HONDA INSIGHT 1.3 IMA ES Hybrid 5dr CVT (2009)

The Honda Insight - the future hasn't arrived just yet.

I bought the Honda Insight mainly because it's a hybrid and as an environmentalist I really feel I must at least do something to lessen the burden on mother nature. However I really wish that the motoring industry would share my concerns and produce a truly great hybrid car, akin to the quality of all the smoke chugging monsters they put out weekly.

The problem is not the fact that the Honda Insight is a hybrid, but that it doesn't really do what it is supposed to do very well. On the motorway it's sluggish and insufficient. The suspension is rickety and the handling is unresponsive. The cabin looks fantastic but it's ultimately not that practical.

I know these are early days for the truly ecological cars but the question is, shouldn't we have come up with something better by now? I'm sure, of course, there are better hybrid cars, but the Insight one is really best avoided (in my opinion).