A few weeks back, we ran senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder’s first impressions of driving the all-new 2010 Honda Insight. Now, his full review is live, and it’s a must-read for hybrid-car buffs. It tackles both everyday driving and what some hypermilers were achieving during tests. The lack of an official price really hurts any review, however, as the Insight will get more attractive the lower its entry price.
2010 Honda Insight Review
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I dont see Honda selling 90k of these. If they even come close expect Accord, Fit and Civic sales to take a hit. Aside from the powertrain this car isnt even high tech. No standard ESC? Drum brakes? No hybrid activity display in the nav screen? 15" wheels? This car is very unimpressive aside from the mileage.
OS = obvious troll.
Who said cruise control helps improve mileage?
Cruise control generally increases gas mileage because it allows the car's computer to do what humans can't - maintain steady throttle. The accelerator fluctuations that humans naturally make when driving can decrease mileage some.what, most notably on the highway.
Sheth, Honda wants you to upgrade to the EX version. That should still be a reasonable 20K.
Drum brakes work with ESP, as seen in the FIt
I wish 14" wheel would fit, but may kit the steering tie rod end.
This is a hybrid-lite, why would it need a screen to tell which way electricity is flowing? Why do real hybrids need such a screen-ego?
This has better headlights & windshield wipers than the Civic, but at the cost of inferior rear suspension and door handles.
Couldn't agree more Happymantis.
Aside from the powertrain this car isnt even high tech.
-Hah,hah! So this car should be able to fly or else it is no good. I mean that Cobalt, dang that Cobalt, is just so impressive huh Sheth?
This car will sell as many models as Honda can make. It is like a Civic LX but with better mileage and a hatch.
And Sheth, it won't be Honda who will take the hit in the form of the Accord, Fit, and Civic, it will be GM and Ford in the form of the Cobalt/Cruze and Focus and Fiesta.
Haha, thanks Belly!
OS, my issue with your posting is that you expect a car worth $18-20K to be "high-tech," the price point is the most innovative thing about this car, it makes a hybrid that much more affordable to the car buying public, if you were to criticize a car for not having enough technology, maybe you should be critiquing higher end cars that cost more than $50K, that would be a more conscientious and most importantly, VALID, critique.
Happy,
Sorry no troll here. Trolls typically dont make any sense and are needlessly aggressive and ignorant. Doesnt apply to me at all.
Yes the car will be cheap but lets remember that drum brakes and beam axles are typically seen as low tech features that are lambasted on other cars. I mean its great that this car is "cheap" but so is the Caliber and Cobalt. It seems like everyone wants to defend the mediocrity of this vehicle because it's "cheap". The car has one notable feature, the drivetrain.
Belly:
Most people who check out this car are likely to be existing Honda customers or people who have owned Honda in the past. Its silly to think that people who buy this wouldn't have otherwise purchased a Fit or Civic. Furthermore I dont see how Honda is going to move 90k-100K units in the US in a down market when gas is under $2/gallon. When Honda first made those sales projections the economy wasn't as bad and gas was more expensive. Civic hybrid sales have plummeted in recent months and this car could decimate CH sales even further. Its hard to have this discussion with anyone who has no grasp of sales volumes and it unaware of Honda's struggles over the last 3-4 months. Honda has actually done as bad or worse than ford over the last few months and that isnt good when you consider Ford is MUCH more dependent on trucks than Honda.
Happy/Belly:
I think what you are missing is that while Toyota has gone to great lengths to make the Prius a decent car that happens to be very efficient Honda has followed the formula of the current Prius which is to say create a mediocre car that can get a free pass because its a hybrid. Most of the automotive press has noted that the Prius is a very uninspiring automobile that has one redeeming quality. Honda has done the same thing with this car but the problem is that the Insight will face more competition than the 2004-2009 Prius so consumers have more options. I dont have an issue with a low starting price (Prius has a relatively low starting MSRP) but Honda should have provided upper level trims with more bells and whistles and 4 wheel disc brakes.
Billy,
Try the same thing in mountain areas, the human throttle control is way better than a computer.
"brakes and beam axles are typically seen as low tech features that are lambasted on other cars"
Perhaps lambasted by a few journalists and some know-it-alls commenting on automotive blogs, but the general public really doesn't care.
"The car has one notable feature, the drivetrain."
Fair enough, but you could make the same argument about a Mustang. The drivetrain is the whole purpose of the car. Of course having only one notable feature is still one more than either the Cobalt or Caliber have.
Honda with the Insight is trying to make the most affordable hybrid. That alone will bring in new shoppers. There is no car for under $20K that gets a combined rating over 40 mpg. Not even close.
I think a lot of the outcome will depend on the final price.
