2003 Honda Insight CVT

Tussling for top honors in the cleanest, most fuel-efficient auto competition continues to take a variety of interesting twists. One of the slickest is the latest version of Honda's original Insight. Seeking to broaden its overall appeal, Honda recently began offering this petite two-seater with a CVT automatic as well as the conventional 5-speed manual gearbox fitted when the car first rolled onto the scene in 2000. Although this steplessly shifted Insight sacrifices a bit of pure performance, the added measure of convenience it affords in return is the kind of tradeoff that's proving popular with a goodly number of buyers.

The Insight is a hybrid in the truest sense of the word, melding traditional design elements with advanced hardware and materials.

The Insight is a hybrid in the truest sense of the word, melding traditional design elements with advanced hardware and materials. Employing aluminum-intensive design throughout, it rolls up curbside under 2,000 pounds, even with the new CVT trans. Despite its low mass, the Insight boasts an impressive roster of standards. Power windows/locks/mirrors, electronic instrumentation with trip computer, keyless remote entry, AM/FM/cassette stereo, front/rear washers/wipers and dual front airbags highlight its list of included features. Add climate control air conditioning and the price moves from an estimated $19,180 to $20,380 while the CVT transmission adds another $1,000 to that figure.


The diminutive Insight rides on a 94.5-inch wheelbase, is 155.1 inches long and has 56.2-inch/52.2-inch front/rear track spans. Its wind-cheating teardrop-shaped profile boasts an equally miniscule 0.25 coefficient of drag that helps keep wind noise to a whisper. Beneath that wrapper is a stiff aluminum safety cage that's computer-engineered using Honda's own G-Force Control Technology to ensure the Insight exceeds all current crash safety standards.


Both Insight variants employ the same gas/electric power module mechanicals, although specific outputs do vary by transmission choice. At the heart of its all is a gasoline-fueled 1.0-liter SOHC 12-valve I-3 that works in consort with Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system. What it may lack in sheer scale and cylinder count, the Insight's engine more than makes up for in cutting-edge technology. Along with being the smallest and lightest—only 124 pounds—production engine in any car in the world today, it boasts numerous mechanical tweaks, including things like offset cylinder bores and coaxial roller rockers to help minimize internal friction. Fitted with the super lean-burn VTEC-E version of Honda's variable valve timing with electronic lift control, the Insight's I-3 also uses a light but extremely rigid magnesium oil pan plus a plastic intake manifold, water-pump pulley and cam cover to cut unwanted mass.

At the heart of the Insight is a gasoline-fueled 1.0-liter SOHC 12-valve I-3 that works in consort with Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system.

Prime among the innovative touches is unique head configuration that integrates the exhaust manifold directly into the main casting. This approach trims size, improves packaging and most importantly, permits the primary catalytic converter to be located immediately downstream of the exhaust ports where it can act most efficiently on the spent gasses. Honda subsequently adopted this same high-efficiency configuration on the new V-6 in the '03 Accord.