Spy Shots: Honda's Upcoming Hybrid Looks Like... a Prius
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 07.17.08
Honda's New Hybrid
When hybrid cars were first introduced, most automakers seemed to think that people would want hybrids that looked like any other car. But it turned out that people are not ashamed to drive hybrids, some even see it as a way to spread the word, and the distinctive Toyota Prius became a big hit.
Honda has said that it will soon release a new hybrid-only model (the Insight name might be revived for it), but until now we had no idea what it would look like. Thanks to these spy shots by KGP Photography, we can see that the Honda hybrid looks eerily similar to the Prius. At first, couldn't believe this wasn't just a Prius in disguise, but if you compare the shape of the rear doors to those of the Prius, the hood, the grille, etc, you'll see some differences, so maybe it's real. Read on for more photos.
Regardless of how it looks, lets hope that it will be greener than the Prius in a significant way. After all, the current model of Prius has been around since 2004.
More photos on page 2!
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probably is a prius, the antenna looks just like a prius and the shape looks jsut like the version of the 2010 prius that toyota has release a model of: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=126123
Sheesh! It's almost there! Just lose the back seat, shorten the car, and taper the back a little more and call it a CRX.
REally weird. don't know what to think. just enough differences that it doesn't look quite like a Prius, but major similarities too. Hrmph.
I like the Prius shape. If others copy it then so be it.
Maybe it's me but I think the Prius is actually kind of big (real car sized), especially when you compare with a Yaris or a Fit or Civic.
Plug it in , Plug it in !
vsk
Lol.... A CRX hybrid would be epic. =D
Amazing! A car company makes a car with good aerodynamics!
Personally I've always thought the current Prius was a rip-off of the Citroen Picasso: http://www.citroen.com/CWW/en-US
No!! bring the insight Back!! the insight had to have the best aerodynamic design, just apply to a 4 door? i think it would sell. most people that own or have owned an insight would buy one, almost 10 years later and the original honda insight is still a solid hybrid car.
guess it sucks it was ahead of its time?
Why don't car companies make hybrids an option on every model? There's no reason Toyota couldn't put a hybrid system in the Prius, the Corolla, and the Matrix. Why limit it to just one model?
I have a town and country but do not like mini-vans any more I thought I needed it because I have three children but find we are all getting around just fine in our "second car" altima. Looking for ideas for greener transportation for bigger families.
Personally, I don't care what it looks like, let's hear more about its possible mpg.
The problem with the Honda system is it isn't as efficient as the Prius, so even if it's almost the same shape, if it doesn't get the same or better mileage/performance, then I don't see the appeal. I guess it might be cheaper than a Prius, so that could be what they're going for.
Serious safety problem, YOU CAN NOT SEE VERY MUCH OUT OF THE BACK WINDOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Icelander, it’s a matter of cost. Way things are looking now, more and more segments will be getting hybrids. The biggest issue is cost, as a hybrid system can easily add $5000 to the cost of a car. In some situations, like a $10k Chevy Aveo, that’s increasing the price of the car by 50%, while not helping as much with fuel economy as it already has a fuel efficient engine. As it gets cheaper to develop hybrid systems and cars, you will see it on more vehicles. Think of other advanced technologies like automatic transmissions, they start off in higher cost vehicles and work their way down. :)
To all readers, with insight (no pun intended) from an Insight owner....the Prius copied the Insight body years ago when it changed it's shape. If you don't believe me, take a pic of an Insight, draw a line between the back of the driver or passenger door and the back of the car, and then mentally jam in a backseat section. Voila! The newer bodied Prius.
Frankly it rather stuns me that something that seemed so obvious to me when Toyota first changed the body of the Prius has never been caught onto by the masses.
OF COURSE the new Honda model looks like the Prius...the Prius looks like the Insight, and Honda is essentially remaking the Insight!
Rather a Duh! moment for all those auto insiders and writers out there, honestly!
