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At first sight this is a simple development of the red Metroproject Quattro we saw last year in Tokyo but with five doors, not three. However, walking around the car one sees it has a tighter and more masculine exterior treatment with most surfaces completely reprofiled, most noticeably the shoulder line with wedge-shaped blisters over each wheel. The clamshell hood treatment is more conventional than the Tokyo car too, with longitudinal feature lines rather than a wraparound beltline. We also note the new Audi grille outline with a faceted top corner and a clear transparent polycarbonate shield over the mesh - a theme that was started with the old A2 model.
From side view the A1 appears quite static, with a long wheelbase and very straight beltline, albeit with nice surfacing over the wheelarches. Like the X1, it doesn't appear to be much smaller than its existing cousin - in this case the A3 Sportback - and this aspect is more evident than the red Metroproject, where the more rounded DLO and silver cantrails had a distinct ‘fun car' characteristic that's slightly lacking in this five-door variant. The rear displays more innovation though: there's a split rear window that opens independently and lamps mounted on the tailgate, like the Q7. Note also a new treatment of licence plate depression that runs right outboard to the full width of the tailgate.
The interior is a re-trimmed version of the Metroproject car with a highly sophisticated look, including the use of pale ivory Alcantara on most surfaces - including the floor! HVAC controls are suspended under the main IP and red accents are used on seat backs, stitching, seat piping and internals of the neat propeller style face vents. A pair of ‘baguette'-shaped floating consoles sit on the center tunnel and house Nokia i-phones.
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Honda love recycling old model names and applying them to new cars - and the Insight is the latest example. Shuttle, City, Jazz, Aerodeck - all have been re-used even when the car concept itself is radically changed from the original. But look back in five years time and we'll see this as one of most significant production cars at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. The new Insight is Honda's first model from their ambitious all-new hybrid platform that will become a cornerstone of their global model lineup. An affordable price, unique styling, a hatchback bodystyle together with the Honda brand reputation - all the ingredients are there now to fight the Prius head-on and at a price point some 15 percent lower than the Toyota. The all-new hybrid platform will spin off further variants including the CR-Z baby coupe (also on display here), a wagon and a 4D sedan replacement of the Civic hybrid that's necessary for the USA market.
The profile is similar to the Clarity FCX fuel cell model, but the Insight has more tension in the surfacing and includes similar hybrid design cues such as the A-pillar, front mask and a concave shoulder line. The front end is more modern than the Clarity FCX, helped by the use of LED lamps and LED tube lamps framing the grille, while its vertical rear window has become another 'hybrid car' cue, being used on the previous Insight, the Clarity FCX and even Toyota's Prius.
This is a deadly serious proposition from Honda that's due to go on sale in spring 2009 and we predict will go on to be Honda's biggest sales success since the Jazz. Compare that to Chevrolet Volt model here that won't begin to go into production until late 2010 - how can GM be so complacent? The only question might be is how much the Insight might kill off Civic sales.
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Honda Civic (North America)
Given its close visual resemblance to the new Fiesta, most observers will probably assume the new Ka is Fiesta-based, as was its predecessor. In fact, it's based on the Fiat 500/Panda platform and built in the same factory in Poland. Carryover Ka design cues are limited to the surf wave in the rear roof, the side DLO shape and the little tailgate opening handle. The new Fiesta ‘Kinetic Design' links are far more visually obvious, yet are an interesting exercise in lower cost solutions to fit its lower price point. For example, although the DLO looks similar, there's no extra quarterlight at the front. There's a simple DI repeater on the Ka's fender rather than integrated into the mirrors, as on the Fiesta. And although the clamshell hood treatment looks similar, the Fiesta has a sleeker hood and more expensive two-pocket headlamps.
The interior theme has similarities to the Fiesta too, but the IP is much shallower and the Ka has a more youthful high-mounted gearshift and simple spherical face vents, like the previous model. There's a nice use of color and grains here too: white pearl color is employed as an accent on many interior surfaces including the door grabs, around instruments and vents, and on the center stack and gearshift. A new linen grain is used on the main door pad with the door top pad and main IP using a more conventional pebble grain effect.
Ultimately, this new Ka seems compromised, both for its similarities to the larger Fiesta and its lack of a stronger personality of its own. Whereas the previous Ka had a unique identity that provided much of its appeal over a long 12 year life, one wonders whether this new version will be able to stand out as a proposition to buyers or whether it may simply confuse them - in many ways the same problem that afflicts its main rival, the new Twingo.
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Ford Fiesta - Geneva 2008
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