Owners of Honda‘s new Insight will be able to get print outs of analysis of their driving style through a service offered at the brand’s dealerships.
The service requires the car to be plugged in, when data can be downloaded illustrating how the car has been driven.
“If a driver comes in saying they haven’t been getting near the claimed fuel consumption then we can plug their car in to the computer and look at how they have been driving,” said a company spokesman.
Honda would then be able to offer advice on driving style if this is the reason for a poor mpg figure. Company sources have stated they hope the technology will be available for fleet managers to have on site in the future.
The Insight will store details of the last three journeys, and offer a visual indication of how the car is being driven. A tree symbol is displayed on the dashboard, with more leaves appearing when the Insight is driven in a more economical manner. The backlight on the speedometer changes colour from green to blue when a car is driven in a less economical way.
The five-door hatchback is the latest hybrid to be released by the Japanese company, and goes on sale in April 2009. It makes its public debut at the Detroit motor show in January, when more indication on pricing is expected. Honda claims it will be the cheapest hybrid on sale.
