If the Prius didn't kill the Insight, the Camry will

One would think that Toyota would adopt direct injection to improve FE...

To respond to the title of the thread, I don't think folks considering the Insight would cross-shop with HyCam. The price difference between the two (in the US) is far too great. Insight is WAY cheaper.

I finally did test drive an '10 or '11 Insight at an event recently and wasn't impressed at all. The ICE also didn't shut down for unknown reasons at couple of the stops (the ICE was warmed up already from other drives befor mine). The salesman was puzzled too.

The '12 HCH felt a lot more refined and less cheap... albeit with a significantly higher price.

 

Yup. Their next gen concept1 has DI and it was achieving 40% thermal efficiency. This is an improvement over Gen3 (38%) and Gen2 (37%).

Concept2 with turbo charge is getting more than 45% efficiency!

Source

I wonder what Honda has in the pipeline when those HSD engines hit production.

 

I think since Prius c is coming out, the next Gen Prius will move upscale, bigger, since it is expected to outsell the Camry, and probably with new battery technology. I really would like to know more about this battery.

Toyota could have 600-mile, solid state battery ready by 2015-2020

 

Honda does have a real Atkinson like engine available in their home generators. The linkaging is different, but it gives all the benefits of the original, unlike Atkinsonized Ottos. They also sold some of the leanest running engines. That allowed the Civic VX from the '90s to get near Prius numbers and Insight 1 to be the mileage champ.

Honda has dropped the ball on the car side though. Except for the original Insight, none of their cars have interested me since the nineties. Of course, you can't buy a Toyota lawn mower, and Toyota doesn't have a cool robot or jets. Honda has the edge if they turn James Bond villain, and want to take over the world.

 

nice car

 

IMO, nothing killed the Insight except the Insight itself.

Smaller, less refined, less efficient, and IMO not as technically advanced as HSD and The Prius.

It didn't fill a niche in the market...it fell into a chasm.

I own a Honda...I like Honda. Good Automobile Company. And I'd go so far as to say a lot of the criticism of The Insight probably isn't fair. But Honda didn't shoot for the moon...they played it conservative. In the automotive industry? If you aren't moving forward you are falling behind. Honda's hybrid products IMO are falling behind.

 

who's aren't? there's toyota (who snatched trw's power split device before anyone else thought of it) and there's everybody else.

 

Love mine! Looks like I'm heading for 45 mpg city (90%) on the first tank. Average temp has been in the high 30s the past couple of weeks.

 

Some talk of Prius family outselling Camry line in US .... mmmm it will close in, but I don't think it will overtake anytime soon. Why? Size, load capacity and cost.

Prius c is small, more of a niche. Plug-in, expensive, more niche. Prius, not really a growing family of 5 vehicle. 4 maybe.

Prius v matches up better to Camry interior space and load capacity, but so many will snag the $22k LE over a $26.5k Prius v.
A so many people here see the 4 door trunked sedan as the ubiquitous family car. It's ingrained.

Insight. Wow. What to say? Well, Prius c will help to bury Insight II a little more.