Honda’s Insight Returns to Fight Prius

Honda has been promising to unveil its new hybrid all week, and today, they’ve done it: the company is resurrecting its original hybrid, the Insight, which died a small death only two years ago. The new version will be a five-door, five-passenger hatchback like the Prius, with a similar starting price in the low $20,000s.

The new car looks more like a Civic or hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity and less like the old Insight, with its covered rear wheels and flat Kamm tail. Though the original only sold 17,000 units between 1999 and 2006, it was the first car to break the 70 mpg barrier. Honda expects the new Insight to sell much better, to the tune of 200,000 cars worldwide, half of which will end up in American driveways. The concept will debut at the Paris auto show, October 4-19, 2008, and be available in U.S. showrooms by April 2009.

Honda already has a hybrid version of the Civic, but the Insight will be smaller and lighter. The company also has plans to add a hybrid Fit to the lineup sometime in the future, along with a sporty hybrid based on the CR-Z.