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DETROIT - The Honda Insight hybrid car has confirmed its status as the world's most efficient vehicle, achieving best-ever fuel economy figures in independent tests by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Powered by a petrol/electric engine, the Insight earned an EPA city rating of 3.85 litres per 100 km (61 miles per gallon) and a highway rating of 3.36 litres per 100 km (70 miles per gallon).
These figures were more than 11.8 litres per 100 km (20 miles per gallon) better than the most efficient competing diesel-powered models.
The Insight has already been heralded for its Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) engine, and the EPA's fuel economy figures confirm it as the world's best.
The Insight goes on sale in Japan next month and the United States in December.
Honda has combined a wide variety of innovative technologies to produce the Insight.
Its aluminium body is about 40 per cent lighter than a comparable steel body, while its drag coefficient of 0.25 makes it one of the most aerodynamic vehicles.
The Insight is powered by the world's lightest 1.0-litre lean-burn VTEC engine, working in tandem with Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA), which boosts acceleration by using an ultra-thin brushless DC electric motor. This reduces demand on the petrol engine, saving fuel and improving performance.
The electric motor becomes a generator during deceleration, turning kinetic energy into electricity that is stored in a nickel hydride battery. In conventional cars, braking energy is wasted in the form of heat.
Insight is equipped with a choice of lightweight five-speed manual transmission or Honda's Multimatic CVT transmission.
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