Honda has made history by launching the first hybrid car in the UK. The two-seater Honda Insight coupe, is powered by a petrol engine and an electric motor, writes David Duffy.

It combines its unique hybrid petrol/electric power unit with a robust and lightweight aluminium body. Its performance figures are 0 to 62mph in 12 seconds and a top speed of 112mph.

Honda says the Insight is the world's most efficient petrol-powered car a claim put to the test earlier this year, when the Honda set off on the ultimate economy run, a 3,737 mile 'Round-Britain' non-stop lap of the UK coastline. It established a new British fuel economy record of almost 103mpg rewriting a chapter of the Guinness Book of Records.

The normal on-the-road price for Honda's Insight is 17,000. However, the first 200 Insights sold in the UK are eligible for funding by the Powershift demonstration project scheme which reduces the cost to 16,000 after buyers use a special voucher to claim the 1,000 grant.

Powershift is a government-funded initiative run by the Energy Saving Trust to kick-start the market for cleaner fuel vehicles.

The Insight is called a hybrid because it uses a petrol engine and a 10 kW electric motor mounted between the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder, VTEC petrol engine and the 5-speed manual transmission.

During acceleration the electric motor assists the petrol engine, increasing performance to the level of a 1.5-litre petrol engine.

Insight owners will never have to 'plug-in', as the Honda does not require an outside source of electric power. Instead, the electric motor draws power from the batteries during acceleration and acts as a generator during deceleration to recharge the 144-volt power pack which is mounted between the rear wheels.

The engine runs on unleaded petrol and Honda says servicing costs will be conventional. Fuel tank capacity is 8.75 gallons, giving the Insight a range of 700 miles between fill-ups.

The Insight achieved 83 mpg in the Government combined economy test, with 68mpg in the city driving urban test and over 94mpg in the country road extra-urban cycle.