Test drive - Insight and Fusion

I have yet to drive a Fusion but am searching for a replacement vehicle. My wife has a Prius which is mostly great sans Toyota's option packages......

Our dealings with dealers were one Toyota dealer was great and another would NOT leave us alone until I said I would turn them in to the NY Attorney General. They were THAT bad.

It's fairly typical that dealers suck no matter the brand. I had a very bad experience with a Chevy dealer when I would not buy from them.

I just wish you could walk in to a dealer and be treated like a resonsible adult from the start. To this date I have made my best deal on a car wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Not one person at my Pontiac dealer questioned me when I walked in the door to order a Trans Am. I left spending over 30K and all were happy. 10 years later they still know me by first name and it has been the most reliable car I have ever owned.

I hope the Prius can best that.

Please don't base a car upon an untrained sales person but the car itself (I try to arm myself with knowledge first). Now if the service dept sucks.... well then.....

 

I like the Insight, and also what Honda is wanting to do with it, but I think its laughable that they call it a Prius fighter. Even the Gen.II Prius can take it down. I drove, and rode in a new Insight and was not at all impressed with it. The seats sit too low and are very uncomfortable. All the plastics they used feel very cheap and weak which can lead to cracking in the future. Overall fit and finish was just not good. Its very small in the back, and crowded in the front, not to mention that it is incredibly under powered. 98hp is what they call for and EPA estimates are 40/43 which is funny, cause the Civic Hybrid gets better. If you ask me, I would just go ahead and buy a base Prius over a fully loaded Insight. The Prius feels more high quality, and has more power, and performance for only $2,000 more. NOW, if Honda invested in a "full Hybrid" system that kicked butt, and was super cool, and got great MPG's then i'd be interested.

 

I tested the fusion and milan hybrids. They are both excellent cars. Miles ahead of the prius in comfort, fit and finish. However, 50mpg for several thousand dollars less quickly put me back into the seat of a Prius.

 

I was all set to buy a Fusion Hybrid. I like the design. I like SYNC. I like the dash. I like the way it drives. I was even able to overcome the fact that the only way I was going to get one without a sunroof was as a "stripper' (damn marketing people). What I could not overcome was the handbrake lever digging into the side of my thigh. If the Fusion had come with a foot-actuated parking brake, a la the Prius, I probably wouldn't be here right now.

 

the insight was "tinny" and "weenie"
the fusion was too expensive and lacked utility
the fit was a little too small
the prius 3 was just the right value

 

I have previously posted my "brush with danger" concerning the insight...put down deposite almost purchased...then I realized there was no rear cupholder...I ran screaming...I have a 7 year old.