Honda Insight to hit the streets

Honda is introducing the Honda Insight next week to the US market and Honda is saying it is the first affordable hybrid car to arrive. The Honda Insight has been a huge hit in Japan as consumers ordered almost twenty thousand of the Insight in its first week of availablility. The pricing of the Honda Insight is in the very reasonable neighborhood of $20,000 which could force Toyota to drop prices of its popular Prius model if the Insight really takes off in the States.

Unlike the original two seat Insight, the new hybrid Insight has a back seat and is roomy enough for five people. Fuel-economy ratings are forty miles per gallon in the city and forty three on the highway using a combination of a four cylinder gas engine with intelligent variable valve timing and an electric motor. With a 10.6 gallon tank, the Insight has a range of at least 400 miles between fillups.