2006 Honda

*** Deposit Taken ***

NOTE: Complete 45 picture slideshow of this car & comprehensive description can be found on our website.

Detailed description:

The first generation (from 1999–2006) Honda Insight was Honda's first foray into hybrid electric vehicle manufacturing and in its first generation produced as a three-door, two passenger hatchback of remarkable innovation and commitment.

The Insight was assembled at the Honda factory in Suzuka, Japan, where the similarly aluminium bodied Honda NSX was also manufactured. With its aluminum body and frame, the Insight was an expensive car to produce & was never designed for high-volume sales Instead, it was designed to be a real world test car for hybrid technology and a gauge to new consumer driving habits. With an aerodynamic fuel-saving shape (Cd of only 0.25e!), lightweight structure and clever design features to maximize efficiency, these little cars proved themselves to be an excellent concept. The 1st generation Insight has since built a loyal following from enthusiasts, with the manual versions being especially sought after. Hyper miling was coined as a term for owners who used the 1 litre - 67 bhp's 3-cylinder engine's lean burn capability (AFR ratio of 25.8:1) & Integrated 3-phase electric 144v motor (in the space where a 4th cylinder would usually fit) to provide an additional assistance of 13 bhp. Whilst it's capable of getting up to a tad under 115 mph and 0-60 in a respectable 12 seconds, the gearing was made tall to maximize efficiency whilst the IMA engine enabled drivers to run at very low revs and use the car's light weight and the electric assistance to run the engine at very low rpm, thus also maximizing fuel economy.

In warmer temps (so it wouldn't get cold in the cabin in winter) the engine was designed to automatically stop when the car sensed it didn't need to continue running (such as when waiting at traffic lights, but never in reverse). Just dipping the clutch would cause the IMA motor to spin and start the engine seamlessly ready to move off (There's also a conventional 12V battery and a starter motor as a backup in case the IMA's computer feels there's a better way to restart the car (for example if it's very cold and the IMA battery is still not warm enough to work efficiently without risking damage to it). Honda thought of everything & gave the driver as much control as possible, even making the optional air conditioning controls have an economy mode that allowed the A/C to continue to run when the motor stopped, or not - depending on the driver's selection on the controls. Naturally the instrumentation gave good indication of economy levels too, which helped maintain driver involvement. Weighing only 820kg (kerb weight) the engine could offer decent performance, but Honda even thought of the wheel design (lightweight alloy) to be as slippery in the air as possible and the tyres would run at high pressure so they had minimum rolling resistance. Combined with the and slippery shape enthusiast owners on the Insight Central forum have reported as much as 100 mpg & over, with some of the crazier owners reporting closer to 200 mpg - by slip streaming trucks!

These cars have today also proved themselves capable of covering huge mileages reliably, especially if the battery packs are cared for with a grid charger, which are available from several after-market specialists. Note there are also ZE1 insight specialists in the UK and this is a car that Honda dealers can also look after for UK owners. As the first Honda Hybrid produced and possibly the most interesting one Honda has ever made, we can see these are now becoming collectors pieces and deservedly so. The newer hybrids today really don't have anywhere near as much clever ingenuity nor offer the same attainable levels of economy.

Being Honda enthusiasts ourselves (We own a couple of Type R's & raced one in Japanese endurance championship too) and enjoying all manner of cars that are involving & fun to drive, we bought our own Insight 1st generation in autumn of 2016 to use in Japan ourselves and so come to understand these well, so we might offer a service of supplying the best we can find. We've discovered they're a fun little things that handle well. They drive not unlike like a larger car and no matter how much we push ours, it still returns at least 50 mpg if we're silly or 65 mpg if we just drive normally! We have come to know they're reliable things with few problems reported by owners worldwide and so with knowledge gained we can take care to select the best ones, of the quality we'd want to own ourselves.

The main thing to do in order to preserve & maximize the performance and life of the I.M.A. battery pack is to have a grid charger. Every experienced long term owner says the same, so we fitted one to our's and instantly noticed the car performed bettered. Essentially by grid charging the battery pack is reconditioned, as long as it wasn't dead in the first place. For this and all other Insight first-gen we supply we will always fit a purpose made harness from Hybrid Automotive - so that the new owner can get maximum efficiency & performance from his new car by simply plugging a charger in. Hybrid Automotive's products & service are first class and they will ship a Prolong Battery charger anywhere worldwide. also offering great customer service.

But we're not the only Honda enthusiasts who have come to discover & really like these funky little cars. There has been Evo magazine staff owners and on our site is a link to an article from Piston heads & what an NSX & Audi RS4 owner had to say about his. Or watch a review in 2002 by Richard Hammond.

Equipment on this example includes: Electric power steering, 5 speed manual transmission, air conditioning with climate control & pollen filter, dual SRS airbags, side impact door bars, tinted electric windows, rear wiper, unmarked part alcantara interior, fitted mats, remote central locking, electric release for rear hatch, electric windows, remote fuel lid release, low resistance alloy wheels and high pressure tyres, White headlight bulbs, roof mounted antenna, Sony head unit, Honda immobilizer.

Condition Report: Condition of this example is superb. Only 200 or so of these were officially imported to the UK and although the body will never rust, we expect few in U.K. will be in the same beautiful condition this one is clearly in. Not least there are underside steel components as not all the chassis nor it's fasteners are of aluminium!

As this example has never seen salt in it's life and has always been driven on Japan's world class smooth & well maintained roads, it's far less worn (suspension bushes, etc) than a typical example that has been on typically harsher UK road conditions since new.

The driver's floor mat on this one is a little dirty, but we'll wash it well as part of completion. If we can't make it as clean as the passenger side or better, we'll replace both before shipping from Japan.

There's a few small small chips on the rear bumper, so we'll have these professionally touched in before completion too. That's about all the faults we could find on the body. There are no pin dents anywhere, paintwork is pristine and not even the bumper corners nor wheel edges have scratches, which confirms to us the owner was a mature driver who knew how to look after his car very well and clearly did. He was also a non-smoker. These don't even come with an ashtray!

Test Drive: Knowing these well by now, having done much research as enthusiasts, we're aware how to test these. We found nothing amis. The IMA battery pack was fine when it came to us and gave good performance even when driving for maximum performance it never faltered. Since then, to give the IMA pack the best chance of lasting several more years, we've fitted a Hybrid Automotive "discharge ready" loom, so the new owner can charge him / herself from time to time by simply obtaining a charger and plugging it into the mains for a few days when the car's not in use, to rejuvenate the battery pack. Clutch, suspension, exhaust, etc. are all in very good condition and this car has many years & many miles of fun & low cost motoring to offer.

Price: £7,295 also includes Full UK (on the road) preparation to include UK registering, 12 months MOT & comprehensive UK warranty.

Contact us to secure this example from our stock or source an alternative top condition quality modern classic import to order.

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