Remember the tamagotchi – the Japanese electronic pet and must-have toy for adults and children alike in the 1990s? Well, say hello to the tama-car-chi.

The new Honda Insight aims to topple the Toyota Prius‘ hybrid dominance with computer game-style techniques promoting frugal, green driving – and undercutting its rival by up to £3,000.

Ask someone to name a hybrid and the chances are they’ll say a Toyota Prius, the car made famous by its Oscars night appearances ferrying environmentally-friendly stars to pick up their awards.

The new Honda Insight aims to change all that.

Sharing its name with the pioneering predecessor which saw Honda bring hybrids to the UK in 1999, the Honda Insight aims to change our buying and driving habits.

How exactly? With an expected £15,000 price tag and a system which rewards environmentally-friendly motoring with computer graphics of blooming flowers.

As with the Honda Civic IMA saloon, the five-door hatchback Honda Insight is powered by the Integrated Motor Assist system which positions an electric motor alongside a petrol engine in front of the transmission.

The 1.3-litre four-cylinder i-VTEC petrol unit, already featured in the Honda Jazz, produces 88bhp and 89Ib/ft of torque, or pulling power, and in the Honda Insight is backed by an electric motor which generates a further 14bhp and 58Ib/ft of pulling power.

Green Driving Skills

Both power sources come from the Civic IMA but have undergone revisions for their introduction into the Insight.

The petrol engine is the car’s main source of power and the motor provides a boost when needed (such as when accelerating firmly), but it also contributes to more economical performance when green driving techniques – such as braking and accelerating smoothly – are employed.

And that’s where the tamagotchi bit comes in.

Honda’s research indicates driving styles can make a huge difference in terms of fuel economy, even when drivers’ average speeds are identical, and these styles tend to involve hard-to-break habits adopted over years of motoring.

More frugal driving is encouraged by Econ Assist.

Accelerate and brake smoothly and you see a meter behind the speedometer glow green, a digital “eco-drive bar” housed within the rev-counter confined to the centre of the display and flower icons “grow”.

Drive smoothly and flowers grow

Accelerate or brake harshly and the flowers vanish, the eco-drive bar lurches across the display and the meter behind the speedometer glows blue.

View our Honda Insight slide show

And it doesn’t end there. Complete your journey and the intra-rev counter eco-guide display shows an “eco score” for your trip which contributes to a lifetime rating, and, if you’ve had a particularly smooth drive – might beat your top score.

Improve and trophy symbols and winners’ wreathes will be yours – but performance deterioration means a withering plant. Or as Honda puts it: “the nicer you treat your car the nicer it will treat you”.

If you want the car to do all or some of the work, simply turn on the ECON (Effective Control) switch to activate Super Economy Mode which alters the vehicle set-up to limit power output, smooth out automatic gear changes and acceleration as well as increasing regenerative braking energy.

Gear changes come courtesy of Honda’s CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) system, though manual gear changes are available on all but the entry-level SE trim, with paddle shifts located behind the steering wheel. (It’s the same gearbox as in the Civic IMA but again Honda has revised it for smoother, quieter performance).

Downhill driving lends a hand

Depending which of the three trim levels you choose, the car has been tested to deliver an average of between 61.4-64.2mpg.

We drove once smoothly with the ECON switch on and the car returned 46.3mpg and a second time “normally” with the ECON switch off, to hit 56.5mpg.

Our second trip did, however, offer much more downhill driving and the opportunity to coast to our destination with far less reliance on the accelerator pedal.

And it was easy to see the appeal of being able to measure the benefits of efficient driving with both myself and my driving partner eager to see how we’d done. I took a third solo spin in the car – meaning I could concentrate more on my green driving – and could begin to see ownership of the car could start to make a serious difference to driving style.

It was noticeable that heavy acceleration was accompanied by a noisy response from the powertrain but overall there was little to differentiate the drive from that of non-hybrids

Wallet Appeal

And Honda’s wallet appeal extends beyond fewer fuel stops.

CO2 emissions of between 101 and 105g/km place it in tax band B with an annual tax bill of just £35. It is also free from the £8 a day London Congestion Charge and falls within the 10 per cent Benefit in Kind company car tax band.

In terms of design the Honda Insight will inevitably draw comparisons with the Prius. But although the shape of both cars is partially dictated by an aerodynamic design which reduces drag, Honda can trace its model’s lineage back to its 1999 hybrid predecessor.

It is also a dead-ringer for the hydrogen-powered Honda FCX clarity (currently only available in the US and Japan), despite sharing a chassis with older motorists’ favourite, the Honda Jazz.

Inside, the boot provides 408-litres of luggage space (equalling the Toyota Prius and exceeding the space offered by the Ford Focus Econetic, VW Golf BlueMotion and Honda’s own saloon-style Civic Hybrid) plus there are six bottle/cup holders.

Jetson’s style appeal

First impressions of seeing the car in the metal were good with the car boasting a futuristic – almost Jetson’s-style appeal – especially in blue, the pick of the colours on show at the launch.

The multi-coloured ambient lighting, icons and read-outs create a busy information display which contrasts with the car’s conservative, tough, two tone plastics (the car’s design is global with US buyers also due to get the hatch rather than the more conventional saloon).

EuroNCAP testing was ongoing at the time of writing. However standard safety features include six airbags, Honda’s VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist system), anti-lock brakes, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Brake Assist.

And there will be three trim levels at launch.

Well-Specced

The SE specification model’s standard features includes: CD/radio, climate control air-conditioning, electric folding door mirrors and steering wheel-mounted audio controls. The ES grade comes with: automatic lights and wipers, cruise control, front foglights, heated front seats, leather steering wheel and gear knob, paddle shift, privacy glass and iPod compatible USB port, ES-T models add sat-nav and hands-free technology kit.

Pricing for the Honda Insight is due to be announced at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show but it is only likely to be a question of by how much, rather than whether, the Honda Insight undercuts the currently all-conquering Toyota Prius.

And, as such, it is likely to achieve its aim of opening up the hybrid market to motorists unwilling to spend the best part of £18,000 on a car.

As for the console-style incentives to improve hypermiling skills? It all depends whether you are game or not.

Key facts

Model tested: Honda Insight 1.3 CVT Elegance
Date tested: January 2009
Road tester: Adrian Higgins