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Continues Honda’s goal of electrifying two-thirds of global models by 2030.

The Honda Insight will return this summer, and the production model will likely look very similar to this Insight Prototype at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show.

As is clear from photos, the Insight will be built on the bones of the Honda Civic sedan, albeit with a new bodyshell with a different roofline intended to maximize aerodynamic performance. No, the 19-inch wheels on this show car won’t make it to production, but the basic shape and design should carry over. Promised features include LED lights front and rear, a full-digital instrument cluster, an eight-inch touchscreen (with physical volume knob), and standard Honda Sensing active-safety tech. The trunk is said to offer almost the same amount of space as in a regular Civic sedan. Unfortunately, the Insight also sports Honda’s awkward-to-use electronic shifter.

Under the skin is a new version of the two-motor hybrid powertrain used in the Accord Hybrid, though where the Accord has a 2.0-liter inline-four engine, the Insight will have a 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle mill. Henio Arcangeli, general manager of American Honda, promises the new Insight will be more comfortable and more spacious than before, with “comparable” fuel efficiency to rivals. While he doesn’t name names, the Hyundai Ioniq and Toyota Prius are likely the Insight’s efficiency targets.

“Our strategy is to take electrified vehicles mainstream,” he says. “We want to offer great cars that happen to be electrified.”

Honda plans to electrify two-thirds of all its global models by 2030. While those plans include full-electrics and even fuel-cell vehicles; Arcangeli says “the majority will be hybrids or plug-in hybrids.”

With the Insight name dead since the 2014 model year, and a Civic Hybrid offered in previous years, why revive the Insight name now? James Jenkins, Honda public relations manager, says the name still has plenty of recognition with shoppers: “The Insight name resonated so well already in clinics.”

The new Honda Insight will be produced alongside other Civic variants (except the hatchback, which comes from the U.K.) in Greensburg, Indiana. While the previous Insight was assembled only in Japan, Jenkins notes that, “We want to build it where we sell it.”

The production 2019 Honda Insight is set to go on sale this summer.

https://www.motor1.com/news/226534/h...otype-detroit/