2010 Honda Insight: She Said, She Said
The new Honda Insight has gotten a lot of negative buzz lately despite being a capable hybrid. Part of the problem is comparisons to the Toyota Prius. Here are two more voices weighing in on the little hybrid from Honda and whether or not it holds up to life in the big city.
Beth: The best way to describe the Honda Insight’s looks is to say it’s a mini-Prius, which is also a pretty apt description of the car itself. It’s like the Prius, just less so — less efficient, less refined, less money (it costs about $2,000 less than Toyota’s signature hybrid). I averaged about 44 mpg in my time with the Insight, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but it felt hard-earned to me.
Amanda: The acceleration was a bit sluggish and the interior was pretty stripped down, but if your primary interest when buying a new car is to find one that gets incredible gas mileage, then I’d say the Insight fits the bill. And whether it’s in the Insight or the Prius, I just can’t get used to the split rear window — I always feel like I’m missing a big chunk of road right behind me.
Beth: Visibility was definitely one of the Insight’s major drawbacks. The split rear view is obnoxious, and something about the placement of the B-pillar and the position of my seat made checking my blind spot a lot more difficult than it needed to be. The bigger deal to me, though, was how long it took to get going again once I’d stopped. I’m obviously talking about less than a second here, but those moments seem quite long when you’re turning left in front of traffic. I found myself rethinking my timing on those turns rather quickly after getting behind the wheel of the Insight. I had no such hesitation in the Prius.
Amanda: I think I was primarily disappointed by some of the interior features. For all the indicator lights and special screens you could scroll through to get information on your mileage and hybrid function, I thought a tiny bit more could’ve gone into a few select bells and whistles. I wasn’t looking for luxurious leather interior or seat warmers or anything, but a backup camera (especially given the limited view out the back) would’ve been nice.
Beth: Definitely. And as much as I love the USB input, the system was painstakingly slow to switch between playlists or other menus when I plugged in my iPod. That said, the cargo space felt plentiful for such a small car, and other than the hesitation when accelerating from a stop, the driving experience really wasn’t bad. At the end of the day, if you’re looking to save gas, this is still one of the best choices out there; I’d just have a hard time recommending it over a Prius. If you’re set on a hybrid and the drop-dead MSRP your budget will allow is $19,800, I don’t think you’d regret buying an Insight. If you can manage to stretch things just a bit further, though, a new Prius would probably be worth the effort.
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if you compare trim levels of the Prius and Insight that have stability control, the price gap thins quite a bit. the savings then pretty much evaporate when looking at the two models side-by-side. the Prius is larger, faster, more comfortable, better finished, and more efficient than the Insight. it may cost a bit more, but stability control is too big of an omission to think that $2,000 less is a bargain. both vehicles do not handle well at all, and therefore stability control is an absolute must.
keep in mind, this is coming from someone that would never buy a prius.
If the Insight was priced $4k-$7k lower than the Prius, they definitely would have had more consumers buying them because of the lower MSRP, but since the lowest trim Prius is only 2 grand more, and is far more fuel efficient, consumers can recoup the cost rather fast. Maybe if Honda developed the Fit Hybrid to get 60+ mpg, and priced it under $15k, they could have a hit on their hands.
personally, i think Honda needs to develop a full-hybrid system instead of the mild-hybrid system they have going on now.
Although I'll admit the Prius is a better car, you'd still likely never see savings even if gas hit $4/gallon again.
Why do environmentalists only care about what comes OUT of the tailpipe? Energy must be used to create the batteries, computer components, and... itself, it is a new car, after all. My trusty ol' Civic with a 5-speed gets 45 MPG on the highway... I'll stay with that as my gas-saver. The Fit is too nice a car for the price... I think Honda will discontinue the Insight after the Fit Hybrid comes out for reasons discussed above.
JM, just a thought -
Honda does not seem to like full hybrids because they cost too much - both in terms of production costs and in terms of environmental costs. As I said, nobody seems to care how the car was produced - just as long as it gets 50 MPG. And when Honda's other cars get the same MPG on the highway as the hybrids (I know not in the city) it makes you questions the worth of hybrids for highway cruisers.
That being said, for high MPG, I realize how the full hybrid system is (for now) the most superior system out there.
Honda is overcharging for the Insight. At 18K, it would be a good deal but if they want it to be a success they'll have to price it at 16 to 17K. The Insight is not in the same class as the Prius, but that's not to say it isn't a desirable car for a young person on a budget. Sales figures seem to prove that people are stretching their budgets a little to get the Prius, which selling at a rate of nearly 10 to 1 compared to the Insight. Honda needs to price the Insight aggressively, and do it quick to salvage their sales goals.
No body says anything like, wow they made that insight look EXACTLY like a prius.....honda loves to copy style, rigline/avalanche.....