Dumped Insight after 3 months for Prius !

Head bumping depends more on the car you are used to than the car you actually hit your head on. I've banged my head several times on my Prius, not getting in but reaching in from the outside to get something off of the seat. My previous car curved inward toward the top of the windows. The Prius is basically straight up. I figure about three more good head bangs and I will start to remember.

 

But Prius has no belt and pulley system. The 'shifting' is done entirely by controlling the relative speeds of two electric motors, not be mechanically shifting anything.

 

Ah, the Insight uses the same system as the Nissan/Infiniti's.

 

So right. I owned a 1976 Checker Marathon that I drove as a NYC taxi. It had 2 jump seats in the back that pulled up for 2 more passengers making a total of 5 people in the back. You could fit a moose through the rear doors yet there were many people who hit their heads when getting into the car. It amazed me.

 

Like I said, "Look at the design of the 'transmission' in the two cars.
Prius is a simple engineering marvel, Insight is a metal clad belt and pulley system. ( think snowmobile )"

The Insight CVT 'transmission' may work well and be both smooth and dependable.
I don't know.
I just found the Insight approach to be 'questionable' and Prius to be 'logically simple'.

Read:

InsightCentral.net - Encyclopedia - Honda Insight CVT

I thought this was well explained:

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ta+prius+psd&ndsp=20&hl=en&sa=N&start=40&um=1

... and a good comparison on how both hybrid systems work:

http://www.insightcentral.net/KB/compare/prius-powertrain.html

This is a great PSD simulator to play with:

Prius driving simulator

I look at the Prius CVT, and I smile.
I look at the Insight CVT, and I want to start laughing.
Maybe it's just me .....

 

ohhhhh Ikea(note to self)

 

To the OP -

Did you test drive the Insight prior to buying? Seems the things you dislike are things that would be very apparent on a test drive...?

 

I've owned 4 Honda's and 2 Toyota's in my time, Honda's have been just as reliable and a slightly better value. However, I would agree there is no comparison in the value proposition between a 2010 Insight and a 2010 (or 2009) Prius. Aside from the small size/mediocre performance --- the MPG estimates for the Insight are shockingly low compared to the Prius. And sales figures have shown the Prius to be the overwhelming favorite in North America at least.

 

OK I don't consider myself as much of a gear head but Audi/Nissan/Honda uses similar belt based CVT technology so I won't discredit it outright.

P.S. the insight central link is broken.

 

The lower gas mileage (5-10 I have read) in the Insight is inexplicable given the lower HP. Perhaps, light footed driving will bring out the gas economy from the smaller engine.
However, the Insight is thousands less so the value proposition is still there.

 

From the moment the first driving reviews were released, it appeared that the Insight should be amenable to hypermiling at moderate speeds, performing closer to Prius than the EPA numbers would suggest. But unlike the Civic Hybrid, its CVT was not geared tall enough to hold the RPM down at expressway speed, a problem shared with nearly all American-market non-hybrids. And with the Insight aiming to undercut the Prius on price rather than match it on performance, some of the more expensive efficiency features of the Civic IMA were cut out of the Insight.

For city mileage, Honda's IMA simply cannot match the Toyota and Ford systems.

 

Crikey almost the same as me n the girlfriend at the same time, we came to the same conclusions and chose the Prius despite being about £3500 more expensive.

 

We dumped 2 SUV's for 2 used hybrids. If WE would have picked the lesser of 2 hybrids? We'd have probably stuck with the decision. But after getting about 15mpg average between 2 SUV's ... anything was an improvement.

.

 

My understanding, and everyone/anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. But my understanding is that while Honda has a more traditional belt pulley ratio based CVT transmission, Toyota has a planetary gear based transmission that almost for simplicities sake they refer to as a CVT. It's made to act like a CVT but actually it's planetary gear that splits balances the power from the multiple sources available to The Prius. From everything I've read it's a bullet of a transmission and I'd think superior to Hondas belts and pulley CVT.
Most salesmen and Toyota themselves call it a CVT but comparibly it's not the traditional CVT found on most vehicles with CVT's. Do I get bonus points if I say CVT again?

 

I've always been more of a Honda guy, than a Toyota guy, and I was always curious to get a Toyota. I drove the Insight, and liked it. It was an EX with Navigation, and they offered me 2.99% financing. I'd previously bought, and paid off a 1996 Honda Civic DX coupe, stick, so I had experience with Honda Finance. Put 273,000 miles on it before trading it on a 2004 Chevy Impala. Original clutch. I was all ready to sign for the Honda, but asked the salesman to let me drive the Prius, Yaris, and Nissan Versa. He had a 2009 Prius on the lot, so he pulled that up for me, and as soon as I drove it, maybe even got behind the wheel, I knew which one I wanted. Went to Toyota, and lost the Nav, and had to put $1,200 down, plus got 6.99% through a bank, not Toyota Finance, but still got what I wanted. Pay about $8 more per month, but like the Prius better. Bigger, more quiet, peaceful. Nothing against the Honda, just like the 'yota better.

 

Have owned about 5 Accords and was driving a 2004 TSX with 77,000 miles on it and wanted to get a hybrid. Went to drive the Insight as I was excited that Honda was going to finally compete head on with the Prius. I took one look inside from the drivers seat and immediately thought about how cheap and small the interior felt. (knowing there was a lower price point apples-apples). I didn't even take a test drive because I pulled my golf clubs out of my TSX trunk and tried to fit them in sideways under the cargo cover....
Am now a proud owner of a 2010 III w/o Nav as I use a navigator on my phone. I couldn't be happier.

 

SMART move, I have had 15 Hondas over the years, I had 3 this year 2009. Now I have 2 CR-V Guess what I got rid of ..... for my Prius..... You got it,,,, HONDA INSIGHT. After three weeks, I knew I made the worse decision of my life.

 

I did the same as most of you.
Tried the insight, jetta TDI, FFH
I wanted to like the insight. I could have overlooked the cheap plastic interior and lowest mpg, but he deal breaker for me was the lumbar support lump on the seat. After 10 mins of the test drive could not wait to get out of this car.
Next door to Toyota, and at the end of the test drive the CFO agreed with me: we could live with this car.

 

Oh NO.....( While I thought the Insight had slightly better ride and handling,)))) I got rid of my Insight because the ride was so poor and it was a constant fight to keep the car in control at highway speed.There was several other reasons for dumping the worse Honda that I ever bought. After a week or two, it got to the point where I would drive my other car.