Insight into a new era

Honda Insight. Photo / Supplied

The naysayers' arguments pretty much fall on deaf ears these days.

Yes, hybrids such as the Honda Insight need precious rare earths for batteries. Yes, there are legitimate questions over how cost-effective hybrids are. Yes, there are replacement costs for batteries.

Yes, there are sound reasons for backing new fuel-efficiency systems on conventional petrol and diesel engines instead, so-called mild hybrid gizmos such as stop-start and regenerative braking.

But the petrol-electric hybrid technology has steadily eased its way on to the motoring landscape. It hasn't set the world on fire over the past decade or so but buyers are slowly tuning into it. Carmakers who dismissed it in the beginning are now playing catch-up.

The use of battery power as a means of propulsion is central to the future of motoring, 13 years after Toyota pioneered hybrid powertrains with the first-generation Prius.

Honda followed with the first-generation Insight - an odd-looking two-door with a 1-litre three-cylinder engine - and Civic.

Now almost every carmaker either has, or soon will have, a petrol-electric hybrid of some sort on the market on the inevitable way to all-electric power.

Nissan has jumped the gun and gone straight to plug-in battery power with the hatchback Leaf, this week named the 2011 European Car of the Year and due in New Zealand in 2012.

The Leaf goes on sale in the US and Europe this month. Mitsubishi played leapfrog, too, and adapted its city iCar to run on batteries alone.

The iMiEV, as it is known, is doing trial rounds of New Zealand now.

Toyota is trialling a plug-in version of its Prius around the streets of Palmerston North. It is running an all-electric version of its lifestyle RAV-4 around northern California. General Motors will launch its hybrid Volt in the US next year. It is hiring 1000 more engineers to work on its electric vehicle programme.

In the US capital, President Barack Obama's Administration has bought almost 25 per cent of hybrid vehicles built by Ford and General Motors since he took office.

The US Government is boosting investment in a technology that has largely failed to win broad acceptance after more than a decade in the marketplace. That's because fuel prices have remained stable, apart from an alarming spike a year or so ago when sales of hybrids shot up.

"Without a huge gas-price increase, the natural demand just isn't there," said Jeff Schuster, director of global forecasting for car research company J D Power and Associates.

Cost is another stumbling block. Fuel-thrifty hybrids have been considerably more expensive than a similar sized conventional model. Until now.

Honda has launched its two Honda Insight hybrids on to the New Zealand market at $35,600 and $38,600. Honda calls it a hatchback, although the five-door is more of a mid-sedan-sized liftback. One gets more goodies than the other.

"The Insight proves people can have a stylish and easy-to-use hatch that delivers exceptional value and efficiency to owners without a high price premium," says Honda NZ managing director Graeme Seymour.

"It's the first affordable hybrid available that gives back to its owners without requiring a large change in its owners' lives."

Honda NZ sold 113 Insights last month, beating the industry's previous monthly record for all-hybrid sales of 92 units.

Insight numbers were boosted by the car's winning performance in October's 1763km Energywise Rally up and down the North Island, where it averaged 4.6 litres/100km, or 61mpg, at a cost of $107.82.

It recorded the same fuel usage on the second 100km leg of a 200km run around Queensland the other day.

It averaged 5.4 litres/100km on the first leg, when it was driven harder.

The result goes some way to supporting Honda's claim that the Insight is 37 per cent more fuel-efficient than an equivalent petrol car.

A clever instrument read-out encourages the driver to maintain efficient progress, blending power and economy with aids like energy capture (under braking and a trailing throttle) and stop-start.

The Insight is powered by a 1.3-litre iVETC petrol engine mated to a battery pack, called Honda's Integrated Motor Assist, and driving the front wheels via a CVT gearbox. Total output is 72kW and 167Nm of torque.

In a nutshell, the Insight is a convincing newcomer. It is clearly one of the most important cars of the year.