Back-to-back hybrid smack: Insight vs. Prius

My favorite quote:

ROTFLMAO!

Since the 2001 NHW11 Prius, every single Prius had better City than Highway mileage and substantially so and without an "EV" button. So this writer thinks it is "the EV" button ... STOP STOP MY SIDES ARE HURTING!

Apparently the writer forgot what had been written before in the same article:

I supposed one might prefer one twin over another ... <LOL>

Now I'm an older fellow with significant body mass. When I look at the two, I see acrobats and thin people playing with the Honda while us 'well padded' individuals prefer easy access and a comfortable ride ... including our wallets at the gas pump.

Bob Wilson

 

Ok, so I paid a visit to Autowest Honda, Fremont,CA just to sit in the 2010 Insight and report back here.

The driver's seating is quite good. In full down and back position (the first 5 door hybrid ever in the US with height adjuster), there is really good legroom for my 35 inchers. The seat has noticeable lumbar support and is shaped much like a Honda Civic. There would be no rearview mirror obstruction of traffic. The with seat full down and back is somewhat harder to get in/ out of. I'd take tall friendly seat comfort (what, 98% of your time) along with somewhat harder to get in/out of (2% of time). Option to raise the seat up anyway.

The instument panel is sportier than the Prius, more like a conventional car. The steering wheel telescopes a lot giving a very nice reach to it. You set the steering wheel height to be able to see the round gauge, then the digital speedo above it. The single glove box might be same size as the lower Prius one.

Moving to the back seat with driver's seat in full down/back position ...

rear seat legroom is really cramped in this configuration. 2 clicks forward of the driver's seat improves rear legroom a bit, but not great, front seat legroom is then compromised for me.
Rear headroom is a little less, maybe an inch than the Gen2 Prius. The top of rear window line is about an inch or so lower than the Gen2. The width felt a bit smaller than the Pri. Overall, the rear seat room is less than the Gen 2 Prius.

Cargo room appeared about the same as the Gen2.

Nice looking car from the outside. Fresher look and sportier than the Gen2 Pri. Quite narrow tires (175 width ... my Yamaha FZ1 has 185's). Nice looking alloy wheels on this EX. Disc brakes up front, drum rear.

This Insight EX with Navi was priced at $23,7xx (pretty sure about the 7xx figure, but the bottom line was in $23k range.)

I commented this is a nice looking would that I think will sell well. The salesman said they already sold one today.

So, looks like a job well done by Honda. Will be very interesting to see how it sells against the 2009 and 2010 Prius. I think it might be a very attractive alternative in a lower price bracket.

 

Not suprised reviewer prefers the Insight as the sportier one. I think most driver / car enthusiast types prefer the Honda / Mazda sporty experience over Toyotas.

 

Measuring the cargo length for skis, from the driver seat back to the hatch, I thought it is about 5 inches shorter than Gen2. Spec sheets show its cargo space slightly larger than Gen2, but well short of Gen3.

 

Some of that cargo room could be taken with front seat full back on the Honda. I didn't measure though. Just looked at cargo area with rear seats up. Not exact at all.

 

Toyota has never been accused of making cars sporty. You hear a lot of comments about driving more like an appliance. In general I think that is a fair comment, not just for the Prius, but with most Toyotas. For me it's not an issue, since I find the Prius fun to drive for different reasons.

Tom

 

Never heard of the Toyota Supra? That baby had 320hp.

That car alone brought the infamous "whale tail" aftermarket spoiler to the import car scene (and boy was it ugly on anything but a Supra).


Granted, that's about all I can think of for sporty Toyotas.

 

Well, this discussion seems mostly aimed at cosmetic issues. However, those are important. As an owner of a 2010 Insight myself, I can tell you one of the major reasons for purchasing it over the Prius was the interior layout. I'm sorry, I know the Prius is technologically superior in some ways, but I looked at it from a perspective that the Inisght gets about the same gas mileage, is somewhat cheaper, and the cockpit design is so much more comfortable to me. I've never liked center-oriented designs like the Prius, Echo, or Saturn Ion. Can't stand them.

 

Exactly and I can respect that!! A car a vehicle has to serve the requirements of the buyer AND NOBODY ELSE!

In 2005, we went with a 2003 (NHW11) Prius because we had tested the available hybrids and the Prius matched the access requirements of my wife. She could get in and out without hurting. Other 2005 hybrids were too low or otherwise incompatible with my wife's comfort.

The definition of liberty, freedom, is the right to choose the vehicle that meets our needs ... not someone elses. You've found happiness with an Insight and we with the Prius. We are both happy campers and can respect the other for making a decision that met our respective needs!

Bob Wilson

 

Funny thing, these two hybrids may be the best bets to keep the price of gas down in the next few years. $4 gas was a learning experience for the oil companies and car manufacturers. They learned that the public doesn't buy it. With the threat of hybrids, I expect gas to stay relatively cheap. But then, I also expect the government to force hybrids on the car industry because of Global Warming, as a national security issue. It's complicated, but we could be seeing a change in paradigm for the transportation industry. The Li ion battery may push hybrids into big volume.

 

I think it will be very interesting to see how the Insight does. I hope it is very successful. I kinda almost wish I had waited a little longer, but I'm still happy with my Prius.

I did have a Honda Fit for a while last year and found that while it was handy, and had a sporty feel to it, it was pretty cheap feeling. The doors and body had practically no insulation and road noise at freeway speed was unbelievably loud. I would hope the Insight has a better quality feel. Of course, I had no doubt that if I had kept the Fit, it would have run for several hundred thousand miles!