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.
