A Last Exit For the Honda Insight May Soon Appear
If you were ever interested in the second coming of the Honda Insight, now may be the time to pull the trigger on that lease, for there may not be a 2015 model in the showroom come next year.
Two signs point to a last exit for the hybrid: the lack of activity surrounding the marketing of a 2015 Insight, and the fact that the hybrid has become more and more redundant in Honda’s own lineup. Though the former could simply mean the Insight is going through a significant update that would merit such a delay, the latter speaks volumes about its bleak future.
In short, the Civic Hybrid is running circles around the Prius-shaped hybrid in the eco-friendly sales race — though the former costs nearly $25,000 to start over the Insight’s $19,000 base price — while the upcoming Fit Hybrid sedan may end up pulling potential owners towards its own offerings for the same price of admission as the Insight.
For their part, Honda can neither confirm nor deny the Insight’s last ride into the electric sunset. That said, the hybrid has already departed from Canadian showrooms, leaving the smaller CR-Z as the only analogue to the first generation and current Insight models.
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The end is.... in... sight...? Is the wild blue honda headed for the um... wild blue yonder? Never mind. I'll see myself out.
The original, 1st gen Insight seems to have become something of a hipster-mobile, sort of a latter-day, high-tech version of the old, early sixties' Ford Falcon that those guys seem to like. As to the current Insight, it always seemed to get a bad rap in the reviews because it was usually compared with cars like the much more expensive, standard Prius hatchback and/or the Chevy Volt, both of which 'are' better than the Insight, but also much more expensive. Even the Civic Hybrid seemed unfair because it was also much more expensive and was strictly a sedan. Compared with something much closer to the relatively low MSRP of the Insight (for a hybrid), like the Prius c, it didn't seem like the Insight was all that bad, and have to agree that with the accompanying low resale value, a used, off-lease Insight could be a good deal for someone seeking a vehicle with the best fuel economy at the lowest price of admission.
Can't give these things away, retail or wholesale.
And good riddance. Possibly the ugliest and least inspired car designs of the last 30 years.