I think I made a mistake buying the Prius

Neither was a bad choice.

The Prius has a superior hybrid system, while the original Insight is very light and has an extremely efficient, light gas engine.

I've always wondered what the results would be if an HSD powerplant sized to the Insight were dropped into one.

P.S. - it's time to put a hot air intake on the Insight.

 

Jay,
I think you could have chosen a better subject title. As written, it comes across as a probable "this car sucks" type thread which it is not. Any even slightly knowledgable person deciding between the 2006 Prius and Insight knew that the Insight got better MPG.

The fact that you averaged 60 MPG in your Prius BEFORE converting it to a PHEV means you are doing way better than most people. And I suspect you are getting BETTER MPG in the Hymotion Prius than in the Insight. So while you might have chosen to buy an Insight had you known how to drive stick in 2005 doesn't make the Prius purchase a mistake.

I have nothing against the Insight. If one can deal with only 2 seats and less cargo space, it is a good car. At $0.039/mile, it is little more than a pure EV like the Leaf. Too bad Honda screwed it up when they reused the name on the 5 passenger 2010 Insight. Smaller than a Prius and MUCH lower MPG. Even lower than the Civic Hybrid even though the Civic is larger, less aerodynamic and weighs more.

Now that you have learned to drive stick, you can try to get on "The Amazing Race". New season started last night and yet AGAIN someone doesn't know how to drive stick. She was even smoking the clutch!

 

Your love for the Insight is justifiable.

But your Insight isn't being manufactured anymore. Thus it quite frankly simply is not the future.

But Honda should take notice. There's a devote following of classic Insight followers that rightly love the vehicle...because for it's time it was groundbreaking and standard setting.

The mediocrity Honda seems willing to embrace with it's current incarnation of Insight was disappointing to almost everyone.

They should learn from their own history, and learn from Toyota. There's a reason Toyota worked so hard to reach the advertisable benchmark of 50 mpg.

Anyway your reaction is not so odd. I sincerely doubt a decade from now the currently produced Insight will be remembered with as much fondness as the original. And Honda has nobody but themselves to blame for that reality.

 

I predict Jay will have a 100mpg trip next summer, maybe a 100mpg tank.

In warm weather, a 100mpg tank is not that hard if you can cruise at 50 on long trips.

 

Yeah, I agree. It's not so much I made a mistake buying a Prius. But a case of buying this classic used Insight was NOT a mistake. But he's likely to get a lot more views with this title..than "I Love The Honda Insight".

 

If you don't need any interior volume, power, and are ok driving a discontinued low-volume car then the Insight is not a bad option. Its mileage is superb.

 

Also factor in the tastes of leadfooted Americans....do you know how many European subcompacts that either are not sold in the US, or they but in a bigger engine? Think that's the case of the Smart, and probably will be what happens to the Fiat 500.

The majority of cars sold in the foreseeable will still be gassers, but their engines could definitely get efficiency like the original Insight, esp if you add a turbocharger. With a bad battery pack, I can still get 100mpg doing cruising 55 on a warm day.

EVs and PHEVs is where we would like everyone to go, but in the interim, I'd like to see more 1.5 liter engines and even 750cc engines in subcompacts.

 

Well just to clarify...I meant specifically...his Insight- is not the future.

I think the future will demand alternative automobiles. Exactly what popular form manifests? Hybrid, Pure EV, Plug In Hybrid...or most likely a combination of All of The Above....we shall see.

 

No intent from me to be argumentative, but just note the general public disinterest in fuel economy is very disappointing.

The public will get serious when the "Are hybrids worth it?" (yes, they still write them) dissapear and you see "Pain at the pump" articles like in summer 2008. Then millions will regret buying a hybrid now.

 

Be careful not to discharge the battery too much. There has been a lot of reports of the HV battery dying early because of it.

 

The curb weight of the insight is not even 2000 pounds. It is a small light car. It was more of a prototype than anything else (cvt was not introduced until the 2001 model). It works well until you get hit in it then even if you survive I am not sure the car would.

 

First Generation Insight better mpg, but .........

I seriously considered a first generation Insight with a 5 speed. Until I drove a mint condition used one and found that the ride was like having little or no shock travel and the interior noise from tires, rattles and wind plus the lack of power for major uphill freeway cruising was just too much to put up with on my regular 200 plus mile drives. For me the Prius is much quieter, much more powerful, way smoother over uneven pavement and has the flexibility to carry more than two people and lots more stuff.

 

I've read a couple of high-speed collisions in California that would have totaled probably any car and they had minor injuries at most.

 

(I think you might have meant to say 'millions will regret *not having bought* a hybrid now) but - you hit this one dead on right. I don't know whether the explanation is the endless sewage-stream of political claptrap we are constantly fed, the complete lack of an energy policy in this country, human nature to have a short memory, or some combination thereof, but, you are right, it is disappointing. Disappointing from many aspects--environmental, from the standpoint of energy security, and even just in terms of peoples' own self-interest, which doesn't seem to take into consideration the fact that they're buying a car (in most cases--yes, I know some people replace their cars every two years, but, in most cases) to give them service for years.

I'd bet if you took a scientifically valid poll, asking the general public if they thought fuel prices would stay at current levels or would go back up within a few years, most would say they think they'd go up. (Regarding public opinion and other stuff, I reserve the right to be wrong ...). But when it comes time to signing the papers, I guess it's "the he^^ with the future, I want what I want, and I want it now!"

Sorry about the diatribe and the political tangent--hope the OP enjoys the Insight. I do think that car was an engineering marvel, period, let alone considering that the work is 10 years old.
~T

 

Yes - I intended to say: "Millions will regret not buying a hybrid next time there's pain at the pump".

Being a moderator finding fuel economy stories, I'm suprized ten years later that auto writers STILL put out articles questioning if hybrids are worth it. One of the most recent (it was mentioned here) compared ONLY hybrids that had direct non-hybird versions...few of them are economy cars like the Civic.

Another unintentional point of that article that excluded the Prius and Insight is it's not all about the hybrid engine, but designing a car from the ground up with emphasis on efficiency.

 

Confession: The Prius was my second choice, the Insight was my first. However, in 2006, the last year the old Insight was made, none were available anymore but the Prius was. However, seeing as I am constantly schlepping large loads in the Prius, I am so glad I went with that (I could never have fit most of those loads in the tiny two-seater Insight).

 

Jay. How much do you want for your Prius?