However, I sat in the Insight in Detroit and the interior is as nice as a current Civic for sure and the display is very cool.
My big gripe was the tiny bag seat. So it would be hard to fit a baby seat or friends back there comfortably. The hatch though and fold down seats offer good room.
IMHO I think they'll sell them all if the price is right.
Lil tom,
actually the Mustang (the 2010) has a few things going for it. Styling, handling, features, performance and the powetrain. I wouldnt classify the Insight the same way. I mean so much is being made about the price as if the Prius starts at $30k. The Prius starts at $23k or so which is only a little more than this car. When you think about the demographic that is hybrid crazy I dont believe that "under $20k" is all that critical, especially when the base model has no creature comforts and it likely to be skipped over by most buyers. I think hybrid owners are much more concerned about mileage and high tech features than payback times. You pay less for an inferior product. That really isnt anything cutting edge to me.
"Perhaps lambasted by a few journalists and some know-it-alls commenting on automotive blogs, but the general public really doesn't care. "
Its still older, inferior technology. Speaking of the Mustang it should be noted that its beam axle suspension is one of its major shortcomings. I do like your excuses though, basically you are saying that if Honda is doing it no criticism is allowed.
"Of course having only one notable feature is still one more than either the Cobalt or Caliber have."
Great punchline there at the end. Actually both are cheap and the Cobalt gets good mileage. They are both following the same premise as the Insight- a lesser product for less money than the competition. If you are concerned with frugality my guess is a $16k cobalt is a better long term deal than a $20k Insight even if the Insight gets better mileage.
Shet, that would only be true if the Cobalt held its value anywhere close to how any Honda does. Yeah gas at $2 per gallon makes the payoff much harder, but a Cobalt loses its value at much higher rate than any Honda.
especially when the base model has no creature comforts and it likely to be skipped over by most buyers.
-Where did you get that info? The LX comes standard with 15-inch steel wheels, full power accessories, automatic climate control, a tilt/telescoping steering column, a height-adjustable driver seat and a four-speaker CD audio system with an auxiliary audio jack. (straight from edmunds - sorry DT it took too long to find this info on Joe's review)
You pay less for an inferior product. That really isnt anything cutting edge to me.
-Honda is demonstrating that you can get 40+mpg, along with the lower emissions of a hybrid, for under 20K, what does it take to be cutting edge? Any American company would love to have a car that does that. Honestly, I wish they did.
Sheth,
I don't know where you get the idea that I think Hondas can't be criticized, I just don't think there's a significant number of people who care about the suspension components of economy cars.
The Cobalt and Caliber have rear drums, Mustangs have a live rear axle, and Corvettes have leaf springs. There's no reason do dismiss any of these vehicles just because they use older technology.
lil tom
what you say sounds nice but the reality is the technologies you are defending are frequently derided. I agree that many buyers dont care but if the auto media is going to criticize certain vehicles for lacking an IRS and 4 wheel disc brakes than the INsight should suffer the same criticism. The fact that its a hybrid doesnt excuse it from being competitive in terms of modern technology.
The vette uses leaf springs but not in the same way as pickups and unlike pickups it has a fully independent suspension. The vette has a very unique transverse leaf spring that exists to save weight.
"Where did you get that info? The LX comes standard with 15-inch steel wheels, full power accessories, automatic climate control, a tilt/telescoping steering column, a height-adjustable driver seat and a four-speaker CD audio system with an auxiliary audio jack."
As I said, you dont get much for $20k. Keep in mind most compacts are LOADED at $20k. I dont think a car with wheelcovers and a 4 speaker sound system is luxuriously equipped. Also why isnt ESC on the base model?
"Honda is demonstrating that you can get 40+mpg, along with the lower emissions of a hybrid, for under 20K, what does it take to be cutting edge? Any American company would love to have a car that does that. Honestly, I wish they did."
The mileage is good. There is no disputing that. My position is that if you care about design or performance or features you will be disappointed. Again, I dont see why the $20k is such a big deal when the 2009 Prius can be had for $23k-$24k with more standard equipment. I think we need to see the final pricing on the 2010 PRius and Insight before making a final determination. If the new Prius starts around $24k my guess is many hybrid fans will spend the dough for the superior car.
OS,
You gotta wait til the pricing is out I think to make any conclusions on value.
In the Insight/Prius face-off, I'll admit I've been a bit of a Prius snob, because of its superior mileage and family sized cabin. But I'm warming up to the Insight and if I was single would probably consider it. Joe W. did a good job of pointing out that Honda had many of the Prius styling elements first, so you really can't fault Honda on the allegation of copying. So we'll have to see where it's priced. I have a feeling that an Insight with options will be well into Prius territory, based on the fact that the Civic Hybrid currently has a base price above the Prius.