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C6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, August 23,2000 B e s t W h e e l s · O a k v i l l e Honda Insight An oil baron' s worst nightmare By Jim Robinson SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The big oil company execu tives must hate it every time they see a Honda Insight go whizzing past. After all, here's a streetable car that can get up to 88 miles to a gallon (3.117100 km) and is built by Honda, not some lit tle guy in his backyard. And while governments talk about gasoline prices but do nothing, afraid of losing out on campaign contributions, the oil companies in turn are blam ing the governments while warning about 73 cents a litre and up to a dollar a litre this summer being a possibility. Like the weather, every body talks about gasoline prices and nobody does any thing about it --except Honda it seems. Tested here is the Honda Insight Driven judiciously, it can go 1,600 km on a single tank. On top of that it is so clean that it already meets California's Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) Standards long before they go into effect. But the Insight is also a jaunty little car that's as cute as a button and draws interest where ever you go. I actually had people on the highway asking me to pull over so they could take a look. Another guy, who is a salesman, took out his calculator and realized he could actually make money with this car based on his company gas allowance. It does a lot of things right and right when we need cars like this to lessen our depen dence on fossil fuels and use energy more creatively. The Insight is a gasolinepowered car with a battery/generator assist, as opposed to a car that has a gas engine to charge the batteries that turn the wheels. The differ ence is the Insight drives like a regular car because it is one. It never needs to be recharged or plugged into anything, The range is only limited by the gas tank, and at 1,600 kms/tank (677 miles), you can pick and choose which gas station you want and avoid oil companies with high-sulfur fuel if you wish. The heart of the Insight is a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine. Sandwiched between the engine and the five-speed manual transmission is a permanent mag net motor that is only 58.4 mm (2.3 inch) wide. The engine is ultra light and also the first with exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head. On it's own, the engine produces 67 hp and 66 M b of torque. When the electric motor cuts in to help, power rises to 73 hp and 91 M b of torque. Now 73 hp may not sound like much, but when you consider the car weighs only 852 kg (1,800 lbs.) that produces a powerto-weight ratio of about 25.5 lbs/hp which is better than most V6 mid-size sedans, not to mention econocars. Factor in the rear wheel skirted body and it results in a coef ficient of drag of just 0.25. In real world terms, you have a gas sipper that is a road sizzler -- no kidding. This car is quite capable of 150 kmh and I've been told some testers (in an enclosed, supervised area) had it up to 175 kmh. How is this possible, you may ask? The beauty of the system is that the gasoline and electric engines run in parallel. Electricity from the engine is stored in 144-volt battery pack composed of 120 Dcell size metal hydrid batterys. The 12valve engine provides most of the power. The electric motor cuts in with assist when needed, like accelerating from a light, passing another car, or going up hill. When you are coasting or applying the brakes, the motor spins in reverse and thus becomes a generator, converting electric energy to recharge the batteries. And because the electric motor is only used for assist, it can be made smaller and lighter. It is also comes with features you wouldn' t expect in a car designed to run cheaply. Air conditioning is standard, as are power locks and windows with autodriver's window down. Electric power steering, rear window defroster with rear washer wiper are included, as is the threespoke steering wheel right out of the awe some Honda S2000 sportscar. The materi als are of mixed colors and brighten up the interior immensely. Despite being designed for wind cheating, the outside power mirrors give great rearward visibili ty. Cabin space for the driver and passen ger is generous in the extreme. Passenger volume is 1,342 litres. Big or small the Insight fits them all. The cargo area of 142 litres is under the hatchback rear window and this is a cavernous caigo bin at the back behind the battery pack. The highlight of the interior is the instrument panel that is split into three pods. The left one has gas/engine status, water temp and rpms as sequential analog displays. The middle and largest pod is the speedometer with amazingly large digital readout And below is the "lifetime odome ter". Not only does it give instantaneous fuel consumption readings (0 to 12L/100 km) but it also displays the mark you've averaged hum day one. This is controlled by a FCD (fuel consumption display) but ton to the left of the instruments. Now the FCD is all part of a clever plan to get drivers to shoot for better gas mileage, in effect, like a video game. And when you see the pod on the right, it all becomes clear. Besides the centre illumi nated "up shift" indicator that urges you to get into a higher gear to ^ave gas, the out side ring