The article mentions a "flurry of bad reviews". I don't remember bad reviews for the Insight. There are things that could be better on it, but the mags I've been reading like it.
Yeah... they've all praised the Insight for its handling and non-hybridness (i.e. drives like a normal car).
well against the 2010 Pri, it did not do well in reviews, but did pretty fair against the 2009 Pri... about 50/50 on that which i think is pretty good. after all, the 2009 Pri was no slouch.
Be thankful. W/o Insight, you would have paid $2k more for your Gen-III Prius. Competition is good for everyone. No need to bash Insight to justify your purchase. Honda has a "tradition" of not getting it right the first time. (Insight is after all their 1st-gen 4-door hybrid)
The insight is a victim of bad timing. With gas prices low, there is not a lot of consumer interest and the critics point out every flaw. If Honda had released the Insight in April of 2008 rather than 2009, the story might be very different. Insights would be in short supply and the critics would be praising Honda for selling the most affordable high mileage hybrid. If the Insight can hang on till next summer, it will get its due.
It's their first 4-door dedicated hybrid. The others have been hybrid systems added to regular cars. IMO, if Honda wanted to make a dedicated hybrid, they should have went all out and made it better than the Prius in just about every way...especially gas mileage. I like the Prius because of the tech and the fact that it's the most fuel efficient mass-produced car in the US. The Prius seems like a leader and the Insight is a wannabe. I'm not trying to bash the Insight, but the only way to judge it is relative to its competition.
My 2 cents: Drove the Insight yesterday before buying my Prius. Not even close. I know it is cheaper, but the car just feels and looks cheap. WAY cheaper feeling than my wife's 2007 Civic. It is VERY noisy when accelerating onto the freeway too. I'm glad Honda is making it, and I hope it is successful, but I'd definitely urge anyone who can afford the price difference to get the Prius.
When I test drove one, I noticed that the backseat felt small, the ride was kinda jittery and the transition from battery to engine wasn't very smooth. Also, the interior just looks kind of weird with all the odd looking shapes. The interior design of the Prius is more cohesive and smooth. It seems like their is a price gap between the two, but when you consider the base Insight doesn't have cruise or alloy wheels, the gap is really about $500...basically non-existent.
Yes but Honda knows the Prius covers that market. They're wanting a piece of the lower end. Think about it. If you get more people into your cheap hybrid, then they'll move up and buy a bigger hybrid (e.g. HCH) and anything else that Honda decides to make. Honda is doing us all a favour by providing a low entry price for people who want a hybrid but previously cannot afford one. In Canada, the Prius was $30k for a long time before our dollar became on par with the USD. Most people wanted one but couldn't afford one. Honda Canada dropped the price of the all new 2006 HCH to $25,800 (previously, it was $28,500). That opened up the door to more people. Now the Insight is at $23,900 (The HCH has gone up in price and now costs $27,350). I wished Honda could offer it for less. They were considering the $19-$25k range. I was hoping it'd be closer to $21k. At $24k, it's not much of a bargain.
I guess the question is whether there is a big enough demand for a somewhat low end hybrid that doesn't have many features and stickers for only $500-2000 less than the '10 Prius. If Toyota decides to build the $21k Prius - I imagine that could seriously hurt Insight sales.
That's the thing... Honda wanted the Insight to go on sale before the Prius to get a head start. The only problem is, it has to figure out a price tag before Toyota releases the Prius. This gives Toyota the advantage of possibly tweaking the final figures after Honda releases pricing.
Yea but that's a loaded Insight compared to a "stripped" Prius, that's not even out yet. Tidelands is right, without the Insight, Toyota would have started the G3 Prius in the mid 20's and gone up from there. I don't get the bashing for the Insight, if you don't like it don't buy it. Done.
If you compare the Insight EX and Prius II, the features are about the same (in fact, I think the Prius has more) and the pricing difference is only $500. The Insight LX is $2k cheaper than the Prius II, but it lacks a lot of features like cruise control, alloy wheels, stability control and a center console. Like I said, I'm not bashing the Insight...just comparing it.
Indeed it's hard to compare the Insight because there are a lotta things missing in the LX model. Here in Canada, we don't get an "EX" model so to speak. Yes, it's labelled as an EX but it's really an EX-L (or EX-Navi.. whatever you guys call it in the US). Our LX gets cruise control but that's about it. There's no maplights, centre console lid, vanity mirror lights, seatback pockets, tonneau cover (notice a trend here? they're all small items that we take for granted in the Prius), no glovebox light (!?!?!) or a variable setting for the front wiper intermittent function. The EX (Canada) adds all of those plus alloys, paddle shifters (why?), steering wheel mounted audio controls, USB integration, SatNav, Bluetooth, 2 more speakers, TCS/VSA and side mirror indicators. Cost is $27,500 vs. $23,900. The new 2010 Prius is $27,500.
