Drove the 2010 Insight and other Hondas and decided on the 2009 Prius. Some random thoughts on the experience of driving both, and why (at least to my wife and I) the Prius seemed to be head and shoulders above the Insight: The Prius is a lot "peppier" than the Insight. The insight seemed to struggle to get up a slight incline onto the highway, as well as seemingly minor hills. The cabin noise is higher in the Insight than in the Prius. Size does matter: The Insight seemed smaller on the inside than the Prius. The back seats and luggage space was remarkable larger and more opulent in the Prius. Headroom as well in the back was markedly better in the Prius. The instrument panel on the Insight was definitely more eye catching than on the Prius, but didn't really show all that much valuable information. Maybe a preference, but too much analog for me. The left most gauge displayed "ASST/CHARGE" and the needle would sway between the two when braking, and accelerating, etc... OKAY, fine, but what else can I learn about the ride? The LED display under the speedometer was far too small and didn't show enough data for my liking. Finally, the instrument panel, albeit colorful and over-designed, wasn't all that ergonomic and practical. Switches seemed to be placed in sensible clusters, but without a standard design philosophy. (can you tell that we're design geeks?) If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Insight's exterior design cues are almost stolen from the Prius. Don't get me wrong, we have absolutely loved our Hondas in the past, but almost everything about the Prius in our minds swayed our buying decision. The only thing holding us back (in the end not enough because we bought one) was our trust in Honda, and the unknown experience with Toyota. Oh, and the price... we got a great deal!
hockeySal, Welcome to Priuschat.Thanks for the thumb nail comparison. I think you'll find Toyotas every bit as reliable as Hondas. That said, the Prius does have some particular little concerns that need some attention, such as the 12V battery. It does fine, but can be easily discharged by leaving lights on overnight. Special care is needed when recharging. Use the search function to find out more. You'll find good folks and lots of good info here.
The exterior design is not stolen - it's functional. The Prius is very aerodynamic. There are not a lot of variations of shapes given the platform of four wheels and four doors.
Well, not entirely true. What about the Mercedes Benz "Boxfish?" Worldcarfans Granted it has only two doors, but to make a big deal of that would be quibbling. Read more here: Mercedes-Benz Bionic Concept Vehicle - Worldcarfans
Thanks Rokeby, I have begun reading about the 12V battery and issues regarding the same. I'll use the search function to find the answers I need, but hopefully somewhere here it'll state that the 09 model may have some of those issues mitigated. S
