Honda Insight 2024: Electric SUV Replaces Legendary Hybrid

Honda abandons hybrid for its new all-electric Insight. Discontinued in 2022, the Japanese sedan is reborn as a 100% electric SUV with over 500 km WLTP range—but only for the Asian market initially. On paper, it sounds good. In the real world, it's more complicated.

"For the first time since its launch in 1999, the Insight will be fully electric" — Honda Motor Company

The Insight Abandons 27 Years of Hybrid DNA

The Insight debuted in Japan in 1999, a few months after the Toyota Prius but arrived in the United States before it. This tiny two-seat coupe with its enclosed rear wheels (yes, it was weird) boasted a drag coefficient of 0.25 and sipped just 3.4 liters per 100 km. The secret? A 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine assisted by a 10 kW electric motor (the equivalent of a powerful hairdryer).

Twenty-seven years later, Honda resurrects the name but changes everything else. This fourth generation swaps hybrid for 100% electric and ditches the sedan for a compact SUV. Honda promises 500 km of WLTP range and 229 Nm of torque. Translation: roughly 400 km on the highway in winter with heating and radio on.

When China Inspires Japan (That's a First)

This "new" electric Insight looks identical to the Honda e:NS2, already sold in China since 2024 by Dongfeng Honda. Same dashboard, same exterior lines. Honda simply rebadged an existing model and hoped no one would notice.

The dimensions: 4.13 meters long (solid for a compact SUV) and a drag coefficient of 0.25 (honest, on par with a Mercedes EQS). The headlights sport a boomerang signature connected by a light strip. The 18-inch wheels are optimized to reduce aerodynamic noise (marketing speak for "we added fins").

Availability: Asia First, Everything Else... Maybe

Preorders open on March 19, 2026 in Japan exclusively. Europe or North America? Honda says nothing. This "Asia first" strategy fits Honda's electrification plan toward carbon neutrality by 2050 (an objective every automaker announces without really explaining how).

Interior: Tech Overload (Like Everyone Else)

The cabin sports the obligatory modern aesthetic: straight lines, ambient lighting everywhere, and screens galore. Dashboard with 9.4-inch screen, 12.8-inch infotainment system, and an oval steering wheel (because round is so last decade). Everything feels like what you'll find in any current automaker's lineup.

Equipment includes a Bose audio system with 12 speakers and an aroma diffuser offering three scents from six options. In other words, your car can smell like vanilla while you watch the range plummet on the highway.

Hybrid Pioneers Searching for Direction

This Insight mutation illustrates current confusion. While Honda abandons hybrid on its historic model, Toyota clings to its Prius with this technology but only offers the plug-in version in Europe since 2022. Result for the Prius 5th generation? Just 1,847 registrations in France in 2024. Ouch.

These two models that democratized hybrid technology around 2000 now head in opposite directions. The Prius clings to plug-in hybrid, the Insight pivots to all-electric. This divergence shows that even the pioneers are still fumbling to find the