The Insight is about 9 inches shorter than the Honda Civic hatchback. It looks like a Civic in front, and it offers similar performance to the fuel-sipping Civic HX, but that's where the similarities end.

This car is a technological tour de force in many ways. Its body structure is made out of aluminum, instead of steel, with some plastic body panels.

A small 1-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine primarily powers it with an ultra-thin electric motor integrated into the transmission housing to boost performance when needed. Honda calls this system an Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) and it is the heart of the car. The electricity for the electric motor comes from a relatively small battery pack, which is kept continuously charged by the gasoline engine. The car is totally self-contained, so there is no need to charge the battery with an external cable. The driving range is only limited by the 10.6-gallon fuel tank, which does not need filling up very often.

Simply put, the battery supplies juice when the electric motor is being used. Whenever the gasoline engine's power is not required to move the car, it acts like a generator and recharges the battery. To maximize fuel economy, the engine stops running when the car stops at traffic lights and the gearshift is put in neutral. The engine then magically comes back to life when the gearshift is engaged.

The Insight is a small two-seater that has a reasonable amount of storage space behind the seats. It is a commuter car and should not be compared to a two-seat sports car. The unusual shape of the car is the result of wind tunnel testing to make it as slippery as possible for maximum fuel economy.