Award Number : 09B07006 Award-winning item : Hybrid Vehicle[INSIGHT] Company : Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Producer： Honda Motor Co.,Ltd. Director： Honda R&D Co.,Ltd. Automobile R&D Center Managing Director General Manage Styling Design Development Division Nobuki Ebisawa Designer： Automobile R&D Center Department 1 Styling Design Development Division Chief Designer Takashi Nagura Department 4 Styling Design Development Division Assistant Chief Designer Hidetoshi Kabayama

Based on the concept of a new standard for a new generation of compact cars, this model is available with hybrid engines only. It has been developed with the goals of providing an easy-to-use package and comfortable ride with superior environmental performance and high efficiency, at an affordable price so more people can enjoy it. Its exterior features a form designed in pursuit of aerodynamic performance, and its interior fuses the joy of driving for the driver, comfort for passengers, and an advanced feeling suited to a hybrid car. To achieve further improvements in fuel efficiency, as standard equipment it also features the Ecological Drive Assist System, which helps drivers save more fuel. Through these initiatives, this vehicle will help the earth's environment as more people use its advanced technologies.

Based on the theme of an aerodynamic athlete, the exterior design aims to achieve a driving form backed by aerodynamic performance, instead of just style. The interior employs an emotional hybrid interior design fusing the fun of driving, suited to an automobile, with the futuristic and advanced feeling of a hybrid. This design aims to combine a high-efficiency package with contributions to fuel economy through aerodynamics resulting from its low overall height, to enable more consumers proactively to choose vehicles with lower environmental impacts.

Succeeding as a five-number-class design through its light weight and compact size, this design overturns the status quo of compact hybrid cars. Also, its interface, designed carefully to enable driving with the same feel as a traditional reciprocating-engine vehicle by not forcing on the driver the characteristics driving feel of a hybrid, expresses the essence of Honda, which is known for the drive performance of its vehicles, and is well suited to the vehicle's position as the core model in Honda's green vehicle strategy. Since hybrid vehicles employ styling concepts based on aerodynamic characteristics, they tend to resemble each other. It is hoped that their design will advance further through more in-depth development efforts.