Review: 2010 Honda Insight Take Two

Michael Karesh
by Michael Karesh

From the 1970s to the 1990s, Honda earned a reputation as the most technically innovative and ecologically sensitive Japanese automaker. Honda introduced the first hybrid to the American market. Unfortunately, its rep for green tech leadership took a big hit when the original Insight, an EV1ish tear-drop-shaped two-seater, was totally eclipsed by Toyota’s Prius. Hybrid versions of the Civic and Accord did little to stem Toyota’s PR gains. For 2010, Honda has introduced an all-new Insight hybrid. Does this car have a shot at ending Toyota’s dominance of the green car mindscape?

The success of the Toyota Prius, and relative failure of all other hybrids, suggested that people didn’t want a hybrid that looked like any other car. Honda appears to have learned this lesson—sort of. Although based on the Honda Fit, the new Insight looks like no other Honda. What it does strongly resemble: the 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, only with even more ungainly proportions.

Inside the Insight, the hyper-plastic sci-fi theme of other recent Honda interiors has advanced even deeper into the absurd. If any attempt was made at a clean, cohesive, rational design, it’s not evident. From the bi-level instruments to the bifurcated HVAC controls, a team of acid-tripping designers and bean counters appears to have completely routed the human factors folks. This from the “keep it simple” company. One small win: unlike in Toyota’s hybrids, there’s a tach.

Human bodies come in many different shapes and sizes. So there’s a chance that some people will find the Insight’s front seats comfortable, or at least bearable. This tester couldn’t wait to escape from the prominent, non-adjustable lumbar bulge and head-prodding headrests. Visibility, another traditional Honda strength, is good ahead but awful to the rear.

One more lesson learned from the first round of Insight vs. Prius: hybrid buyers want a back seat. So the new Insight has one. But not much of one; unlike in the Prius, adults barely fit. Cargo room is more competitive.

Like past Honda hybrids, the 2010 Insight employs a much simpler powertrain than Toyota’s HSD. The relatively puny electric motor, while theoretically capable of powering the car at low speeds, rarely does so in typical driving. Instead, it provides a mild assist to the engine-for a total of 98 horsepower—and enables the engine to nap at traffic lights.

While the electric assist makes the Insight feel sufficiently energetic off the line and in casual driving, the more you push, the weaker the engine feels, and the raspier it sounds. (Didn’t Honda used to be known for the most refined small fours?) A contributing factor: the engine/motor is connected to the wheels by a conventional belt-and-pulley CVT (as opposed to the planetary gearset sort employed by Toyota). This CVT typifies the reasons many people hate the entire concept. When pushed, it sounds and feels as if the clutch is slipping. Noise levels increase dramatically; thrust not nearly so much.

I drove the LX. Upgrade to the EX and you get paddle shifters to select from seven simulated “gears.” Someone at Honda clearly has a sense of humor.

The point of the Insight’s otherwise awful powertrain: fuel economy, of course. The EPA’s numbers are 40/43. That’s inferior to a Prius, but perhaps ten MPG better than a Fit. Hit a big green “ECON” button for optimum results. Honda’s chief innovation is an “Eco Assist” feedback system that’ll bring out the hypermiler in your mom (in case the underhood racket isn’t sufficient incentive to tread lightly on the throttle). This driver appears to have passed-the little green tree remained lit despite a few attempts to discover whether the Insight could, if necessary, get out of its own way (yes, barely).

In turns, the Insight leans less and feels less bobbly than the non-Touring second-generation Prius. But that’s a low hurdle. Compared to conventional compacts, handling is average at best. Despite some reports to the contrary, the Insight is not fun to drive in any conventional sense of the words “drive” or “fun.” The price of mere handling parity? When traversing patchy pavement, the underdamped, overly firm rear suspension gets the jitters and incites tin-can reverb in the cargo area.

Honda’s strategy with the Insight: offer a car nearly as good as the Prius for substantially less money. With a $20,570 base price, the Insight lists for a couple grand less than the more stylish, quicker, more economical, and more comfortable 2010 Prius. (Or opt for a leftover 2009, and incentives will considerably narrow the gap.) This is one of those cases where spending a little more money on the “real thing” will get you a lot more car.

Copycat exterior, cheap interior, uncomfortable seats, cacaphonous engine, nervous ride, competes on price . . . the Honda Insight sounds like a Prius knock-off from China. Except it’s from Honda. What happened to the company that gave us the 1984 Civic?

