Honda introduced the first hybrid to the American market. The original Insight, a teardrop-shaped two-seater, failed to sell. Honda later added the Civic Hybrid. Without the distinctive styling or radical technology of Toyota's Prius, it sold better than the Insight, but not nearly as well as the Toyota. Wanting a bigger slice of the hybrid pie, for 2010 Honda has introduced another Insight. 

The 2010 Honda Insight is nothing like the original. Unlike the original Insight, it has a back seat. Unlike the Civic Hybrid, it has unique sheetmetal. And the price is a couple grand less than the 2009 Prius'. A winning formula? I took one for a test drive to find out.

Honda Insight Styling

The thinking behind the 2010 Honda Insight's styling appears to be "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Though loosely based on the Honda Fit, the new car's exterior strongly resembles that of the 2004-2009 Toyota Prius. Except that the proportions are even worse. The rear wheel is nearly swallowed up by a vast fender. If the Chinese decided to knock off the Prius, the Insight is what the resulting car would look like. The redesigned 2010 Prius is a beauty in comparison.

Inside the Insight, the hyper-plastic sci-fi theme of other recent Honda interiors continues. Various bits like the HVAC controls seem to be oddly styled solely for the sake of being different. Once upon a time Honda design was about being clear and simple to use. Not any more. The Insight's instrument panel has odd bits tacked on everywhere you look. There doesn't appear to have been any attempt at a clean, cohesive, flowing design.

Honda Insight Comfort

I didn't drive the new Honda Insight for as long as I planned to. Why not? Because the driver's seat is the most uncomfortable I can ever remember sitting in. And I've driven about 550 cars in the last decade.

The problem with it: both the non-adjustable lumbar and the headrest jut too far forward for my unusually vertical back and neck. Only with difficulty and a great deal of discomfort could I touch the seatback with my upper back. (If you have a different body structure, you might not have this problem.)

I'm told that the seat is the same one used in the Civic. I last drove a Civic four years ago, but don't recall its seat being uncomfortable. I'll have to further investigate this.

Moving on, the view forward is fairly open. As in the Civic, a digital speedometer sits above the other instruments--with the steering wheel rim cutting between them. In this case, though, the speedometer is farther away from the driver than the tach and such, just above them. Okay once I figured out how to properly position the steering wheel. I mentioned the tach. Toyota's hybrids don't include a tach. I appreciate having one. Other instruments in the Insight monitor and report your driving style. I passed. Even though I buried the throttle a couple of times the green tree remained lit up.

The view backward isn't nearly as open as the view forward. The beltline rakes upward, and the C-pillars are very wide. You'll want to make good use of the rearview mirrors. Directly to the rear, a lower glass panel in the hatch (first seen in the CR-X) helps.

The rear seat is considerably tighter than that in the Toyota Prius. While the Prius is a midsize car, Honda has packaged and positioned the new Insight as a compact. I'm 5-9, and just manage to fit in the rear seat when the driver's seat is where I like it. Getting out of the rear seat is a bit of a challenge, thanks to the plunging rear roofline.

Cargo room is a bit more competitive. The rear seat folds in two sections to extend the cargo area.

Honda Insight Performance

Like other Honda hybrids, the 2010 Insight includes a much simpler system than that in the Prius. The electric motor isn't nearly as powerful as that in the Prius, and while it can theoretically power the car up to 30 mph in practice this will rarely happen. Instead, it provides a mild assist to the gas engine, and by functioning as a powerful starter enables the gas engine to be stopped and then restarted at traffic lights.

Even with this mild assist the 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine provides only 98 horsepower to move the 2,700-pound Insight. While the electric motor's assistance makes the Insight feel fairly energetic off the line and in casual driving, the more you try to push the car the weaker it feels. Worse, the engine sounds awful when revved. Didn't Honda used to be known for the most refined small fours? Not this one.

The engine/motor are connected to the wheels by a conventional CVT (as opposed to the plenatary gearset sort employed by Toyota). This CVT typifies the reasons many people hate CVTs. When pushed, it feels as if the clutch is slipping. Especially since you get a lot more noise than thrust when you stab the gas pedal. Honda needs to figure out what Nissan has done to make its CVTs feel more natural.

I drove the LX. Upgrade to the EX and you get paddle shifters to select from seven simulated "gears." There must be a fuel economy-oriented use for these, since anything resembling sporty driving isn't in the cards.

Other reviews have praised the 2010 Honda Insight's handling. Well, I suppose it does handle well compared to the base Prius (I haven't driven the Touring). So why did I come away with a less positive impression? Well, when I drove the 2004 Prius, my reference point was the first-generation Prius. In comparison, when I drove the Insight I expected it to handle well by conventional car standards. Instead, while the Insight does handle with more composure than the base Prius, it still doesn't feel agile or sporty. Just passable.

Ride quality is a bit on the firm and busy side. The general sensation is that of a light and cheap compact. Aside from the engine, noise levels are moderate. That said, other people tend to find Hondas noisier than I do. So I suspect that many people would find that the new Insight permits too much road noise into the cabin. The specific road surface no doubt plays a major role. Be sure to test drive the car on the roads you'll most often be driving.

Fuel economy is, without a doubt, the car's performance strongpoint. The EPA's numbers are 40/43, and these should be achievable. After all, there must be some benefit to the car's otherwise awful powertrain.

Honda Insight Price Comparisons and Pricing

With a starting price of $20,570, Honda has underpriced the 2009 Toyota Prius by $2,250. As I write this, though, there's a $1,000 rebate on the Prius. And the Prius has about $775 in additional standard features, including alloy wheels and traction control. Dealers might also be discounting the Prius more, since it's about to be redesigned. In the end, the Insight doesn't currently have much of a price advantage.

But will this change when Toyota introduces the redesigned 2010 Prius? Many people have been assuming that Toyota would raise the price on the 2010. And of course that rebate will go away. But the price might come down instead of going up. Honda has just priced the 2010 Prius in Japan--and they priced it about even with the Insight. They might do the same in the United States.

How does the Insight's price compare to that of non-hybrids? The well-reviewed Honda Fit, on which the Insight is based, lists for $4,250 less. Even after adjusting for feature differences, the gap is about $3,350. So, is roughly ten extra miles-per-gallon worth $3,000+ and an inferior driving experience?

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, TrueDelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)
TrueDelta's page for the Honda Insight:
http://www.truedelta.com/models/Insight.php

Last Words

From the styling to the comfort to the driving experience, the 2010 Honda Insight thoroughly disappointed me. This is the sort of effort I'd expect from a Chinese auto maker attempting to copy the Prius, not from Honda. If Toyota prices the new Prius as aggressively in the U.S. as they have in Japan, and dealers don't compensate with huge "market adjustments," Honda is going to have a hard time selling many of these cars.

A Note on Honda Insight Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've been collecting my own data. Results are posted to TrueDelta.com, with updates every three months. Unlike other sources, TrueDelta clearly identifies what difference it will make if you buy an Insight rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" stats.

To report results, TrueDelta needs reliability data on all cars--not just the Insight--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants pay an access fee.

Details here:

http://www.truedelta.com/reliability.php

Alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
Amount Paid (US$): 20,570
Model and Options: LX