LA Times - how Insight sales are doing against Prius

[justlurkin]

If the numbers in that LA Times article is true, it looks like the Honda Insight is getting roundly spanked: Honda's Insight hybrid stalls in sales race with Toyota's Prius - Los Angeles Times

[qbee42]

Sounds about right compared to what we are hearing.

Tom

[lamontcranston]

Hi all, first post here as I'm about a month away from a Prius purchase.

I test drove both Insight and Prius and came away with two very different impressions. I'm not surprised that the Insight isn't fairing well because the impression was, "why do I want to buy this car?" The mileage isn't that great, actually fairly close to a Corolla's. The driving experience is so much like other Hondas that it doesn't really register that you're driving something special.

The only upshot is that the local Honda dealer is practically giving them away. They told me that it would be no problem getting one for $18k.

On the other hand, my first experience driving a Prius was something special. It's larger, more luxurious, and gives the driver a lot of the same premium experience you'd get in a high-end Camry or low-end Lexus. Better gas mileage, too, and for me that's the bottom line. I'll make up the price difference with my 36,000 mile per year use pattern.

The dealer promised to be fair on price, too. When I'm ready to trade in my '06 Corolla, I know which car I'll buy (hint: I'm not posting on insightchat.com.)

[jestoy7]

We also looked at the Insight months before the Prius came out and we did not like it. When we got a chance to finally see the new Prius (in person), we were in love at first sight and bought 3 weeks later.

I hope that Honda learns and corrects the Insight. I am a big believer in competition and how that can stimulate new technologies and changes in consumers.

[TonyPSchaefer]

Hi Lamont and welcome to Priuschat.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's great that you took the time to test both vehicles. You can say that you compared the two and made an educated decision based on your impressions.

(this part's not at anyone in particular)
I want to make sure we understand that this is not a competition as far as average consumers are concerned. In fact, it would benefit all of us if the Insight and the Prius were currently competing for the title of "hottest selling car." The more hybrids we can get on the road - and the fewer guzzlers - the better off we all are. I just want to make sure that we have that distinction between reporting the numbers and taking pleasure in seeing something fall short of expectation. I say this because in a year or two I don't want someone stumbling across this post and getting the impression that we're all a bunch of pompous Prius drivers wishing ill to other hybrids.

[cwerdna]

Originally Posted by lamontcranston

. I'm not surprised that the Insight isn't fairing well because the impression was, "why do I want to buy this car?" The mileage isn't that great, actually fairly close to a Corolla's. The driving experience is so much like other Hondas that it doesn't really register that you're driving something special.

The only upshot is that the local Honda dealer is practically giving them away. They told me that it would be no problem getting one for $18k.

On the other hand, my first experience driving a Prius was something special. It's larger, more luxurious, and gives the driver a lot of the same premium experience you'd get in a high-end Camry or low-end Lexus. Better gas mileage, too, and for me that's the bottom line. I'll make up the price difference with my 36,000 mile per year use pattern.

Try telling that to some of the Honda fan boys/defenders/Prius haters over at Honda Insight II - GreenHybrid - Hybrid Cars.

[lamontcranston]

Thanks for the welcome... much appreciated.

I've heard it said that people buy the Prius as a statement. My statement is simple... I think high MPG is its own reward, and making things better for the country and the planet is an extra added bonus. If everyone agreed, there would be a lot more hybrids of all stripes out there.

And cwerdna, I took a quick bop over to that site you mentioned... couldn't help noticing it's a lot smaller than this site, and seems less helpful too.

[Tech_Guy]

The front end of the Insight looks really ugly. It almost looks like they got the guys who designed the Pontiac Aztec to design the front end of the Insight - It just doesn't look right....

Keith

[jestoy7]

We went and looked at the Insight after watching the Top Gear episode on the Honda FCX Clarity. I think the front looks nice, but the rest looks econo. The interior is not good at all and the back seat is not comfortable.

[justlurkin]

Personally, I think it's a good thing Honda is getting trounced so badly with the Insight. That gives them extra incentive to start making improvements so the consumer might get a better car-- We have already seen news articles talking about Honda fast-tracking the improvements they will be making to the Insight, no doubt in response to the poor sales.

And that in turn will ensure Toyota doesn't rest on its laurels-- When the time comes to replace my '07 Prius, I have high hopes Toyota's 4th-generation Prius (2016 model year?) will blow my socks off.