Honda revives the Insight nameplate for a larger hybrid sedan

[mmcartalk]

Honda will display a new Insight, at the Detroit Auto Show next month, that is much larger than the insights of the past. In the meantime, the company has released some preliminary shots.

https://www.autoblog.com/2017/12/19/honda-insight-hybrid-sedan-naias/#slide-7190555

DETROIT
Honda Insight hybrid is back, as a 5-passenger upscale sedan
Honda revives the nameplate with a prototype for the Detroit Auto Show

JOHN BELTZ SNYDER
Dec 19th 2017 at 8:55AM

2014 Insight
MSRP $18,725
EXPLORE

REVIEWS

BUILD
MORE PHOTOS

• Honda Insight Concept
  
• Honda Insight LIVE
  
• LA 2008: Honda Insight Eco Assist
• 2009 Honda Insight (Euro)
  
• Mugen Honda Insight

• Image Credit: Honda

At the turn of the millennium, Honda was the first car company to bring a mass produced modern hybrid to the U.S. The idea kind of stuck, even if the Honda Insight didn't. The second-generation Insight was discontinued after a dramatic sales decline between 2010 and 2013. Still, many greenies fondly remember the first-generation Insight for its fresh looks, impressive fuel economy and role in ushering in a new era of automotive technologyto the U.S. As if to stoke the lingering embers of nostalgia, Honda is reviving the Insight nameplate, bringing a new hybrid sedan to the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Honda is teasing the Insight prototype — which previews a 2019 production model — ahead of the Detroit Auto Show in the images seen above. The automaker says the car will use the company's latest version of its two-motor hybrid powertrain. Honda isn't divulging fuel economy figures yet, but says it will be "competitive with other compact hybrid models."

The new Insight will take a slightly more premium tack, though, as an "upscale, stylish five-passenger sedan positioned above the Civic in Honda's passenger car lineup." Its looks compare more closely to those of the Civic and Accord than of the Clarity series, which will probably resonate better with mainstream buyers.

The 2019 Honda Insight is another step toward the Japanese automaker's goal of having electrified vehicles make up two-thirds of its global sales by 2030. It is scheduled to go on sale next summer, and will be built at the automaker's factory in Greensburg, Indiana. We'll get a better sense of what we can look forward to when we meet the prototype in person on the Detroit show floor. Stay tuned.

Related Video:
Featured Gallery2019 Honda Insight Prototype

 

[bogglo]

looks like a refresh Honda accord.

 

[Joaquin Ruhi]

Honda's latest sedans have definitely adopted the "one sausage/different lengths" styling formula that is such an integral part of the Audi and BMW styling ethos (Mercedes is also going in this direction). Having said that, the latest Insight is arguably the most attractive-looking of the Honda bunch (depending, of course, on how closely the production version hews to this "concept"). Then again, almost anything you can design for this segment is better-looking than the latest fugly Prius.

 

[Gecko]

If Honda was smart, they'd have rebranded it as a tall wagon or crossover in this market.

With that said, this concept is handsome.

 

[mmcartalk]

looks like a refresh Honda accord.

It appears to be smaller than the Accord.....probably on the basic Civic platform.

 

[mmcartalk]

We'll have to wait and see, but this may be good competition for the Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro. And all three, I agree, are much better-looking than the Prius.

 

[mikeavelli]

I thought it was a Chevy Cruze at first... not sure why they need ANOTHER sedan in a dying sedan market. Would have made a ton of sense to turn this into a hatchback unless it is and I missed that part.

 

[Joaquin Ruhi]

Would have made a ton of sense to turn this into a hatchback unless it is and I missed that part.

Yeah, I was wondering about that. Both previous generations of Insights were hatchbacks, and Honda has also in the past had 5-door hatchbacks that sit in between Civic and Accord (the Euro/Japan Quint/Quintet and the Honda/Acura Integra), but the info on the 3rd-gen Insight Concept says 5-passenger, and from the photos, the trunk opening does not look like a hatch. Lacking a hatch, though, would seemingly put it at a disadvantage versus Prius and Hyundai Ioniq. Then again, I recall reading somewhere that this latest Insight is aimed strictly at North America, and won't even be sold in Europe or Japan. In that case, it could probably get away with being a trunked sedan. Perhaps the hybrid battery placement precludes a fold-down rear seat.

Adding to the mystery, the 2018 Detroit Auto Show press conference schedule ( https://naias.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/18-PressConference12-18.pdf ) lists a bunch of on-site and off-site carmaker media events and press conferences, but none for the Honda brand. (The 11:05 AM Acura event for the 3rd-gen RDX Concept is as close as it gets). How and when are they planning to show this to the press?

 

[mikeavelli]

Yeah, I was wondering about that. Both previous generations of Insights were hatchbacks, and Honda has also in the past had 5-door hatchbacks that sit in between Civic and Accord (the Euro/Japan Quint/Quintet and the Honda/Acura Integra), but the info on the 3rd-gen Insight Concept says 5-passenger, and from the photos, the trunk opening does not look like a hatch. Lacking a hatch, though, would seemingly put it at a disadvantage versus Prius and Hyundai Ioniq. Then again, I recall reading somewhere that this latest Insight is aimed strictly at North America, and won't even be sold in Europe or Japan. In that case, it could probably get away with being a trunked sedan. Perhaps the hybrid battery placement precludes a fold-down rear seat.

