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When Honda debuted its gas-electric hybrid Insight for the American public in 1999, our country was a remarkably different place. Fuel prices in the U.S. had been more or less stable for years, rising along with the cost of inflation but not raising many eyebrows in the process. Reasonably priced gas had done its part in fostering a booming market for large trucks and sport-utility vehicles, monsters of the motorways that wafted family after family to grocery stores and shopping centers while floating huge sums of pure profit into the coffers of automakers. The country resonated with the hum of industry and good fortune, and the thought of paying Honda $20,000 for a two-seat, 73-horsepower, 65-mile-per-gallon anomaly was a passing one at best for most people.

These days it doesn’t seem so silly. In fact it seems that, with the price of light sweet crude oil reaching more than $130 per barrel, more people than ever are interested in one of the only 13,000-odd Insights that Honda brought to the U.S. in the car’s six-year run. We were recently stunned to find that examples of the hybrid with over 100,000 miles on the clock were changing hands on eBay Motors for more than $16,000. Some nicer, newer, and lower-mileage examples were hitting the mid-$20,000 range, besting their new MSRPs, with days still left on the auctions.

With such wacky value equations still fresh in our minds, we counted ourselves quite lucky to be granted access to Jeff Gnagey’s 2001 New Formula Red Insight. Gnagey had recently acquired the little Honda himself, bringing the car north to Michigan from sunny Florida for use as a high-mpg daily driver.

With just about 83,000 miles on its odometer, our test car still felt quite tight and properly screwed together, offering yet another glimpse into the beauty of Honda build quality. Contemporary Civic owners wouldn’t feel out of place in the Insight’s two-place cabin as, with the exception of some very unique silvery fabric on the door inserts and seats, the car seems to be pretty standard Honda fare. The hybrid does of course boast a rather fancy digital display for the speedometer, tachometer, and various mileage calculators, but even these only stood out for the first few miles of our test, quickly fading into the scenery as the real driving began.

After doing a bit of research, we weren’t expecting much from the Insight in terms of performance. With just a three-cylinder 1.0-liter engine at its heart, the Honda didn’t promise a lot of guts, IMA electric assist or no. Just as we guessed, that combined 73 horsepower didn’t send the Insight into traffic with much thrust. Our initial acceleration runs felt a bit slower than even the ten-and-a-half-second 0-60 time might have suggested, the three-banger needing something like 4500 rpm before it felt as if it gave a damn at all.

Once the engine was on the boil, however, things began to really sharpen up, and the story started to change. The car’s gearing is taller than average in every ratio, but once we learned to keep the revs high (and flagrantly ignore the econ nannies telling us when to shift) we got a glimpse of the rare joy that comes with hustling a truly light vehicle down the road. The job of keeping the car in the engine’s sweet spot was made quite a bit more pleasurable by Honda’s five-speed manual gearbox, which offered quick throws and a satisfying mechanical click with each change.

When allowed to build up speed progressively, the Insight feels like a far more special driver’s car than one might expect. The phenomenal aerodynamic package, which virtually eliminates wind noise, almost made us disbelieve the rising numbers on the speedo as we cut cleanly through the air. The Insight’s aero is so good, in fact—the 0.25 coefficient of drag being among the best ever for a production car—that one has the sensation of drafting behind a large truck all the time, at any speed.

The low curb weight that helps the Insight achieve its next-level economy figures also does wonders for the car’s handling. While steering feel and feedback are a bit lackluster, a front-drive tradition that we’re unfortunately familiar with, there’s no doubt as to the precision of movement. The Insight goes where pointed, with levels of turn-in and grip that belie its narrow rolling stock, and with a degree of fun that’s a little shocking for an eco icon.

All in, the Insight may prove a more compelling package now than it did just a few years ago. Its fuel economy (somewhere between 55 and 70 mpg depending on how you drive and who you believe) still exceeds anything you can buy from a major manufacturer today, and the car provides a driving experience that’s similar to other economy cars. Potential owners will have to be willing to put up with only two seats, and clearly won’t be finding any screamingly good used deals anytime soon, but they will get an awful lot in return. The Insight may have hit the market just a few years too early, and left just a few too soon, but we’re willing to bet that it will stay relevant for some time to come.

Click here to read this article within the magazine.

Magazine Issue: Winding Road Issue 35