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Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - Printable Version

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Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - PeterB - 07-02-2011

Interesting car... I'm curious how it compares with a Prius. I know there are a number of Prius-lovers here, so I'm wondering if any of you have any impressions about the Insight versus Prius...


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - A-Polly - 07-02-2011

Peter, what year was the Insight? And what did you think of it? I'm sorta kinda maybe in the market for a used car and see a couple of Insights for sale. Hadn't really considered them before, but in my area they are cheaper than the Priuses (e.g., a 2010 Insight for $17k vs. $25k for similar Prius) and I am wondering how they compare.

Not that I am quite ready to give up the old Volvo habit, nor do I really have that much money to spend anyway, but curious...

Thanks!


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - PeterB - 07-02-2011

2010 Insight EX. I was sort of surprised that, in driving it, you wouldn't have known it was a hybrid... handled like a "regular car". I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by this, I know it's not a full hybrid, but still...

The hatchback/rear visibility was shockingly poor. I don't know if that's in common with the Prius... that'd take some getting used to.

Backseat was beyond cramped. I'd feel really sorry for anyone sitting back there, unless they're really petite.

On the plus side, the thing was a pleasure to drive. The dash is something out of some geek's insane dream. I paired my iPhone with the BT in the car without too much trouble. It's really something else to literally be having a conversation with your car's computer ("Compyoooter, I want to pair, dammit!" LOL ... I felt like Scotty in Star Trek 4)

I'm also considering the Honda Fit, I know how much the people here like it. But the Fit doesn't have either the Insight or Prius' fuel efficiency, I don't think.


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - freeradical - 07-02-2011

Are you sure you want a hatchback? A car with a trunk is better to hide your valuables.


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - JEBB - 07-02-2011

I took one a test drive last summer and the negative I found, here in the heat of an NC summer, is that the engine and the A/C shut down when I stopped.


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - jdc - 07-02-2011

My uncle brought a 2010 Prius last year -- he got some of the upgrades -- nav, larger wheels, but no sunroof. Paid $32K for it. Ouch.

Just out of curiosity -- have you done the math on the fuel savings?


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - PeterB - 07-02-2011

freeradical wrote:
Are you sure you want a hatchback? A car with a trunk is better to hide your valuables.

True, but nobody in their right mind who lives where I am would leave anything in their car anyway. ::o

JEBB wrote:
I took one a test drive last summer and the negative I found, here in the heat of an NC summer, is that the engine and the A/C shut down when I stopped.

Hmmm... was that a Prius or an Insight? That'd be a serious problem for me, given the temps down here. I did notice that on "Econ" mode, the AC was seriously weak, but not so bad as to be intolerable... which is actually not bad, considering it was about 95 outside when I was test driving.


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - Grateful11 - 07-02-2011

I've heard that about the Insight no AC when stopped in traffic.

Top Recommended Hybrids

http://www.edmunds.com/hybrid/2011/buying-guide.html

The difference above isn't quite accurate, the Insight starts at $18.2K and the Prius starts at $23.5K. Our
2010 Prius stickered for $24.9K, we have about 10K miles on it in almost 2 years and we're getting a solid
50mpg city and hwy. We drove it to a funeral home Thur. evening about 1 hour away with 4 grown
adults, my brother ands sister in the back seat raved over the ride quality and leg room they had.

You couldn't pry our Prius away from my wife, she loves the car it's a series III main upgrade over the 2 is
the JBL subwoofer, it rocks. Don't forget there's nice alloy wheels under the Prius wheelcovers that only
needs a center cap to set them off. It's not been in for anything but oil changes, 0W-20 Synthetic, we
use Mobil 1. We supply the oil and the dealer supplies the filter and they change the oil $20.

Personally I think Honda tried to copy the Prius and it would sell better if they had came up with their own
design. Neither have good visibility out the back glass.

I just did a search of the Prius inventory across the Southeast and there's 859 available, the absolute
cheapest is $24.3K, that's a series II .

Personally I'd look hard at the Prius, it's proven , the resale value is there, just be prepared to answer a
lot of questions from by standers and you'll get a lot of stares, you'd think people would be used to
them by now. I was a little leery of the CVT transmission but it's so quiet and there's no shifts so it's
seamless as they say.

200,000-mile Toyota Prius keeps on going
http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/04/autos/toyota_prius_battery_life/index.htm

The 200,000 Mile Club
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/57091-200-000-mile-club.html

SE inventory
http://www.scottclarkstoyota.com/new_inventory.htm?reset=InventoryListing

Prius
http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/

Insight
http://automobiles.honda.com/insight-hybrid/


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - PeterB - 07-02-2011

Wow, thanks Grateful. A whole lot of useful info there... I'm now looking at the Fit, to see how it compares...


Re: Test drove a Honda Insight yesterday... - sunfalcon - 07-02-2011

Why not just go with the Civic? I've got a 2008 Civic EX and the gas mileage is excellent. Easily get 40mpg on the road and around 32-35 in mixed city/highway driving.

The Civic gets better mileage than the Fit, has more room, and is a bigger car. I looked at both the Fit and the Civic and I am glad I chose the Civic. If I could get an Insight with a Sunroof, I might be tempted...