This is the Prius killer.

I just don’t understand why this and the Prius have to be so ugly.

I’m trying to find some numbers for the mpg, from what I’ve found they look like they’re in the 45 mpg range. Seems like the prius is still better in this department, but of course the Prius is a lot more “luxurious” and the insight is supposed to be a lot more affordable.

And you still have to wait almost a month to buy it in Canada. Not that I’ll be buying it, just wanted to see what will they charge for it.

Nesodian is right. Why did they make it look just like the Prius? Plain ugly. Run down and get a Civic Hybrid, which are discounted below the price of the insight right now. Honda, foget hiring engineers, hire a designer

Uggh.. how many times does someone have to say “this looks just like the Prius”?? Actually, it looks more like the first-generation Insight.. whose shape the SECOND-generation Prius actually COPIED. If you recall, every Insight has had this same egg shape and glass-in-tail rear window, as did Honda’s CRX before it. You can’t say that about every Prius, whose first generation looked more like a 1970s Toyota Corona sedan.

I personally drove this. I was very excited about it. WAS. What a piece of garbage!! You simply must go and see one. The sales figures prove that people really are SHEEP. I have owned many Hondas and sold them for 2 years as well back in the day.

The fit and finish were the worst of any car I have seen, by any brand, since the early 90’s Chevy’s. I am not joking. The orange peel in the paint look liked an Earl Shibe job. I am not exaggerating. Even the salesman were disappointed.

It struggled to get up an on ramp; I barely made it to traffic speed before getting rear ended.

The door panels you could push in and out. The center console you could push from side to side, (try it yourself) and the salesman who was 6′2″ was hunched over in the passenger seat, his knees PRESSED against the dash.

I simply was blown away. The current lease offer on the Honda website is about exactly the same as a base Prius. WTF?
For just $2,000 more one can by the Prius. WHY would one take such a massive downgrade for two measly grand? And you can get the Civic Sedan for almost the same price as well.

It saddens me to see that the Statistic that 78% of people on this earth do not physically have the ability to make decisions themselves, is proven correct time and time again.

MUCH MORE COST EFFECT! OH!

It’s 90% Prius for 75% of the price… what’s not to like?

The reason it looks like current Prius, because Prius looks like original Insight – aerodynamics. Those things are very slippery gliding through air.
As far as mileage most of reporters stated that EPA under rated the mileage and reporters were doing around 60 mpg during test drive and light right foot. The same car rated almost 70 mpg in England, but it is based on Imperial gallon which contains 15% more volume (therefore translated to US gallon mileage would be just shy of 60 mpg).
I don’t think it is 90% Prius for 75% of the price; it reportedly (I did not drive it yet) drives just like a regular Honda (which is good handling car) and not like a hybrid. For me it would be distinctive difference and perhaps for more auto enthusiastic consumers it will be more plausible as well. Basically you have a decent handling car with excellent mileage – what’s not to like (well for me it would missing left pedal).

Funny, none of the Honda Insight forums speak ill of it, and they are pretty picky.

rodgerdodger: lol 100% true.
Forget this, I’m waiting for a Fit Hybrid so I don’t look like a geek. I can’t believe why Auto makers have to make such ugly sh*t and make borring cars. My friend had a first gen Insight and I couldn’t ride in it, really creepy to see Escalades and Range Rovers pass by it.

I’m a bit disappointed with these to be honest. Not only is it a poor copy of the Prius styling wise, which in itself is no beauty, its not even that economical. Any small diesel blows this thing into the weeds, ergo making it utterly compromised and pointless. Simply a marketing concept and rubbish as an actual car.

Shame on Honda. Especially since their engineering is generally very admirable.

I have no idea how that shape can be more aerodynamically efficient than a classic sedan. Having that rear end that cuts off like that is barely efficient as it creates turbulence behind the car, turbulence which help stabilize it at high speed but creates additional drag.
Anyway, the ugliness factor of the Insight, Prius and Volt is more than enough to keep me off hybrids for a while!

It was mentioned before: that shape is excellent for aerodynamics. It’s ugly, I know. Let’s face it: do people who buy hybrids have any interest in how their car looks?

But he irony is both the BMW 5 Series and the New E class or more aerodynamic.

Can’t they make the Insight look like a normal sedan or wagon/hatchback, Honda’s designs are crap these days.

Stinky, it is called the Kamm effect. I think in the future companies will back off a bit on cd to get better styling. Just right now if you buy a hybrid specific car you want the best you can get AND you want people to know it.

Chopped teardrop: the Kammback

It’s not practical to use a fully tapered teardrop shape in an every day vehicle – the back end would be too long, and would have limited usefulness for carrying people and cargo (one of the advantages of the van-shaped hatchback).

Fortunately, in the 1930’s a German aerodynamicist named Wunibald Kamm discovered that when the ideal teardrop taper was applied to the shape of a car body, it could be cut off well before the tip with little change in drag – the air flowing off the rear still behaves as if the full teardrop shape is there. The Kammback was created.

