for sports car enthusiasts.
Power comes from Honda’s 1.5-litre, fur-cylinder i-VTEC petrol engine, coupled with the IMA hybrid system to deliver 91kW and 174 Nm (same as the 1.8-litre Civic). Drive is to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.
And while the instruments – like the Insight – include encouragement to drive economically, the CR-Z has been tuned to deliver the pleasing audible tracks appreciated by sports car enthusiasts. That’s means the right exhaust note, less sound deadening and tuned engine mounts.
External styling cues recall Honda’s much-loved CR-X sporties from the 1980s – the split-level rear glass hatch, short tail and shallow, raked roofline standout.
You can expect to see this good-looking next-generation hybrid coupe in Honda showrooms from mid-2011.