[read Michael Martineck’s review of the Honda Insight here]

Michael Karesh
Michael Karesh

Michael Karesh lives in West Bloomfield, Michigan, with his wife and three children. In 2003 he received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. While in Chicago he worked at the National Opinion Research Center, a leader in the field of survey research. For his doctoral thesis, he spent a year-and-a-half inside an automaker studying how and how well it understood consumers when developing new products. While pursuing the degree he taught consumer behavior and product development at Oakland University. Since 1999, he has contributed auto reviews to Epinions, where he is currently one of two people in charge of the autos section. Since earning the degree he has continued to care for his children (school, gymnastics, tae-kwan-do...) and write reviews for Epinions and, more recently, The Truth About Cars while developing TrueDelta, a vehicle reliability and price comparison site.

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  • Bebaziled Bebaziled on Jul 25, 2009

    I have test driven the 2010 Prius and 2010 Insight 2 times. To me the Prius has the worst visibility not only from the rear but the front and side. The "velvet" fabric reminds me of the horrible American car fabrics of the late 90's (or the velvet ceiling material that always seemed to be falling down on my friends cars back when I was in college (late 80's early 90's)). I ignored the dash area- too much info to glance through to find what you wanted, felt the nav system had way too many menus and screens- thank goodness my passenger was fiddling with it so we could find radio functions, etc.. I do like the extra space in the rear seating, extra glove box, under floor storage in the hatch area and thought the solar/ sunroof was a neat gadget, however, I was really uncomfortable driving this vehicle. Both times I felt like I wasn't connected to my surroundings. I had the road noise and bumps but honestly couldn't feel the road in the steering. I truly want to love the Prius but don't. When I drove the Insight I felt like I was in a car. That's the best way I can describe it. It didn't have the get-up-and-go of a normal Honda, but it's a hybrid and I was prepared for this. The fabric reminds me of my old Element (sort of), I love the steering wheel - did I mention I could feel the road while steering? It is laking a few items and the nav looks like it was just shoved in, but overall it's a good little car. I like the grill, the alloy wheels and the ipod/phone connection. I may be a bit biased toward Honda as I did grow up in a Honda household - my mom's 1st was in '76 - and I have owned my fair share... '83 Accord hatchback, '94 Civic 5-speed, ('96 4-runner), '05 Pilot (for 6 months-yuck!), '03 Element (loved it!). I currently own an '06 Infinit FX35- it's nice with loads of power but not nearly as fun as my old Element. Most people think I'm a bit crazy for wanting a hybrid over my current car but I'm sick of $45 fill-ups and sending so much money to OPEC. I normally never buy a car unless it is used but I am seriously considering the Insight.

  • Stompper Stompper on Jun 01, 2010

    I purchased the new Insight when my 2000 Insight with 250,000 miles died on me while traveling home from vacation. I was traveling with my 3 year old and loaded with luggage. After spending the night in a hotel I picked up a new Insight the next day in what was a very stressful situation. So I did not even test drive the car. I noticed the poor seat comfort immediately. Hard on the rear! A big difference from the great comfort of my old Insight. Sci Fi instrumentation that bested the older version. The controls are not as "simple" as before and take some getting used to. The old Insight showed battery charge as a permanent fixture on the dash. Also the split tach and speedometer will also take getting used to. I can only see the speedometer with the wheel positioning in my lap. Not much motion in the wheel adjustment, but better than the old Insight with none. This new version has a separate economy mode where the old was built into the AC. A bit more confusing, but overall similar AC and heat workings. The standard radio is nothing much, but neither was the old Insight radio. As far as space, with the two of us and all the luggage, there were only two seats in both cars. At least in the old Insight I could move my larger piece to the side and have enough room for my child to lay down. Having more space means nothing if it is not usable. What really shocked me was the awful gas mileage of the new Insight with the crazy CVT engine. I'm an expert at driving these things having averaged 62 mpg over 250000 miles in the old Insight. The reason for the low average is that for thousands of miles I drove the car without the assist engines as a new battery was about $5000. When the car would not die, I broke down and bought a new battery. MPG went back up to 70-80mpg at best. My best in the old Insight was 81 mpg over a 100 mile distance. The new car with my best driving techniques managed to get up to 43 mpg over a 600 mile journey. I was very disappointed, but know that a Honda will usually increase in mpg over time. I did not like that there is only one 12V outlet in this car. There are plenty of nooks for small things. The key fob does not have a trunk pop. The paddle shifters are a joke. Shifting gears on a CVT? Also the electric assist was so much weaker than on the old Insight. In my opinion, these cars function so much better with a manual transmission. This car is a bit larger than the old Insight, but the difference in mpg is stunning. My old Insight was a stick and I know that the old Insights with CVT did not get as good mpg. Why not a stick shift with similar efficiency to the old Insight? A regular civic will get 40mpg on the highway. A brand new Sonata with all the bells whistles and comfort gets at least 35 mpg highway. You end up giving up so much for 10 mpg. I'm not seeing the value in this car..... yet.

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
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