Like the Headlights

 

But decided not to and got the 09 Fit instead because . . .

• I liked the look of the Fit better
• The Fit has way more cargo (and passenger) room
• Originally, the new Insight was supposed to be ~18K, now it's $21+K.
• I drove the Civic Hybrid and hated it. Too sluggish, low ceiling, stupid displays for the Hybrid system/battery, brakes felt weird, and engine shuts off at every stoplight!

And yes, the new Prius is UGLY! Not much of a change if you ask me. They made the headlights more horizontal rather than vertical and they copied the "tumor" light from the Fit (and others). lol


Glad I stuck with the Fit!

 

jalopnik.com says the Insight handles like a new FIT but with 100 extra pounds. now imagine driving your Fit with your girlfriend in the passenger seat, ta-daa Insight drive characteristics :]
THANK YOU
i was going to point out the same thing but i'm glad you did because i wouldn't have posted it as eloquently. +rep

 

so you dislike the insight because you drove a totally different car? that makes no sense.

and the insight does start at under 20k. the top of the line ex with nave will probaly be around 21, which is still a bargain compared to the prius and to the almost 25k civic hybrid with nav.

the insight actually has a ton of cargo room, its the backseat thats kinda smallish though.

 

me too, it looks very nice. very upscale.

 

I may be wrong, but I based my dislike for the Insight on the Civic Hybrid. They seem very similar in many ways:

• Same regenerative braking
• Very similar dash and displays
• Auto-stop
• IMA system
• The specs for headroom look close to the Civic Hybrid - both more cramped than the Fit

Because it's a Honda I'm sure it's a well-made car, but I guess I don't like hybrids, even if they get great mileage.

Price was the deal-breaker too. We'll have to wait to see what the actual MSRP is.

 

To me it's not competing with the Fit. 2 different cars. Good luck getting an insight for below $20k. The insight does look like the current Prius, not sure why Honda didn't go a different route but o well.

 

why would it be hard to get at under 20k if it starts there? only retards go out and buy it when it first comes out. honda is planning on selling A LOT Of these, so there will be plenty for the picking and dealers will realize this.

 

semi-fresh from jalopnik.com: Insight, Prius, and Fusion hybrid all together from the Detroit Auto Show




from this angle, the new Prius looks like the xD in an inbred sort of way. the Insight looks a great deal smaller than it's competitors - if you want to put it in the same class as the other two..

according to the editors at jalopnik.com, the Insight actually has MORE interior room than the current Prius. i believe the new Prius expanded a bit, no word yet on the interior space though.

 

if its the claimed 18k, and it probably will be, it will be LESS than a top of the line 5at fit sport with nav.

 

definitely not a FIT killer. Just look at this forum how many people are putting on bigger wheels / exhausts / turbos / other performance mods that will decrease mileage but make it go faster?

An insight buyer (i hope) would not be doing the same b/c that totally defeats the purpose of buying a hybrid. And a lot of Honda drivers like the fact that they are high-revving, thats where the fun factor is. But for the Insight I think its safe to assume that most owners will drive very conservatively to minimize fuel consumption.

 

It gets 2mpg less on the highway then the Civic hybrid? So isn't Honda kind of competing with itself and taking sales away from the Civic Hybrid? And the Prius gets 8 mpg more in the city and 2 on the highway. Then again, the Insight and Prius are in 2 diff classes, compact and midsize.

From MSN:
Customers will be most interested in Environmental Protection Agency fuel-economy ratings, which are 40/43 mpg (city/highway). That's 2 mpg less on the highway than the Civic Hybrid, and it trails the Toyota Prius by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway. The Insight qualifies as an Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV).

 

good points, but consider this:


its A LOT FASTER than the civic hybrid. the civic hybrid takes almost 13 seconds to accelerate to 60mph. thats unacceptable. and most test drives and even honda themselves think it will do much better real world than what the epa suggests. the insight is about as fast as a current auto fit. and thats doable.

its also more involving to drive than the prius

and the civic hybrid may not exist when the next generation civic comes out, which will be shortly after the insight has been introduced to the public to purchase. even if they keep it, honda will probably keep production down. the civic is not a hatch, and did not have seats that folded down, and the insight adresses all this, to keep better pace with the prius.


on another note, that picture of all three of em, the insight looks great. the fusion is pretty nice too...the prius? eww.

 

At least with the Fit... you can have a little fun adding mods here and there because you actually have big name tuning companies manufacturing parts. I doubt you'll see that for either the Prius or Insight any time soon.

Well... I understand some people just don't care about that kind of stuff and want a car that gets them from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible.

 

I can't find the link, but I am seriously doubting that Honda can introduce the new Insight at $18k.

I've heard it's more like $21-22K and that was before the run up on the Yen-to-Dollar.

This car will likely be made in Japan for the near future (like the Fit) and the strength of the Yen is putting tremendous pressure on all Japanese companies. They're between a rock and a hard place -- they need to raise prices, but in the current economy it will hurt their sales even more.

I'm still waiting to see what the price is on this car.

If my dealer gets one in I want to drive it anyway.

 

I agree the prius looks nasty. It reminds me of one of the characters from Horton Hears a Who.

 

edmunds inside line's review on the Insight:
2010 Honda Insight Full Test and Video

I WANT ONE
the article also gives reference to what eldaino mentioned earlier about Toyota copying Honda's low CD design for their Prius.



if you take a moment to read the link i just posted you'll read that from the firewall forward, the Insight is all Fit but on a hybrid power/drive train and the rear is very similar to the Fit aswell.

in theory, the suspension is also the same. meaning springs, coilovers, and other suspension mods are compatible and/or interchangeable between the GE's and Insight (anyone know the chassis code for the Insight?) :]

turbo 1st gen Prius:
Browser Warning
going FI actually increased his MPG.. mmmm, turbo Insight [FAINTS]

 

its not that some people don't care about that kind of stuff, its that they know what cars it is more useful on. you don't buy a prius or an insight to mod it. it has a different mission. that should be the last thing on any insight owners mind.

 

Personally, I like the Fit over the new Insight for the very reason I chose the Fit over the Prius (other than cost)--versatility.

The backseat is comfortable in the Fit. The high ceilings are more comfortable in the Fit. The storage options are beyond expectations. I love that I can still shove things under the backseat even without having to put them up (perfect for purses when you have rear passengers). Also, the seats dropping as they are folded forward and the high open back of the Fit...

Can't sell me on a car that has less versatility. That and better-than-average gas mileage worked for me.

I think people will downgrade from SUVs to vehicles like the Fit. They may find the Insight/Prius-type vehicles too limiting after having all of that space at their disposal.

Best said by a couple others on here, the Fit and Insight are aimed at two different markets.

 

If the price is really going to be around 20-22 g's in Canada that is going to be some tough competition with the Fit as its around the same price.
Still prefer the FIT and Hybrids are not all cracked up to be that environmentally friendly---what happens to that big toxic battery when its done? The cost to replace it most be crazy $$$ as well. my.02$