We drove an early build car at the Prodrive test facility near Kenilworth and whilst it was a very short test, it did give us an idea on how the new Insight performs and a good look at its build quality. There will be three models available: SE, ES and ES-T. The T in ES-T stands for a technology package which includes satellite navigation. The SE has 15” alloy wheels as standard and the ES, 16” alloy wheels. The new Insight is powered by a 1339cc petrol engine which is coupled to a CVT automatic gearbox. It also has an electric motor that kicks in when extra power is needed. The electric motor is constantly being charged through a series of systems which use energy that would normally be disregarded and unused. Unlike the Toyota Prius that can be run solely on electric power, the Honda cannot, so the petrol engine is running all the time. There is a coloured light system within the instrument cluster that lets the driver know when they are driving the car at the most economical level. This apparently does help reduce fuel consumption, although on our short test drive we didn’t get the chance to prove this.

The engine produces 88ps and the electric motor 14ps, giving it a combined total of 102ps. It goes from 0-62mph in a leisurely 12.5 seconds but on the track it did feel quicker than these figures would suggest. The official combined fuel figure for the SE is 64.2mpg and the ES is 61.4mpg. Honda say that the difference in fuel consumption is down to the size of the tyres and the ES being slightly heavier. Co2 emissions also differ on the two models with the SE being 101g/km and the ES 105g/km.

The Insight is a five door and five seater. The batteries have been moved to create more space in the boot so they do not interfere with the luggage area and make it a very useable car. This had previously been a criticism of the Civic IMA. The exterior styling is conservative, less radical than the original Insight and it does not look like a Hybrid vehicle. The interior is where the Insight has been let down. It appears that the car has had to be built within a budget and with a lot of new technology being used, it has had very little or no money spent on the interior. It is certainly not up to typical Honda quality which is a bit disappointing. The plastics seem hard and very old fashioned.

Despite it only producing in total a power output of 102ps and a lengthy 0-62mph time, we found that on the track it did seem fairly sprightly but how will it perform on a long run involving motorways? We will have to wait to find out. The handling on the track around cones was quite remarkable for this type of vehicle. A lot of time, money and research must have been spent in this area. The new Insight goes on sale in early April. Prices have not yet been confirmed and may not be until mid February but it is likely to start at around £15,000.