NOW How Much Would You Pay? 2011 Insight Drops to $18,200

So check it out. I tried every approach to living, I tried it all. I haven’t tried every thing, but I’ve tried every approach. Sometimes you don’t have to try everything to get the approach the same. But… — John Mayer, rambling in a throughly demented fashion at a concert

Honda has tried every approach to selling hybrids. There was minimalist sportiness (first-gen Insight), complete anonymity (Civic Hybrid), max-power range-topping (Accord V6 Hybrid) and lolz-at-you-when-you-thought-you-were-getting-a-CRX-successor (CR-Z). For 2011, Honda is trying the final approach: save up to $611 over the course of your ownership with hybrid technology!

The economic justification for the repriced Insight is complicated. If I wrote for Autoblog, I’d take the effort to try to crib it into my own words, freshman-paper style, but here I’m free to just cee und pee:

Even though the 2010 Insight was priced below the Toyota Prius, the industry’s best selling hybrid vehicle, the price did not make economical sense at low gas prices when compared to some non-hybrid vehicles.

However, at $18,200, the new entry-level Insight begins to make the hybrid purchase economical at today’s gas prices.

The average length of new-vehicle ownership is 63.9 months. This means that on average new-vehicle owners will amass between 64,000-80,000 miles on their vehicle before trading it in.

An entry level 2011 Civic sedan automatic has a manufactured suggested retail price of $16,605 and posts an estimated combined 29 miles per gallon. All 2011 Insights are automatic and post an estimated combined 41 mpg. The break-even point at today’s average gas price of $2.75 is just below 58,000 miles, giving the average new-vehicle owner a savings of $139-$611 during expected ownership.

Of course as gas prices go up, so do the savings. At $4.00 a gallon, the average new owner of an entry-level Insight would save up to $1,600 in gas costs during ownership versus an entry-level Civic sedan automatic.

The base level Prius has an MSRP of $22,800. Although the entry-level Prius has some standard features not available on the entry-level Insight, such as cruise control and alloy wheels, many buyers will surely sacrifice certain amenities to save $4,600 on the sticker price.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates Prius II will receive a combined 50 mpg, 9 mpg more than the Insight. Based on the same comparisons used above between the Civic and Insight, Prius owners will save $1,400 in gas cost at $4.00 a gallon if they own the vehicle for 80,000 miles. Prius owners would still be -$3,200 versus the Insight after deducting potentially the highest level of fuel savings.

So there you have it. If you are willing to sacrifice a bit, you can save a bit with the Insight. Any takers?