Not surprisingly, all three of the low-drag hatchbacks shown above employ the Kammback design.

three of the most slippery production cars available in recent years were hatchbacks: the 2nd generation 2004- Toyota Prius (Cd .26), 1999-06 Honda Insight (Cd .25), and 1999-05 Audi A2 (Cd .25).

The Volt follows in this almost perfect (for a car Cd) shape.

Honda Clearly wants to establish itself as the dominant player in the compact hybrid market, as GM is trying to do with the plug-in market.

Let’s see who wins the race to put out the first Luxury hybrid.
My money’s on BMW

Um, save saab, I hate to brake it to you, but the Fit is a pretty geeky looking car too. Good thing it drives well.

Wasn’t Honda’s goal with this car to apply the technology in a way (read cheaply) that would allow them to popularize the hybrid to those otherwise unable to afford it? They didn’t apply the full blown technology that would allow them to hit class-leading fuel economy, but they were targeting a lower price point than the Pruis. Looks like mission accomplished to me, regardless of whether you like the looks of the car, or its 7/8 scale size compared to the Prius.

Actually Honda did apply latest generation of existing technology. I am not peddling Honda cars and I would much prefer diesel in Honda’s line up but this version of Insight is pretty good. For references read freely available on internet review in Automobile. it did not mention anything cheap about the car and quite opposite regarding interior quality and it does mentions good driving dynamics. As far as looks concerned, it is always somebody likes it and somebody hates it. Thanks god we are not communists, yet.

I just wonder how many people are trying to fool themselves into thinking a hybrid is the right vehicle for them? I know for a fact a hybrid would be completely useless given the way I drive, which for a lack of a better term can best be described as ‘hard’. I’m only guessing, but put me in something like an Insight and I’d probably end up getting worse economy when compared to a similar sized 4 cylinder with a stick.

jackjimturkey: Let’s see who wins the race to put out the first Luxury hybrid.

Ask a Lexus dealer to show you a LS 600h or GS 450h.

Borat: I agree that they applied existing technology, but I read an article (Car &Driver perhaps) that mentioned that there wasn’t any ground breaking technology over what was used in the Civic hybrid – for example, it isn’t lithium ion cells to extend range, there isn’t the “stretching of the envelope” that Toyota has done with the 2010 Prius – better range and efficiency over existing car. I believe the article summed it up by suggesting it drove well, but the Prius was more efficient.

Johnny: Hybrid isn’t much of an advantage for me either: 95% highway driving; and the Canadian climate limits any useful range offered by the batteries in the city anyway. I guess if people are going to fool themselves into buying a certain type of vehicle that isn’t really right for them, or needed, it is better if it is a hybrid than a big SUV.

Kaizen and jackjim: you could also argue that Cadillac’s Escalade dual mode hybrid also falls into that category, although I would also argue it is kind of a pointless excercise.

Just drove one for about an hour. The driver interaction is cool. It gives you different colors for how green you are driving. After awhile of driving VERY GREEN, it gives you a trophy symbol for your reward. Its the first hybrid that I have driven that has paddle shifters. If you push the “green” button, this turns off the low horsepower and gives you quite a bit more pickup to get on the freeway quickly. Also, it has electronic climate control with digial readout, not the clunky knobs that you see on cheap sub $20k cars. The exterior is pretty plain and uninspiring….don’t like the wedge shape but I understand the aero thing. Overall was roomy inside, I’m 6′4” and had room to move around…no legs touching the dash thing. But revolutionary…not. Its a cheap hybrid just like Prius, and thats the story. To get a refined car you have to spend 30-40k. These hybrids are all about the green image, and this hybrid will sell well because some people simply do not like the Prius or Toyota.

Dual mode will not be pointless when 25 MPG is required in 5 years

one of these days we will have a full blown diesel hybird….

that, my friends, will be the prious killer.

Personally I think this Insight is fairly good looking. I’ve only seen it in person once, but it looked nice- not great, but better than most vehicles it’s size. I like the wedge shape, more room in the back.

@parts guy: No the Fit doesn’t really look that geeky to me, I actually think it looks good but the Yaris, as bad looking as this, the Aveo, not to bad.

It’s good to see a well made, cheap hybrid alternative to the Prius. It doesn’t matter that it doesn’t get as good as gas mileage. The 44 or whatever combined is good enough! It goes to show that hybrids are not just a fad and will become a viable player in the auto marketplace. They just need to tweak them some more and up the horsepower. Once they do that (and keep the price down) it’s all over.

It’s just another Honda which means it will be in the junkyard by the time the warranty expires. Wiat for the Volt, it will be the real winner here. Hundreds of thousands of miles more reliable than any import could dream of being. And everyone would rather drive a US vehicle from General Motors.

Buy American. Buy GM. It is your patriotic duty

Shouldn’t you be at the movies with Wagoner NMOFGM?? I hear he has some extra time on his hands nowadays…