Honda Insight (2009)

That’s no Honda Insight hybrid car. Where are the Ford T-Bird wheel skirts? You’re thinking of the original petrol-electric Honda Insight from the late 1990s. This is Insight hybrid Mk2. It’s still a petrol-electric hybrid but instead of two seats, this one’s got room for five. It’s meant to be a mainstream green car, a hybrid that will appeal to people who’ve never had a green car before.

Looks like a Toyota Prius, doesn’t it?

Yes, it does seem to reinforce the notion that hybrid cars all have to look the same with a gently tapering rear and Kamm tail. But as Honda points out, it also shares its shape with the FCX Clarity fuel cell car and can trace its style cues to the original Honda CRX coupe of 1984.

So it’s a hybrid, but what sort of hybrid is it? Can I plug it into the mains?

You’re not alone in being confused. You can’t plug the Insight into the mains, although a plug-in version may follow. And nor does the electric motor fully decouple from the engine as it does in the Prius. The Insight can be moved using battery power alone but the engine still turns. It doesn’t fire though, a separate circular cam lobe coming into play as on the VTEC cars which opens the valves fractionally, allowing the engine to spin freely.

But does it deliver the goods?

If you mean fuel consumption, the Insight achieves 64mpg (but only 61mpg in heavier ES trim) on the combined cycle and emits 101g/km of CO2.

While admirably clean, critics argue that’s barely better than a modern turbodiesel can manage. True, but Honda claims that the Insight excels not on the EU test route, but on the road – a bold claim given our real-world experience with the Prius has highlighted the poor real world economy of hybrids.

The new Honda Insight 2009 also emits very few other nasty particles such as NOx that diesels spew out in vast quantities. Then factor in the extra cost of a litre of diesel and the Insight’s advantage becomes clearer…

Audi A3 Cabriolet 2.0T Sport

The A3 has been with us since 1996, while the second-generation model arrived back in 2003. Yet this is the first time a cabriolet has been offered, and it’s incredibly late in the model cycle. The official line is that Ingolstadt has been struggling to meet demand – it produced 231,000 A3s in 2007 alone – but that the bottleneck has now been eliminated, paving the way for the cabriolet.

But Audi won’t have the niche to itself. Almost simultaneously, BMW is launching the A3 soft-top’s only direct rival: the 1-series convertible.

What’s the Audi A3 cabriolet range?

There are two petrols and two diesels to choose from, all turbocharged and featuring direct injection: in the petrol corner there’s a 158bhp 1.8-litre petrol complemented by the 197bhp 2.0-litre engine already found in the Golf GTI; oil burners come in 103bhp 1.9-litre or 138bhp 2.0-litre trim. The S-tronic paddleshift gearbox is offered throughout the range.

Sixteen-inch wheels come as standard fit, while Sport spec introduces 17s plus sports seats and a 15mm reduction in ride height. There’s also the option of 18in alloys and the S-Line trim pack with its bolder grille and bumper treatment.

CAR drove every model bar the 1.9-litre diesel which was wasn’t available at the launch.

BMW's Efficient Dynamics

I’m seeing a lot of talk about EfficientDynamics from BMW…

You are, because while we’ve read all about the technology – intelligent alternator control, glass mat battery, low-rolling-resistance runflats, regenerative braking (actually nothing of the sort, but still smart) – and have seen it put into practice with the remarkably abstemious 118d, BMW has even bolder aspirations. It wants one in every three cars sold to be fitted with the fuel-saving kit. Heck, even the new M3 has regenerative braking. So, can it make its transition into the volume end? Yes, it seems. BMW’s boast at launch was that it has no hybrid because it’s instead invested in cars we all buy. Well, we buy the 3-series most of all. And now, EfficientDynamics for the 3 is here.

What does it mean for my company 320d, then?

It means 59.1mpg and 128g/km of CO2. Yes, you read that right. For a 177bhp car that does 43mph and 62mph in 7.9 seconds to emit less CO2 than a 1.1-litre Fiat Panda is nothing short of astounding. And there are no lab-friendly, useless-in-the-real-world tricks either, simply remarkable efficiency from a bang up-to-date 2.0-litre diesel, complete with carcinogen-munching particulate filter. A big chunk of the 60,000 3-series sold per year are 320ds. The cumulative happiness for the environment that the 19 percent better fuel economy brings is going to be far greater than any hybrid.