Honda
Concept S
The
Concept S bears a passing resemblance to Toyota’s new Prius V. The Prius V
joined Toyota’s Prius family this past year as the go-to hybrid option for
families or people whose junk won’t fit in a regular Prius hatch. The Concept S
also is a hybrid, and its jelly bean–shaped profile is similar to that of the
Prius V. The two also happen to have single-letter portions of their names, and
we’ve heard they are BFFs and tell secrets late into the night during regular
sleepovers. Not really, but you get the idea. If the Concept S ends up battling
the V here in the States, it likely would be positioned above Honda’s current
Insight as the space-efficient and larger hybrid option in the lineup.
Aside
from saying it’s a hybrid, Honda didn’t reveal much about the Concept S. The
good news is that compared to both Honda’s own Insight and both versions of the
Toyota Prius, the Concept S is a looker. The front end incorporates cues from
several recent Honda concepts, including the cool EV-STER small sports car and
AC-X sedan, and the look is nice even with the Concept S’s rotund body.
A
pair of rather uniquely shaped taillights manage to pull off the
near-impossible, which is to make the butt of a tall hatch look wide, low, and
cool. Those afterburner-style nacelles for the rear reflectors, however, likely
will never see the light of day. Otherwise, if the Concept S’s design manages
to make its way into production relatively unscathed, Honda could have a—dare
we say it—attractive hybrid carryall. As far as the U.S., Honda has yet to
confirm whether we are among the car’s global markets.
