Holy crap! Honda made the Insight good looking

You guys, the Honda Insight isn’t ugly anymore. Well, it won’t be if the 2018 Honda Insight Prototype is anything to go by.

The prototype version of the 2018 Honda Insight will be shown for the first time at the 2018 Detroit motor show (or NAIAS) - and it clearly offers the right mix of stylish lines, stance and sleekness. And most importantly, it doesn’t look like its trying to be something.

the Insight isn't as American-looking as the Accord, and nor is it as Japanese-looking as the Civic.

You might say that it's a bit anonymous… but in a good way. It’s crisp. It’s clean. It isn’t fussy or frumpy. It’s not as American-looking as the Accord, and nor is it as Japanese-looking as the Civic. It has a real Euro sleekness to it - just check out the coupe-like roofline.

The Insight clearly offers the right mix of stylish lines, stance and sleekness.

If you’re unaware of the Honda Insight, here's what the original car looked like.

The first gen. Insight was basically a 1990s vision of the future.

It was basically a 1990s vision of the future, a car where hybrid technology and aerodynamics made it feasible to use just 3.4 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres.

This is what it looked like when it sashayed onto the automotive scene in 2000 - kind-of a cartoon crab-like thing. Just check out those rear wheel spats.

And then came the second-generation Insight, pictured above, which grew substantially, added five-door hatchback practicality, and also managed to cop a hiding from the ugly stick. 

Yuck.

The second-gen was bigger than the original Insight.

Not only was the second-gen model bigger, it was thirstier, too. Honda claimed consumption of 4.6L/100km when it came out, and that dropped to 4.3L later in the life-cycle.

Powering the new-generation Insight will be the same three-motor, no transmission system used in the Accord Hybrid. 

Yep, you read that right: there’s a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and two electric motors, and what Honda calls an “e-CVT” which has no belts or pulleys. Instead, the electric motors act like a transmission in powering the front wheels.

Thankfully the exterior and interior styling of the Insight is considerably less complex than all that stuff going on under the metalwork.

Thankfully the exterior and interior styling of the Insight is considerably less complex than all that stuff going on under the metalwork.

If we see production versions of the third-generation Insight and uber cute Urban EV hatch that are largely unchanged compared to the concept/prototype versions, Honda is going to be able to sway buyers not just on the promise the low emissions mobility, but also on looks. And it's been a while since we could say that.

Tell us what you think - has Honda got its styling mojo back?