Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd stole the limelight of the 2010 Kuala Lumpur International Motorshow when it launched the highly anticipated Honda Insight at an unbelievable price of RM98,000.
This newly launched entry hybrid model broke new grounds with its combination of appealing design and practical functions, allowing more Malaysians who desire to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle to do so effortlessly without compromising on style, practicality and the fun of driving.
In his speech at the launch ceremony of All-New Insight, Mr. Shigeru Yamazaki, Director of Honda Malaysia and General Manager of Automobile Business Division at Asian Honda announced the good news that the warranty of the All-New Insight’s battery, which is the driving force of the hybrid’s electric motor, will be extended to further encourage the use of hybrid vehicles here. “In addition to the 3-year warranty offered by Honda Motor, Japan, Honda Malaysia is extending another 2 years on top of that. The 5-year or 140,000 km warranty, depending on which comes first, is our commitment to promote the use of hybrid technology and to provide better customer satisfaction,” he said. Furthermore, Honda Malaysia will be reducing the price of the All-New Insight spare parts, especially its battery by more than 40%.
“It is one thing to develop a green product that only the affluent can afford, but in our quest to create a widely used hybrid model, Honda challenged its engineers to build a hybrid for everyone. As such, our biggest challenge was to strike a balance between developing an advanced hybrid with practical and fun features, and reducing the cost of production,” commented Yamazaki.
The resulting concept is a compact 5-door hatchback entry hybrid model that features an aerodynamic shape exterior inspired by the Aero Athlete design concept. The sharp wedge shaped body that ends with an aero tail sparks off an athletic motion that is both exciting and functional. The overall athletic feel is further enhanced by muscular yet elegant bodylines that flex a well-defined dynamic tension. Along with an advanced and futuristic interior design, it serves well as a ride that is both fun-to-drive and practical.
Technically, the All-New Insight is created to cater for exceptional fuel economy. It is powered by Honda’s new generation of Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) System that ingeniously recaptures and stores kinetic energy from vehicle braking and deceleration, and supplies additional power for acceleration when needed. It consists of a 65-kilowatt (88PS) 1.3liter SOHC i-VTEC engine, a 10-kilowatt (14PS) electric motor and a newly improved Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) that has been made 19% more compact and 28% lighter in size for the All-New Insight. This smaller and more compact IPU has been relocated under the floor of the cargo area to create a 400-litre trunk space that could accommodate up to 3 golf bags; and a 60:40 split backseat that can be folded down flat to give a 584-litre flat cargo load area.
Its continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) has been further enhanced to provide a smoother drive with high torque for rapid performance, a fluid uphill drive, better engine braking and quieter ride.
To further guide owners to realize the full benefits of Insight, it features a new interactive, driver-focused fuel economy assist technology called the Ecological Drive Assist System (Eco Assist). It combines multiple functions: a driver-activated ECON mode (stands for Effective Control) that optimizes control of the CVT, engine and related powertrain components to further improve vehicle fuel efficiency; a driver feedback function that uses an innovative speedometer display with changing background colours to provide real-time guidance to the driver on achieving higher fuel efficiency; and a unique fuel-economy scoring function using a plant-leaf graphic to provide feedback to the driver on current-trip driving efficiency and lifetime fuel- efficient driving performance.
In terms of safety standard, the All-New Insight has obtained a 6-star JNCAP safety rating for driver and 5-star JNCAP safety rating for passengers.
The Honda Insight is already available for booking at all Honda dealers nationwide and is on display at the 2010 Kuala Lumpur International Motorshow together with other attractions like the Civic Type R Euro, CR-Z, City Concept and the Freed Concept.
