With the Insight, all the info is contained in a nice digitized instrument cluster. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

Of the many curious passengers I had during the week, most had no clue that they were riding in a hybrid without being told. Unlike electrically-assisted Toyotas or Fords, there is no gargantuan LCD display with information about the inner workings of the electrical propulsion system to bombard and distract you. With the Insight, all the info is contained in a nice digitized instrument cluster. Centre stage goes to the digital speedometer, which reads in oversized orange numerals, as well as the fuel consumption display which has the capability to keep tabs on your driving habits. To either side are digital rotary gauges, including the tach, engine temperature and of course fuel and battery metres. Though there is no attention grabbing display, drivers are kept in the loop about the inner workings of IMA by a gauge showing when the system is charging or providing power, and by how much. It's a bit much to take in all at once, given the system's '80s Tandy-style green and amber colour scheme, but you soon grow used to it.

With only two seats, and a massive, sloping rear hatchback, the Insight is a reasonably practical vehicle, as far a city cars go. There's a tiny wedge of space behind the front seats, with just about enough room to stow a few magazines or a thin briefcase, but duffel bags, laptops and suitcases must ride atop the Insight's high but flat trunk floor, under a latch-down cargo net. Total cargo room is a respectable 461 litres (16.3 cubic feet). Should you need even more space, or have goods to stow away from prying eyes, the floor flips up to reveal a cooler-sized bin - a clever alternative to a sliding cargo cover, and it holds a whopping 57 litres of stuff (2.0 cubic feet). But be careful about how much you bring on board as the Insight is no camel; its slender frame struggles to haul the weight of anything more than two above average occupants and a suitcase or two.

While most Insight owners will get the thumbs up for the remarkable IMA system, few will give kudos to one of its other highly impressive features,

Total cargo room is a respectable 461 litres (16.3 cubic feet). (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press)

its body. It may look relatively conventional, but the Insight is made of the same exotic materials as Honda's mid-engined NSX. Rigid, six-sided aluminum extrusions form the main supports for the frames, which are then linked together by means of strong die-cast joints. The advantages for using aluminum are beneficial to the Honda with the highest performance potential for the same reasons - strength without excessive weight. The Insight's bare body weighs in at just 150 kilos (330 lbs), which amounts to a 40 percent weight savings over an equivalent steel frame. The only giveaways to its construction is a surreal lightness to the doors, and the tinny noise they make upon shutting them, but despite this the Insight is solid, much like any Civic or Accord.