I prefer smaller cars too but the bigger is better thing is hard-wired into the American brain. We seem to buy everything but electronics by the pound. People are using the same logic for the Prius as they do to supersize their meal at McDonalds. EDIT: I would consider a Insight to be a large car for what I need a vehicle for --- transporting a single person to work and back.
"Roomier" is perhaps a more apt description. The Insight and gen2 Prius appear similar from the outside. (I do not know the stats), yet the Prius feels larger inside. Because I would like to lay my bicycle inside - leaving both wheels on & the seats folded down flat- I brought a tape measure along for both test drives. The Prius is 3 inches longer at approx 65 inches. Enough to make a difference for me. That aside, the Prius had better power and smoother electric transitions. Add to that the better quality interior and superior mpg, and the Prius is an easy choice, especially the '010 model sight unseen. I did like the Honda's dash and nice colors.
Adric: I see your point, but I don't think that is what some here meant. Obviously bigger is not always better, but in this case some will argue that the Prius may provide an example where, at least in their minds, people will get something that is not only better but also happens to be of meaningfully better value for not much more money. As an extreme, the hummer represents a type of wasteful excess the Prius just cannot and does not subscribe to. Cheers; MSantos
I think the Prius and Insight are both good cars. They are both a step in the right direction toward reduced carbon emissions. Honda and Toyota are both excellent automobile makers. It comes down to a personal choice as to what a person wants and needs and what they want to spend their money on.
Bigger is better when you are going from a compact to mid-size and you need that extra space. Remember, mid-size cars have the largest market share. However, if you are going from mid-size to super jumbo size, then I agree with your point. A compact car costs $5k-$6k less than a mid-size car. You can see this holds true in traditional cars such as Accord -> Civic and Camry -> Corolla. Using that as a baseline, the Insight should cost $5k-$6k less than the Prius. However, the real cost difference came out to $505 with Prius having a lot more "hybrid exclusive premium" features. Normally if you down-size the car, you save money on gas because you sacrifice room with a more fuel efficient engine. When will the Insight save gas over the Prius? Never! That's another red flag. We are saying the Prius delivers more bang for the buck, especially if you add the gas saving in the long run.
I would not call it a "red flag" since saving gas alone is not everyone's only criteria for choosing one vehicle over another. And unless you are asking that everybody look at the world through our optics, we are simply ignoring what truly drives consumer choice. As an example: Could I buy a Insight II for personal use? Nope. Sorry. My "private use" priority is AT-PZEV + Tier 2-Bin 2 (or better). Saving gas is just a consequence of my primary choice. Guess what, the Insight just won't make that mark. Is that a red flag? If it is (which is not), it is for me alone; but certainly not for everyone else. Cheers; MSantos
The red flag is simply against the "conventional wisdom", not our green optics. The conventional wisdom goes: a smaller and lighter car is more fuel efficient than a larger and heavier car. I am for more choices but not all the choices. Insight makes a better choice than a non-hybrid. In my opinion, with many valid reasons, Prius makes a better choice than the Insight. If a smaller Prius come out, it may even be a better choice but we won't have that choice for a few years.
Sure. Its just that the notion of a "Red flag" is pretty strong and in the eyes of some it can look like a cut-down for anyone making a choice for reasons that we do not (or cannot) relate to. Frankly, even though I am not buying an Insight II, I am sure to enjoy the result of its presence in our market. Dang, I actually want more and more people to buy it. Why? Because I want to replace my Prius pool with 2010 models at the lowest price possible ... and also because we're all collectively better if people buy cars that are better than the other 95% on our roads today. Cheers; MSantos
