Description

2000 Honda Insight

Ex-Japan; only 91,700 kms indicated (57k miles); excellent example of this pioneering hybrid; investment alert!

Honda were well-ahead of the curve in 1999 when they launched the first-generation Insight. World-beating drag-coefficient of 0.25CD? Check. Lightweight aluminium and plastic structure? Check. Hybrid technology giving 70mpg? Check. Knight Rider meets Casio calculator dashboard? Check.
Bristling with technical innovations, the Insight had a 995cc three-cylinder lean burn petrol engine producing 67bhp and made from lightweight aluminium, magnesium and plastic. Allied to this was Honda’s ingenious IMA hybrid technology (Integrated Motor Assist), an ultra-thin (60mm) 10kw electric motor located on the crankshaft which adds another 13bhp and 36 lb/ft of torque when called on. It also acts as the starter motor and as a generator during deceleration and braking to recharge the vehicle’s NiMH battery packs.
The Continuously Variable Transmission is equally clever, determining the optimal gearing from an infinite spread of ratios with a computer control module automatically regulating how much power comes from the petrol engine and how much from the electric motor. A sport mode is also available via a button on the steering wheel.
Expensive to manufacture and expensive to buy, the first generation Insight was conceived as a real-world test car for the hybrid technology that we now take for granted some 20 years later. Only 17,000 were made in total from 1999 – 2006 (of which only 200 officially came to the UK) and it is considered such a ground-breaking design that classic status is already assured. Better still, it has Honda’s legendary reliability and should the NiMH battery packs ever fail, superior replacements are now widely available from multiple sources.
This Insight dates from 2000 and was imported from Japan in 2016 at which point it had covered 82,500 kms (51,200 miles). It now shows 91,700 kms (57k miles) and appears to in excellent condition throughout with an MOT until January 2021 with no advisories recorded. There are also four old MOTs on file (all without advisories) plus a user guide to the car’s aftermarket audio and video navigation system and a Honda NAVI unit update kit on CD.
Starting instantly and performing amazingly well as we queued up to whizz it around the yard at Brightwells, this featherweight marvel is an absolute hoot to drive. Already collectable, the Insight becomes only more relevant as fuel prices (and sea levels) rise. Get one while you can and dare to be different!
For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com