2010 Honda Insight
by Jim Prueter -03/2009

All-new Insight a hybrid for less money

Honda’s all-new hybrid for 2010 isn’t the first Insight offered by the Japanese automaker. That would be the original Honda Insight introduced in 1999, which broke new ground as the first gasoline-electric hybrid car sold in the U.S.

The first Insight, which was discontinued in 2006 after being dominated by Toyota’s Prius, was a science fiction looking two-seater two-door coupe with an all-aluminum body and full wheel fender skirts on the rear wheels. It had a base price of $18,880 with fuel mileage of 61 miles per gallon in the city, 70 highway. 

In 2003 Honda introduced a hybrid version of its popular Civic, which is still available and has a mileage rating of 40 mpg city/45 highway. Honda added a hybrid Accord for 2005 but discontinued it in 2007. It only got about two miles per gallon better than the standard Accord, leaving potential buyers unwilling to pay a premium price for so little promise of better mileage.

The new Insight gasoline-electric hybrid is offered as a five-door sedan with two trim levels: LX ($19,800 plus $670 shipping) and EX ($21,300 plus $670 shipping). That’s less than the base 2009 Toyota Prius, which starts at $22,720. Insight is classified as a compact vehicle, while Prius is mid-sized.

The EX seems to be a better buy than the LX, adding alloy wheels (rather than wheel covers) cruise control, paddle shift, steering-wheel audio controls, vanity mirrors and map lights, heated side mirrors, stability and traction control and variable-speed intermittent wipers for the extra $1500. Add a navigation system to the EX and the base price jumps to $23,100.

But Insight’s gas mileage, rated at 40 city/43 highway/41 overall is disappointing and no match for the Prius, which registers 48/45/46 respectively. Also, Toyota has a new 2010 Prius in the works, which is a bit larger inside, and a promised 50 mpg. I averaged 48.2 mpg driving my EX tester on highways and in the suburbs, not much stop and go and on flat surfaces.

The folks at Honda pitch the Insight as an affordable small car that just happens to use hybrid technology for improved fuel economy. The Insight is indeed a full-fledged hybrid, powered by a 1.3-liter inline four-cylinder 88-horsepower gasoline engine on its own (98 horsepower when combined with the 13 horsepower electric supplement that Honda calls Integrated Motor Assist). Honda tells us that because the two motors don’t peak at the same speed, simply adding the two is incorrect. A continuously variable automatic is the only available transmission. The EX trim models have shifter paddles linked to software that simulates a seven-speed transmission, but I thought it a reach to tell the difference.

Because Honda’s system relies more on the gasoline engine with the electric motor as a supplement, versus Toyota’s Synergy Drive System, which tends to excel in stop-and-go city driving aided by its more powerful electric motor. Therefore, Insight gets the best gas mileage on the highway, Prius in the city.

Even starting the vehicles is different. Twisting the Insight key brings the gasoline engine to life whereas in the Prius, the electric motor activates first.

There’s a green button “ECON” on the dash to the left of the steering wheel that, when in the “on” position can further enhance the fuel efficiency of the vehicle by giving up some performance. It also provides feedback about driving style via a 3D-appearing background within the digital speedometer readout in a separate window on top of the dash. As you drive, the background changes color from green to blue to reflect how efficiently (green) or inefficiently (blue) the driver is accelerating or braking.

The driver’s results are continuously tracked. Fuel-economy ratings are shown per drive cycle and on a lifetime basis in the form of a plant-leaf graphic on the display. Up to five leaves can be “earned” as the driver demonstrates a fuel-efficient driving style. It also takes into account whether you’re driving in mountains, on flat surfaces or a combination of the two.

At first glance, it appears that Honda ripped off its exterior styling from the Prius. Both feature the same high-tail humpback profile and a lower window in the back of the rear hatch. But Honda says the shape was formed in wind tunnel testing, not by copying the Prius.

Overall, Insight is smaller than Prius and felt more “economy” than both Prius and Civic Hybrid. Front seat room is ample and comfortable with plenty of seat adjustment. Back-seat passengers will find it difficult to gain entry without bumping their noggin when they get in or out. Once in, rear-seat headroom is at a premium and non-existent if you’re even close to being a six-footer or taller.

We had few complaints on how the Insight drove, rode and handled. It is generally fun to drive. We can best describe it as driving more like a conventional car than a hybrid. We loved the tight steering radius that rendered it easy to maneuver and park. The ride is a bit on the firm side thanks to low-resistance tires to help fuel economy. We felt only the slightest bit of the annoying hybrid shudders and shimmies that are prevalent with most competitor hybrid drivetrains when the engine starts and stops during cycles.

Standard safety gear includes dual stage front airbags, front side and side curtain airbags, front active head restraints, anti-lock braking and electronic brakeforce distribution. The Insight has not been rated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

With most Prius owners in their 50s, Honda says it’s trying to make hybrid vehicles available and affordable to a much younger audience (millennials  in their late teens and 20s).

But compared to the ’09 Prius, it doesn’t seem as though Honda priced the Insight aggressively enough. Prius is a larger more refined vehicle than Insight and promises an even better 2010 model. Time will tell if Honda has enough of a price advantage to sell the 100,000 Insights it’s projecting during its first year.