New Honda Insight Hybrid – more details and images

We got our first look at the Honda Insight Prototype late last year, and here are more details and official images of the all-new hybrid model ahead of its world debut at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.

There’s a “prototype” in the name, but make no mistake, this is the production 2019 Honda Insight in all but name. Launching in the US later this year, the Insight has morphed from the previous five-door, Prius-shaped car to a sleek “premium compact” sedan positioned above the Civic in Honda’s line-up. There’s no hybrid in this FC generation of Civic, so the new Insight will play that role.

“The new 2019 Honda Insight signals we are entering a new era of electrification with a new generation of Honda products that offer customers the benefits of advanced powertrain technology without the traditional trade-offs in design, premium features or packaging,” said Henio Arcangeli Jr, senior VP of automobile sales and GM of the Honda Division at American Honda Motor.

“The Honda Insight is anticipated to receive fuel economy ratings competitive with the best hybrids in the segment, with styling that will have universal appeal inside and out and best-in-class passenger volume,” he added.

Honda says that the Insight boasts a sleek design with a low and wide stance, highlighted by the brand’s signature “flying wing” grille and bold fascia, low-profile LED headlights and tail lights, married to sharp character lines and a sweeping coupe-like roofline.

Available luxuries will include perforated leather seating, an eight-inch head unit with capacitive touchscreen and a seven-inch digital instrument panel. Honda has received a fair bit of flak for its infotainment system lately, but it promises more intuitive, smartphone-like features and functionality this round, including customisable app tiles and home-screen shortcuts, along with available Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and WiFi-enabled over-the-air system updates.

The on-form automaker says that the Insight will deliver class-leading power while still receiving an anticipated US EPA fuel economy combined rating in excess of 50 mpg (21.3 km/l), which is competitive with other compact hybrid offerings.

The 2019 Insight will be powered by the third generation of Honda’s two-motor hybrid system, featuring a 1.5 litre Atkinson cycle engine, an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. In most conditions, the Sport Hybrid Intelligent Multi-Mode Drive (i-MMD) hybrid system operates on electric power only, drawing energy from the engine (operating as a generator) or battery pack, as in the Accord Hybrid and CR-V Hybrid.

You can always trust Hondas to feature good packaging. In this case, the hybrid batteries are located under the rear seats for a full-size boot with available 60/40 split folding rear seats.

The production Insight will include Honda LaneWatch on EX trim levels and above, while the Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver-assistive technologies as standard across the board. As found in our top Accord and CR-V, the pack includes Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Departure Warning, Road Departure Mitigation, Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow and new Traffic Sign Recognition.

The US-market Insight will be manufactured at Honda’s Greensburg plant in Indiana alongside the Civic and CR-V. When it launches, the Insight will be the fifth electrified vehicle launched by Honda over the past year, after the Clarity series (Clarity Fuel Cell, Clarity Electric and Clarity Plug-in Hybrid) and the Accord Hybrid.

At last year’s NAIAS, the carmaker announced its Honda Electrification Initiative and the intention to make two-thirds of its global vehicle sales to be electrified vehicles by 2030, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery electric and fuel cell vehicles.

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