Adding to the mystery, the 2018 Detroit Auto Show press conference schedule ( https://naias.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/18-PressConference12-18.pdf ) lists a bunch of on-site and off-site carmaker media events and press conferences, but none for the Honda brand. (The 11:05 AM Acura event for the 3rd-gen RDX Concept is as close as it gets). How and when are they planning to show this to the press?

Yeah. The Civic and Accord share the old Crosstour's hatch profile and honestly look like hatches. It would have been cool to see the Insight showcase the same profile as a hatch and like the Prius/Ioniq offered more versatility. I now assume the Civic hybrid is dead and they are going to push people to the Insight that want a Honda hybrid.

 

[Joaquin Ruhi]

I now assume the Civic hybrid is dead and they are going to push people to the Insight that want a Honda hybrid.

That's my understanding as well. Insight will be Honda's "small" North America hybrid. The medium one will be the Hybrid version of the new 10th-gen Accord (that one is due in early 2018) and, above that is the Clarity family. Clarity Plug-In Hybrid is the only one that will be available nationwide. Clarity Electric and Fuel Cell are compliance vehicles primarily for California.

 

[mmcartalk]

I hope they bring a sample to the D.C. show....I definitely want to take a look at this one (not for me, of course, but for others). Unlikely, though, as the D.C. show often overlaps the tail end of the Detroit show....and Detroit usually gets all the new intros.

BTW, on the sedan-vs.- hatchback question, from the images (and the title at the start of the article), if one looks closely at the body-gap outlines around the trunk lid, it is indeed a sedan, with a separate trunk-lid, though a hatchback would have made it a little more competitive with the Ioniq/Niro. Nevertheless, some buyers still prefer a separate trunk, even in small sedans.

 

[IS-SV]

For a recent Honda, the styling is not bad and tastefully restrained.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

For a recent Honda, the styling is not bad and tastefully restrained.

They clearly didn't want to follow the direction that Toyota went with the Mirai and Prius

 

[mmcartalk]

They clearly didn't want to follow the direction that Toyota went with the Mirai and Prius

For that matter...........who else DOES? The Mirai and Prius are pretty much in a world to themselves. :yum

 

[supra93]

Honda Insight Prototype Closely Previews New Hybrid Sedan

Continues Honda’s goal of electrifying two-thirds of global models by 2030.

The Honda Insight will return this summer, and the production model will likely look very similar to this Insight Prototype at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show.

As is clear from photos, the Insight will be built on the bones of the Honda Civic sedan, albeit with a new bodyshell with a different roofline intended to maximize aerodynamic performance. No, the 19-inch wheels on this show car won’t make it to production, but the basic shape and design should carry over. Promised features include LED lights front and rear, a full-digital instrument cluster, an eight-inch touchscreen (with physical volume knob), and standard Honda Sensing active-safety tech. The trunk is said to offer almost the same amount of space as in a regular Civic sedan. Unfortunately, the Insight also sports Honda’s awkward-to-use electronic shifter.

Under the skin is a new version of the two-motor hybrid powertrain used in the Accord Hybrid, though where the Accord has a 2.0-liter inline-four engine, the Insight will have a 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle mill. Henio Arcangeli, general manager of American Honda, promises the new Insight will be more comfortable and more spacious than before, with “comparable” fuel efficiency to rivals. While he doesn’t name names, the Hyundai Ioniq and Toyota Prius are likely the Insight’s efficiency targets.

“Our strategy is to take electrified vehicles mainstream,” he says. “We want to offer great cars that happen to be electrified.”

Honda plans to electrify two-thirds of all its global models by 2030. While those plans include full-electrics and even fuel-cell vehicles; Arcangeli says “the majority will be hybrids or plug-in hybrids.”

With the Insight name dead since the 2014 model year, and a Civic Hybrid offered in previous years, why revive the Insight name now? James Jenkins, Honda public relations manager, says the name still has plenty of recognition with shoppers: “The Insight name resonated so well already in clinics.”
The new Honda Insight will be produced alongside other Civic variants (except the hatchback, which comes from the U.K.) in Greensburg, Indiana. While the previous Insight was assembled only in Japan, Jenkins notes that, “We want to build it where we sell it.”
The production 2019 Honda Insight is set to go on sale this summer.

https://www.motor1.com/news/226534/honda-insight-prototype-detroit/

 

[mikeavelli]

Is it just me or Honda's now being designed by ex Chevrolet designers?

 

[mmcartalk]

Is it just me or Honda's now being designed by ex Chevrolet designers?

Well, wherever the inspiration came from, IMO the result is lot nicer than the last two generations of Insight. One can tell that simply from the images...without even a test-drive (although, of course, nothing beats an actual review/test-drive). I don't know if you actually got a chance to see or drive the last two generations of the Insight, but trust me......both were a joke.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

It's a big improvement for the Insight, and a questionable one for Honda as a whole (they've made better looking cars than this before).