Do you know what Honda Insight owners are talking about recently?

The base model of a 2010 Honda Insight is $19,800...the base model of a 2010 Prius is $21,000. $1200 is not a big difference in sticker price.

And to be honest...the older model Honda Insights with the extended body wheel covers are far superior to the new model Honda Insights in terms of economy...and better FE than the Prius too. If I was going to buy a Honda Insight...it would be a Gen I model.

2006 Honda Insight near Lansing

The EPA on the Gen I Honda Insights was 59/62 and for my money the most efficient car to be produced in a long, long time.

 

Keep in mind that the A/C in the Prius runs off of the electric motor, NOT the gas engine. So, some of us more 'seasoned' types may need to break an old concept that using A/C hurts mileage.

Joe

 

I test drove the Insight before buying my Prius and the Prius is a WAY nicer car...the Insight felt small and cheap and was a lot noisier. No contest for me...if I couldn't afford the $22k I paid for my II I could see the Insight as an option, but the Prius is definitely worth more than the Insight...I'm all for it though, competition is good, options are good, etc...living in LA I just want everyone to drive a small, clean car...

 

Yep, I haven't noticed any real difference in city or highway mpg while the a/c is on.

 

I remember when they came out I couldn't find any of the Insight I on the lots around here to test drive. They were pretty scarce. They were bought up as soon as one hit the lot. They do get terrific gas mileage

 

Even on a non-hybrid gas guzzler, the AC uses less energy at highway speed than the drag from leaving the windows down does.

I like the Insight I as well, apparently so do others. Try finding one at a good price, I have tried.
I too drove the new Insight, I badly wanted it to be a Prius "killer", sadly it wasn't, but you have to remember, it's really a first attempt, the I was a completely different car.
This the Gen III Prius and Toyota has been refining it for years. Give Honda a few more years and maybe the Insight will be the Prius killer that I hoped for.

 

Also, you have to go one step up to the Insight EX to be similar to the Prius II. There's still a few feature differences between those, mostly in favor of the Prius IMO. The EX is still a little cheaper, though, but the difference is less. Presumably, the Prius I will be more of a direct comparison to the Insight LX in terms of features and pricing.

 

But that is not 'designing to the test' that is reducing weight to get better mpg. That is what we want. They had a target of 50mpg so they had to engineer around that target.

 

The 1st Generation Insight only sold 14-18k units (depending on what numbers you believe from Honda) and they were and still are extremely scarce. The have become somewhat of a collector car these days for hypermilers (to either buy them as driveable units or to part them out to replace parts in their own cars...many of which have been swapped into other non-Insight Honda cars because of their efficiency). I know of many Insights that are sitting in a guy's backyard that he scraps for "Gen I Insight" drivers. A friend of mine drove to his house last weekend to pick up parts to convert his current gasoline Honda to a hybrid using Insight parts.

The Gen I Insight was a truly unique car in terms of fuel effieciency and its heavy use of aluminum and plastic parts instead of steel made it incredibly light (1800-2000 lbs). However, with the launch of the Prius in the US shortly after the Insight was launched Toyota proved to be the superior company and led us to where we are today...with Honda trying to play catch-up with it's new 2010 Insight.

I have only seen 2 Gen I Insights in my area and I failed to track down the owner both times I saw them. Once in a parking lot where I could not identify the owner and another on the road where I chased the guy down but was unable to get close enough to get his attention...better luck next time I guess.

I drive a Prius because I think it is far superior to the Insight...but those Gen I insights are pretty cool cars.

 

Actually, the EPA only tests a fraction of cars each year - 10-15% - they rely on the manufacturers to do their own testing.

How Vehicles Are Tested

I don't know if it's possible to look up what cars have undergone official EPA tests or not, and what the penalty is for reporting numbers are not reproducible at the EPA labs.

 

Several have reported that when their wife drives, they expect about 5 mpg less. The same is true for me.

Could it be that Insight drivers are the wives of Prius owners?:drum:

 

I don't think so. There isn't much of a comparison, the Prius is superior in almost every way over the Insight. Size, comfort, mpg, refinement, etc. The only advantage of the Insight is price, and that is what the Insight was designed for. The Insight really might rival a Prius for milage, but I don't know what Honda was thinking because as far as I can tell, the Civic Hybrid gets better milage than the Insight.

The real comparison is the 2010 Prius to the 2005 Prius. Unfortunately, things are much less decisive for the 2010. Milage is at best the same for the 2010. Size may have increased ever so slightly, but nothing dramatic. The comfort level has probably been increased, and there are lots of new "fluff" items to drain the Prius purchaser's pocketbook.

But really, what Toyota has done is become an American company, trying to nickel and dime the purchaser to death. The removal of the 3-door Smart Key System is a perfect example, a step down from the 2005, and would have only cost a few dollars to add to each car, and the price would have been gladly paid by the consumer. But instead, they saw a way to try to grab some more money by bundling it with a bunch of other "fluff." It used to be that you'd go down to the dealer and check off the boxes of the different accessories you wanted, then wait while they built YOUR car for YOU. Now, you are supposed to thank Toyota for selling you a car by writing them an additional check to their dealers for $2000 or $3000.

The success of Toyota was thinking long-term. They went with a superior car at a fair price for the technology. The Prius really did "change the world." It appears that the success may have spoiled them, and now they're just as greedy as any American company. And ultimately, it was short-term greed that killed the American companies.

 

Keep in mind that a lot of the little stuff is held intentionally for a mid-cycle refresh. 2-3 years from now, you'll see stuff like that 3-door smartkey, extra cupholders and some other fluff to entice those on the fence or those wanting the latest thing.

 

Now there is a thread there about this thread about another thread there.

They seem to have a low opinion of PC and its posters.
Well I think the Insight exterior colors are ugly - so there!!!

 

FWIW, I have never gotten less than 51 calculated, actual, real McCoy, no BS MPG since I bought the Prius over 4000 miles ago! And I drive mostly on the interstate, 75 miles each way every day to work and back. Lately I've been scratching 60 MPG and the car has improved on every tank (and as I learn to drive it better). If it weren't for adverse conditions on my commute, I can maintain over 62 MPG at 62-64 MPH on flat land for long stretches. I wouldn't say I do it without trying, but I'm not 'obsessed' with it either. I also have noticed that local city driving gives much higher MPG, so I really don't understand how anyone can get less than 50MPG unless they're trying to get bad mileage.