is split into foul*segments. One is a tach and the other is the charge level of the battery pack. On the top right is the recharge indicator, and on the right is the assist indicator. After a little practice you soon start letting the car coast to charge the battery and you feather the accelerator pedal so as not to bring in the battery assist If you time this to the upshift button, you're soon driving along pushing the FCD but ton just to see how well you're doing. And just to encourage you, Honda has a knock-'em-dead extra called the idle-stop feature. Come to a stop, put the shifter in neutral and let out the clutch and the car stops running. To move, put in the clutch, slide the shifter into first and the engine swings into life and off you go. This makes stop-and-go traffic something to look for ward to because it ups your FCD score. At a list price of $26,000 and only two seats, it has its limitations. But Honda is convinced fleet buyers will snap them up while the few remaining will be purchased by married professionals who are engi neering or technology-oriented and give a damn about the environment, not to men tion high fuel costs. Speaking personally, I went to do an interview with an intemationallyrenowned environmental architect build ing a leading-edge solar home. All he wanted to do was talk about the car not about the house. "You are living what my whole life is about," he said to me after a test drive. That made me feel kinda proud. So folks get out there and start buying up Honda Insights as fast as they can be made. It's a way to really do something for the environment and also a way to give the big oil executives something to think about - like alternative careers. « The jaunty sty ling of the Honda Insight also helps give it the most aerodynamic shape of any mass-pro duced car in the world. EXIT #116 JUS1 OFF THE DORVAL EXIT FROM OEW! 191WYECROFTRD. OAKVILLE 905 844-9831 - wunv.oakvillehonda.com jy p V lffN T M L v U lX II O L U H I l D rcU A L tUlllUN MSRP The role model for family vehicles. Technically advancedyet inviting. Elegant yet practical. Powerful yet safe. Comes well equipped with: 4-S p e e d A u to m a tic T ran sm is sio n · C FC -Free A ir C o n d itio n in g · P o w e r W in d o w s , D oor Locks & H e a te d M irro rs · A B S B ra k e s · D u a l A irb a g s · A M /F M S te re o w ith 4 S p e a k e rs · P U R C H A S E F IN A N C IN G i ___________ jg jjr T j 2.3 Litre, 150-hp, VTEC Engine · Fuel Injection · Im m obilizer Theft-Deterrent System · Cruise Control · Rack-and-Pinion Steering · 4-Wheel Double-W ishbone Suspension · Body-Coloured Ooor Handles & M irrors · Remote Trunk Release · & More... ON ALL NEW2000 ACCORDS ^ EXTRA VALUE INCLUDED O VER $ 1 , 6 0 0 Keyless Entry & Security System Exclusive A llo y W heels Wood Grain Console - CD Player Tw o Additional Speakers Body-Coloured Side M ouldings IL W R U 9CUM N LA $ Z O , O U U MSRP* ALL THE FEATURES OF THE ACCORD S P E C IA L E D IT IO N p lu s P o w er S u n ro o f w ith T ilt F eatu re · L e a th e r In te rio r · H e a te d Front S e a ts · 8 -w a y P o w e r A d ju s ta b le D rive r's S e a t . * 1 5 " Alloy W heels · Driver & Passenger Side Airbags · Driver's Seat Lumbar Adjustm ent · 4-Wheel Disc Brakes · Body-Coloured Rocker Panels · & More... "2000 lObest A w ard' ACCORD SEDAN EX-V 6 * 31,300 MSRP ALL T H E FEA TU R ES OF TH E A C C O R D S E D A N E X plus: 3.0 L itre , 200-h p , VTEC V 6 Engine · Unique Alloy Wheels · Autom atic Climate Control · Steering W heel-Mounted Audio Controls · HomeLink* Remote System · & More... L L U K D C O U P E E A -V 6 y x d u u MSRP Performance, style & luxury. As exciting to look at as it is to drive. 3 -0 litre , 200-h p VTEC E n g in e · 4-S p e e d A u to m a tic T ran sm is sio n · A ir C o n d itio n in g · P o w er S u n ro o f w ith T ilt F eatu re · P o w er W in d o w s & D oor Locks · H o m e L in k' R em o te S y s te m ...^ · S e c u rity S y s te m w ith R em o te E n try · A B S B rakes K l y · Dual Airbags · Electronic Remote Trunk Release · AM/FM Stereo with CD Player & 6 Speakers · Steering Wheel-Mounted Audio K Controls · 16" Alloy Wheels · Leather Interior · 60 40 Split FoldDown Rear Seat Back · 8-way Power Driver s Seat with Power Height Adjustment & Adjustable Lumbar Support · Heated Front Seats -' · & More... Ml P * NfctrN e^botrhood ONTARIO E HONDA DEALERS H 6FI FOR A H O N D A D EA LER NEAR YOU, CALL 1 -8 8 8 - 9 -H 0 N D A - 9 OR V I S I T O UR W E B S IT E AT w w w .h o n d a .c a (0 H O N D A BUILT WITHOUT COMPROMISE Finance offers are available, on approved credit, only through Honda Canada Finance Inc., while supplies last on deliveries taken by August 31, 2 0 0 0 .1 5.8% conventional financing is available on new 2000 Civic Sedans, Civic Coupes, CR-Vs and Accords for 24, 36, 48 or 60 month terms. Financing example: $20,000 at 5.8% per annum equals $384.80 per month for 60 months. C.O.B. is $3,088.00 for a total obligation of $23,088.00. Down payment may be required. *M.S.R.P based on a new 2000 Accord Sedan SE, Automatic/Accord Sedan EX, 4 Cyl., Automatic/Accord Sedan EX-V6, Automatic/Accord Coupe EX-V6, Automatic (model CG567YE/CG566YJN/CG165YJN/CG225YJN). *tTaxes, licence, insurance, administration, maintenance fees and freight and PD.E. ($850) are additional. Dealer may sell for less. See your neighbourhood Ontario Honda Dealer for details. T 1