"Looking for ideas for greener transportation for bigger families. "
-common on above. you cannot be green and have a large/big family. having a family requires lots of earths resources and having a larg/big family is just wasteful and selfish. if you want to be really green say good-bye to big families. Why do we even need big families anyway? we have exponential population growth as it is!
Anyone know why in Japan there is many more hybrid options available than in the US?
typo:
"Looking for ideas for greener transportation for bigger families. "
-comment on above for user glow. you cannot be green and have a large/big family. having a family requires lots of earths resources and having a larg/big family is just wasteful and selfish. if you want to be really green say good-bye to big families. Why do we even need big families anyway? we have exponential population growth as it is!
I drive my mom's prius when I can get away with it to save the environment and gas (I drive a junky PT Cruiser. It was the only car I could afford, it gets terrible milage). The rear window isn't a big deal. I wish it didn't have the bar, but I can see everything that's important while driving, and the rear-view camera more than compensates for when I back up.
It looks an awful lot like a Prius. It almost makes me wonder if they bought a Prius, and decided to heavily modify it to see if they could do a copy of the Prius with some major changes. As for the hybrid system they use, maybe they have something better coming down the pipeline.
Also, it's great to see some direct competition to the Prius. The bottom line is probably the mileage and the price of the Prius which wins people over (For a car as nice as it is, 23,000 is not bad). Add in a distinctive shape which advertises the driver's ecological savvy and psychologically shows that the car is from a new era of design, and that is probably the winning formula behind the Prius. If someone makes a 5-passenger car with better mileage, they make steal the Prius's sales.
@UncleBen: That's kind of rude. It is true that people are a big toll on the planet's resources, but once a person has a child, there's not much one can do about it, morally, ethically, or practically. So long as there are big families, there need to be green methods to accommodate them. Not everyone has been green from birth, and some people have made bad ecological decisions which they want to make the best of. And I'm not sure having a big family and being an environmentalist is hypocritical. A big family that grow up with green values can have a positive effect on society as they encourage the whole to be greener. Also, for all you know, the person may have adopted some of his or her children, or could be taking in grandparents and extended family, which would be even greener, as it's supporting more people on less land.
@Tim: The comment wasn't made to be rude but it was to challenge people in their actions. No one yet can go back in time, but we can make good informed decisions for the future. There should be a reason people have children and sadly it is far too common for people to not plan and hope for the best. Well our current world population as of this month totals: 6,602,224,175 (July 2007 est.) If each one of those people decided to have a large family and our population were to double over the next couple decade where would the resources for all those people come from exactly? My comment was firmly planted in planning for the future.
I don't care how aerodynamic it is, or how much mpg it gets; this car is U-G-L-Y, just like the Prius and the Insight. My guess is it's going to take a German car company to show the world how to design a nice looking hybrid.
Honda took their car into the wind tunnel to design the most aerodynamic vehicle possible. This design has... THE LEAST DRAG!! WOW Amazing that Toyota went with an "efficient design" and got 60-mpg. Honda went with a "good-looking design" and got 35-mpg. Now they decide to follow Toyota's efficiency model and imagine that they both look the same... and will get 60-MPG! Who would have thought that laws of physics applied to all car manufacturers. It's simple. If you want a car that is a hybrid sedan with the roominess of a Civic or Prius you'll be getting that aerodynamic design, anything else has more drag. Until they can decrease the weight this is what you get if you want excess of 45-mpg sedan.
I thought the Honda "prius" was based heavily on the FCX with a hybrid powertrain rather than fuel cell?
If you pay attention to honda history you can see that the design that the prius has taken is similar to an old model that honda once produced, the CRX.
If this isn't a mix up and it actually is a Honda, the design is not a rip off of the prius, its a modern creation based off of this discontinued model.
I agree with one of the other comments that it would be awesome if they tweaked the body lines a bit and actually revived the CRX as a hybrid.