CAN an automobile be ahead of its time and yet be obsolete? As it heads into retirement, the Honda Insight certainly looks that way.
When it was introduced in 1999 as the first gasoline-electric hybrid sold in America in modern times, it was also the most fuel-efficient mass-produced car. Although production ended this summer, it remains the nation’s mileage champ after seven years.
Honda says the Insight will be replaced in two years with a more versatile, more advanced hybrid subcompact — though not necessarily one that’s more fuel efficient.
The still-futuristic-looking Insight, with its distinctive 67-horsepower 3-cylinder gasoline engine and 14-horsepower electric assist motor, was never redesigned or updated. A continuously variable transmission and an air-conditioner were made available in the second model year; neither was offered on the original 2000 model because Honda wanted to keep weight down and fuel economy at a maximum.
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