Test Drive: 2010 Honda Insight LX

Oh No.

Its Greg Wilson again.

Nice guy I am sure... but once again, that it is yet another AFCD that tells the whole story.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

I don't know anything about Greg Wilson, but I thought the article covered the car very well. I stopped by a local Honda dealer yesterday and took a long look at the new Insight, so it's features were fresh in my mind when I read his article. It should sell well with it's lower than Prius price. They had a couple of black LX Insights out side and a white EX model on the floor with a sticker price of about 22k. The front seats are comfortable and the space is adiquate, but the back seat area is tight compared to the Prius. He made the comment about hitting his head getting out. Well, I banged my head twice and I am only 5'-9". (Looks like I would have learned the first time doesn't it?)

Compared to the gen II Prius, the dash is very "busy". I felt much more at home when I got in my Prius and drove away. It rained all day yesterday, so I didn't ask for a test drive, but having owned an 03 Civic Hybrid for almost 5 years before I got the Prius in 07, I know pretty well how it will drive.

Thanks for pointing the way to that article, it was good to read it right after seeing the car in person.

 

I will still most likely buy a 2010 Prius IV because I want some of the upscale options and the higher mpg/lower emissions. But I drove an Insight EX yesterday, and thought it was much nicer than some of the online reviews (independent of here) have concluded.

It is smaller and the dash is a little busy, although I'm not sure I like the placement of the info on the 2010 Prius, guess I'm just used to everything centered in front of the driver.

But the reviews seemed to say the Insight was relatively rough and noisy and would be uncomfortable on long trips. It was much quieter than I expected, and it handles better than a Prius.

However, I was a little surprised that I could got not the mileage reported on the Insight dash to go above 39 mpg even though it was showing me the green background halo which is supposed to indicate efficient driving. There were 3 people in the car though, might have been a factor.

All I am saying is, not surprisingly as Honda is the other great carmaker today, if you want a nice hybrid with all the basic creature comforts at the lowest price on the market - the Insight is a nice option. If you want the ultimate, the Prius is still the one.

 

The Insight can be a very quiet car provided that you leave your heavy foot at home and you stick to city asphalt... because it starts getting noisy as soon as you go above 2000+ RPM. It is very rev happy (as most Hondas are) and given its intended tuning as a power assist hybrid, it is best experienced when driven by the instruments.

Yes, the new Insight is a bit noisy at highway speeds as the RPMS once again will climb higher as the speed mounts. For some folks, cruising at 60+ MPH in this can be a bit too noisy but if you keep your speeds below 50 MPH then it is comparable to the cabin noise levels you would get from a Gen II Prius at those same speeds.
In my experience, the HI-II is not a highway car and is mainly targeted at people likely to dwell mainly in an urban/suburban setting.

My perennial pet peeve with some automotive journalists (especially the Canadian Media and most AJAC members):
Most automotive reviewers do not pay for their own gas and don't treat their review cars as if they owned them. Their incentive to learn (as an owner would) is low to non-existent and given the lack of experience in these cars and anything "fuel economy" in addition to the short testing periods, they are seriously and chronically ill equipped to tell you what these cars can do in the hands of someone who's done their research.
The best you can do is book one for a test drive and see it for yourself.

Cheers;

MSantos