Would You Buy the New Honda Insight?

As energy concerns swirl in political circles, the auto world should really take a look at the upcoming Honda Insight. The concept was unveiled yesterday as the guidepost for the future of consumer choice.

Personally, I think there will be a waiting list a mile long for the new Insight. Honda is planning to produce 100,000 in the first year, which translates to 8,333 sales a month. The Prius sells twice that many units on tight demand. The Insight will cost less and probably get similar or better mileage than the Prius. 

What do you think? Will the Insight be a grand slam or just a mildly popular choice among the many hybrids on the market?

Comments

YES, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. It looks 100x better than the Prius.

I would buy one. Why not .... good gas mileage, reliability and 1/2 the price of a Volt. It is very likely that there will be waiting lists. One thing though it may ease up demand for the Prius and you might have better luck finding one of those (although higher priced).

Can you tell me where to get on the waiting list? :)

I wouldn't buy anything now. Wait for 2 more years and see what king cars with what kind technology will be selling...

ziggy, Insight has no reliability history so we don't know (just a tip)

I like the new Honda Prius, but wouldn't commit to buying one until we all see the mileage figures and price. The Civic Hybrid is substantially smaller than the Prius and its base sticker is $1,500 more than the base Prius, according to Edmunds.com. To assume that the new larger Honda will be cheaper than the Prius is pure speculation. Then there's the mileage issue, which I think Dave was speculating on also. Since Honda is sticking with Integrated motor assist, that means if the new system allows electric only operation, the distance it will be able to travel will be measured in feet, because in that mode the electric assist motor still has to turn over the four cylinder motor, and the internal friction will flatten the batteries fast. The Prius can travel in electric only mode for miles in stop and go traffic. At this point it's safe to say that if most of your driving is on the highway, the new Honda would probably be a good deal, but if you spend a lot of time in urban driving, stick with the Prius.

Tony-
It's Honda...I have no doubt that it will be reliable.

CJ..."YES, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. It looks 100x better than the Prius."

that's because it is a Prius.

Yes- I would definitely buy an Insight. I believe it solves all the issues the original Insight had including refinement, space and utility. I look forward to seeing one in person and reading about comparisons to other vehicles. I have to note, as a current Prius owner, that in the recently released pics, the Insight looks ALOT like the existing Prius. Aerodynamics aside, I wonder if Honda is trying to copy Toyota's success with the Prius but copying it's design.

I would definitely buy one. Honda has been doing very well so far with its hybrid version of the Civic and the Insight will take it to the next level since it's built from scratch. The new Insight will obviously have nothing in common with the old one (the name simply serves as a reminder of Honda's precursory work) and the reason the shape resembles the Prius' so much is because that shape serves aerodynamics as well as fuel efficiency. At the end of the day Honda makes higher-quality and more reliable cars.

Sign me up. I love this Honda. The design is very cool looking. Not that I'm bashing the Big 3, but again it shows that they cannot produce a decent car, hybrid or not. Very sad that since the 1970's the Big 3 have failed in producing small car that can compete in the world market. I hope Honda sells many of these new Insights.

No Toyota will be ever in my life.

So where to get in line to buy this baby?

Nah, I'd rather drive a Suburban or a Yukon XL.

Not a practical family vehicle.

Ziggy,

This:
"...It's Honda...I have no doubt that it will be reliable...."

don't work as well as you would think. Hondas had their share of problems and even "legendary" Accord had huge(costly) issues asa recently as 2004 model. Should I tell about Odyssey, Passport?????

Hondas are not as good (scratch that), not as reliable as legend says. They still good cars but they do have issues. Their engineering is very complex, even too complex for its own good.

these hybrids are much ado about nothing. there are many diesels around the world made by top-notch manufacturers that get 60+ mpg, selling for half the price.

the u.s. should introduce a graduated emissions requirement for cars. we allow uber-big trucks to be exempt from federal regulations. why not go the other way too? if a car can get 70 mpg it should be able to be exempt from the strict emission standards that prevent the MOST economical cars in the world from being sold here.

KJ,
How does this "shows that they cannot produce a decent car, hybrid or not"? Not that it has anything to do with this car, but I can think of plenty of very "decent" American cars. Besides, we don't even know anything about this car, except that it is a honda hybrid that looks like a prius, call me when that cool coupe in the background comes out.

Broq

Wow, that grill has a very Ford Fusionesque look to it...

I recently drove my daughter's Honda Fit across the country with my wife, it was a joy on the highway and in the city, and got nearly 40mpg. I would probably jump at the insight, given honda quality-- I own an 03 accord that is nearly perfect at 60,000 miles- and reliability, let alone safety leadership.

I recently drove my daughter's Honda Fit across the country with my wife, it was a joy on the highway and in the city, and got nearly 40mpg. I would probably jump at the insight, given honda quality-- I own an 03 accord that is nearly perfect at 60,000 miles- and reliability, let alone safety leadership.

no. too big.

it does look better than the current prius (not hard to do) but the 2010 prius is looking much improved (from the pics i have seen). but they are both too big.

i am holding out for the smaller hybrid. should be sporty and perfect for single person commuting. (which is what everybody does)

I think Sam hit the nail on the head. Unless they can come up with something that provides more utility i am not interested. I think i would be better off with my Mountaineer or even one of those VW Jetta TDI wagons. The Jetta will give upwards of 40mpg and it has much more utility than a prius or this new insight. Or if you just have to have a hybrid because its a good conversation piece, buy a Camry, Highlander, Mariner/Escape, Yukon.

I would rather keep my Yukon XL than drive that little thing. I don't care how high gas prices get.

