Honda Insight a finalist in 2010 World Green Car Awards

By Matt Brogan | February 05th, 2010

The New York International Auto Show opens on April the first where the winner of the 2010 World Car award will be announced. Honda’s second generation Insight has been named one of five finalists.

Launched January 2004 the World Car awards recognise automotive excellence on a world wide scale.

If the Honda Insight wins it will follow the success of the Honda FCX Clarity which won the 2009 World Green Car award.

Honda’s aim for the Insight is to make Hybrid technology affordable and represents 20 years of hybrid development.

The Insight combines a 1.3 litre i-VTEC engine with a lightweight and compact hybrid system to achieve great fuel economy and CO2 emissions of 101g/km. Other technology incorporated into the car is Honda’s proprietary Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) and Ecological Drive Assist System.

Honda’s Insight has won other awards including the 2009 UK Environmental Transport Association (ETA), Green Car Awards and 2009 Top Safety Pick by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The Insight is due to arrive in Australia later this year and will be the first of many hybrid models to come from Honda in the coming years.

smokin’R32

I like hondas but this car does not deserve to win

Shak

why do you say that? i dont think there are that many other cars out there deserving of that title.

smokin’r32

Read a few reviews and you’ll see what I mean. This car was supposed to take the fight to the Prius but doesn’t seem to do anything particularly well

Baddass

I agree, I don’t think the Insight does anything extremely well, just everything competently. The main drawcard is the good value proposition, and the almost fun to drive dynamics. It looks alright too, but the fuel economy is nothing special, epecially when small, cheaper diesels get less while having better performance.

Captain Mainwaring

This thing is Honda’s current Great White Hope, and it has already bombed.
Unless Honda can get back to being sexy, like they were in the ’80s, they are going to have trouble avoiding the Hyundai/Kia steamroller.
Bob

I can think of one – the Fiesta ECOnetic.

Drove one tonight, they’re amazingly easy to get insanely low economy out of, yet when pressed, have sharp suspension and a very VERY punchy little turbo diesel that beggars belief. I couldn’t understand just how a car that’s so fun to punt around can be SO unbelievably economical. I averaged 4.0L/100km on my way home from work over 25km, including some heavy stop/start traffic on the highway and general urban traffic light chaos, with some brief 80km/h and 60km/h stretches.

Decent boot space, fun to drive, handles brilliantly, fun fun fun. I loved it! I wasn’t expecting it to be much more than a base model Fiesta but other than the hubcaps and smaller diameter eco tyres, it’s effectively a Zetec all the way.

I know for a fact that I’m a convert and my first “2nd car” will be a Fiesta ECOnetic, which will effectively become my daily for the peak hour crawl and the larger car will become the family cruiser for weekend duties.
http://www.americanautomovers.com/blog/ AutoMover

Something that I think many people forget about when they are thinking of fuel economy and green technology is the transport industry. A long haul truck driver will, on a good day, put down 700-800 miles on the road, with the fuel economy that would make anyone cry. Luckily there are many more advances happening in the trucking industry that are becoming more main stream. Because for a car to get 3 extra miles to the gallon doesn’t mean much to the normal citizen. However, if you were driving 800 miles a day it would matter! Just wanted to put in my two cents =).
TonyB

What exactly is the point of this “news” item. If the Insight is one of five finalists it stands to reason there are four other finalists. Why not list them? For those who are interested in the full list of the Green Awards and the other lists of the World Car Awards, they have been listed on at least one other car blog website (which I suspect I can’t name otherwise this comment will not get through). Come on CA, stop simply regurgitating the press releases from PR departments. You can and have done better.