1985 Honda CRX HF vs. 2010 Honda Insight

And what of the Insight's road manners? Unlike the HF, Honda's latest hybrid isn't interested in your high-rpm, curvy-pavement fantasies. The Insight is a perfectly fine four-door sedan, a wonderfully sedate transportation device that completes its task using a bare minimum of fuel, but it has a single-mindedness that the CRX lacks: Its 98-hp, 1.3-liter four-cylinder and continuously variable transmission aren't concerned with serving up anything other than smooth, unobtrusive propulsion. The chassis is oddly willing and indifferent at the same time, the steering neither as dull and distant as a Prius's nor as talkative as the rack in a Civic sedan. We've discussed the Insight's strengths and flaws on these pages before, but suffice it to say that although the H-badged humpback is one of the most capable hybrids on the market, it doesn't do anything to get your blood pumping.

That, then, is the problem. When you chuck the CRX into a corner, gas mileage doesn't seem to matter. If the Insight is a practical, serious answer to a very important question, then the HF is that same question answered in giddy, grinning song. Unlike most of today's fuel-economy stars, which never stop reminding you how green your right foot is, the older Honda goes about its task subtly - it's a good car first and a green car second. The HF reminds us that efficiency is what you make it. Honda's tiny, featherweight hatchback may be where we've been, but it's also where we need to be going.