I will wait for the sportier CRZ Hybrid. I don't like the stodgy nerdy look of the prius and the insight.

Does anyone know when the CRZ will be available?

i want the crz more!!!!

I currently own a Honda Insight and get 60 mpg. I love it. If this is similar to the previous Insight everyone in the market for a hybrid should consider it.

As a owner of as Prius for 4 years, averaging 47mpg in suburb(40 miles west of NYC) and mixed driving ( interstate trips to Hilton Head, Montreal, Buffalo, etc), the Insight has a lot to live up to vs the Prius in my experience. We've had no problems to speak of. In addition, the local Honda dealers have always charged a hefty premium for their "in demand " cars, which has always shyed me away from Hondas for almost 30 years, and given the hype of Insight , I expect similiar price premiums.

Tony,

A blurp in Honda's stellar quality rating is small potatoes compared to say... domestic and european makes doesn't it? Of course quality is sometimes subjective. I beleive vehicle longevity relies heavily on owner use and maintenance. Even the most reliable vehicle on the road can be made unreliable by it's owner. The Insight will be a quality Honda product. It's what Honda customers have come to expect when they buy a Honda and IMO with good reason. I'm sure Honda has done copius testing before even thinking about releasing this to Joe public.

yes I would buy a new honda insight, when where and how much.

^ Spring 2009, Your local Honda Dealership (there may be a waiting list), Less than $20 grand (rumored $18,500)

Yes I would, without question. I've had great luck with Hondas in the past and I trust their engineering and design skills enough to believe this one will be just as durable and reliable as the rest of the lineup.

I'll take one today! I was already considering the Fit Hybrid (next year), but I like this one much better.

If they doubled that projected output, they would sell them all; if they don't bump the "actual" price up 2 or 3 grand by the time it is available like BMW did with the Series 1.

I think the number of Americans who are not ready for a hybrid is minimal. There will be a lot of SUVs and pickups coming off the road in the next couple of years.

JimC

Troy,
I agree that with all its "blurps" Honda is still didn't reach Domestic and European levels of "blurping"
But it had its good share and to call its quality stellar would be simply incorrect.
Hondas are definitely well-engineered vehicles but the problem is in components. Like transmissions. And we're not talking issues caused buy bad keeping. We talk engineering blunders here. How could you explain in any other way that entire park of a single model has to go for transmission change? Or components, like struts, which go at 30K miles?
The fact is Hondas are not as reliable as they used to be and one has to live with it, accept it.
The chance for Insite to be a reliable car is great but it can also have one of those "blurps". If Honda had it before, who can guarantee...?
The biggest problem for Honda is the number of cars they sell. When they were small- the quality was top notch. Now they spread too much and it is not surprising that there are slippages. Just as Ford and GM became smaller, they can concentrate more on any given model and as result the quality is higher now then it was when they were spread everywhere. Believe it or not, but it is good if Domestics will take back some of its lost share of the market. It will put Japs back on their toes because they are too surefooted now.

Calling them "Japs" says where you're coming from. Thanks Tony.

Tony,

Focusing on two vehicle blurps Tranny and struts (which were handled with warranty) hardly undermines Honda's widely known and proven over again quality.

Honda's winning ingredient is that they correct defects, the few they encounter, and re-engineer the troubled parts. So long as owner abuse didn't play a part in part failure, Honda took care of it's customers. In some cases, Honda took care of customer vehicles that were out of warranty with their "good will" program. Why? To keep their customers and prove that they stand behind their products. I have owned Hondas over the past 24 years (1984 on). The newest ones, 1998 Civic, (Brother's 2002 Accord), 2005 Civic and 2007 Ridgeline (all daily drivers). The 2005 Civic had a bad wheel bearing (covered by warranty). My co worker drives a 2001 CR-V, my cousin a 2004 Ody, and my boss drives a 200? Pilot. How can you say today's Hondas aren't as reliable as yesterdays?

Troy,
Because, yesterday I drove Hondas and I know well how to drive a car problem free for 10 years.
Troy, our argument is running away. My point was that you can't call car reliable by its name. And the fact that Honda did some fixes under warranty doesn't make a car more reliable. May be the manufacturer - yes. Not the car.

Ziggy,
I called them Japs? Oh, my god!!
This tells all about me! This tells that I buy only Japanese cars! Even my motorcycle is Japanese!
Relax, buddy. Think outside the box and rip reward from a good competition.

Tony,

Guess I ran away a little bit there. I see your point. I just couldn't help think you were in a way discrediting Honda because of two glitches. Overall, I think Honda has a remarkable record.

If I didn't have Civic Hybrid already, I'd sign up for an Insight right away. As it is, I can't wait to see this thing in April - I'll still consider picking one up.

I've seen production photos of the upcoming Chevy Volt, and to be honest, next to it, the Insight will be as big a joke as the original Insight. The Insight's integrated motor assist has a 20 hp electric motor, which is so weak the only time it can propel the car on its own is when the car is already rolling. Meanwhile the electric motor in the Prius has 295 lb ft of torque, and the Volt will be even more powerful. I understand brand loyalty, but Honda seems to be a company out of new ideas. The Insight is a copy of the Prius, the Ridgeline is a copy of the Avalanche and the Accord is a clone of the Saturn L series.

Malibu is Accord's copy, Solstice is Miata's copy, don't even start the SUV quintuplets.

Where in the world does the Accord cloned from the sterile L Series is a total mystery.

I own a 2000 Insight and have consistently gotten 60mpg. It has close to 150,000 miles on it and it's still purring. I am very interested in the new Insight. Hopefully they keep the price low, weight down, gas mileage high and most importantly offer a manual option like they did with the original Insight!