Winds of change
Eco-warrior hybrids in a magazine called Octane? The Honda Insight and Volkswagen XL1 look amazing and are fun to drive while saving the planet – as explains
HATE SO OFTEN has its roots in fear, which must be why so many supposed car enthusiasts dislike today’s hybrid vehicles. To the self-proclaimed petrolhead, they are the electric horsemen of the apocalypse; the advance guard of an army that will sweep away all the V8-powered goodness that we have known and loved for more than a century. How else can you explain the vitriol that keyboard warriors heap upon the original Honda Insight, the brilliantly innovative petrol-electric hybrid that debuted in 1999?
Fair play, it was preceded by the Toyota Prius, a car so hand-wringingly bland and worthy that it was practically asking for a metaphorical punch in the face. But the Insight took a different approach. Its spatted rear wheels and teardrop profile gave it a bold, futuristic vibe, while its ultralightweight, peppy V-TEC engine and turbo-like electric motor assistance made it a genuine driver’s car. I know, because I owned one for eight years and 94,000 miles, and I can think of at least three other UK motoring journalists who bought an Insight. With their own money. You can’t get a higher recommendation than that.
VOLKSWAGEN PRODUCED just 250 examples of the XL1, of which 28 came to the UK. By far the most used – but also the best kept – of the UK cars belongs to Ed Stratton, who lives in Devon, and we’ve arranged to meet near the Den Brook wind turbine farm that’s just a few miles from his home. It seems an appropriate location: a source of ‘green’ energy designed with the most laudable aims and yet one that met with much opposition along the way, so much so that the BBC even made a TV documentary series about it called
I sold my Honda Insight back in 2017, so I’m driving to Devon in the beautiful Citrus Yellow (lime green to you and me) example from Honda’s own collection. My car had over 230,000 miles on the clock when I sold it; Honda’s has a mere 63,000 but within the first few seconds of setting off I’ve noticed the exact same suspension bush squeaks and clunks that characterised my high-miler. Ride quality was never the Insight’s strong point, a correlation of skinny 165-section tyres that have to be pumped up hard for maximum economy and an 850kg kerbweight that doesn’t do much to dampen bumps and pot-holes. British B-roads