Editors' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2000

Most Significant Vehicle of the Year

Winner: Honda Insight

There were emails pinging and dinging all over the place like there was no tomorrow, and we weren't sure there would be, given the millennial rush all around us as the editorial staff of Edmunds.com deliberated over the question: What is the most significant vehicle for the year 2000? The considerations: What vehicle was going to be a segment-buster, revitalize a manufacturer, or have far-reaching implications for the consumer and auto industry? The nominations: Honda S2000, Honda Insight and the Jaguar S-type. The votes were counted. The envelope was torn open (read: another email).the landslide winner is Honda's Insight.

What makes this car so darn significant? It's giving us a taste of our automotive future. The Insight is the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle for sale in the United States. (They've been available in Japan since 1997). It's a hybrid automobile, which means it combines the low emissions of an electric motor with the practicality of a gasoline engine, since electric power requires frequent stops for recharging but a gas-electric hybrid can be fueled at any service station. Honda's overall goal was the highest fuel economy possible -- and they hit the mark, with the Environmental Protection Agency giving it a rating of 61 mpg city and 70 mpg highway -- making the Insight the first gasoline-powered vehicle in history to break the 70-mpg barrier.

What makes this feat possible is the vehicle's Integrated Motor Assist system, which combines an all-new 1.0-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine and an ultra-thin electric motor for phenomenal efficiency. Thanks to the engine, an aluminum body structure, and an aerodynamic design, the Insight can get this kind of gas mileage and still meet California's ultra-low-emission vehicle standard. As one of our editors commented: "The technological advances built under the skin of the Insight suggest that while the internal combustion engine isn't the bane of human existence, it can be made far more fuel efficient without sacrificing any and all sense of performance or fun."

But how does this thing drive, and what does it look like? Well, leave it to Honda to create a ground-breaking techno-vehicle but still make it presentable, with no contorted tubes or funky gadgetry shooting out from under the hood. It's a sleek, two-seater coupe with distinct Honda heritage -- a Civic-like shape in the front, and a chunky rear reminiscent of a CRX. The aerodynamic styling cues that you may not be familiar with is the rear wheel skirts that hide the rear tires and improve air flow as the rear tapers. Also, the front track is significantly wider than the rear track, so when following an Insight down the road, other motorists might find it rather odd looking.

The Insight utilizes a five-speed manual transmission and numerous lightweight body panels, weighing in at just 1,887 pounds. One editor, who said the vehicle "is a blast to drive" also commented that this light weight can be unnerving because the Insight is easily buffeted by high winds. The Insight features antilock brakes, electric power steering, power windows, dual airbags, AM/FM cassette stereo, a digital instrument panel and a theft-deterrent system. Lots of goodies, and incomparable fuel economy, for under $20,000.

We'll take one. As a gift to ourselves for Honda's victory, we added an Insight to our fleet of long-term test vehicles in February of 2000 to see what it was like to live with Honda's technological marvel. Congratulations, Honda.