2010 Honda Insight EX: Consumer Reports Is Wrong... IMHO

Erin:

You obviously haven't been following the recent dismal offerings, which display a company that is attempting to cut R&D, de-content more and more of their line-up and maximize profits.

I am a former owner of a 2004 and 2006 Pilot. The 2006 was where I saw this happening. The air conditioning failed at 50k, the dash was pure plastic that rattled(and not very good plastic), road noise was prominent, and I experienced electrical glitches. It turned out to be a frustrating ownership experience given it was a $35 SUV from Honda!? Maybe we should be saying the New Honda.

Honda and Toyota are hemorrhaging market share to Hyundai/Kia, Ford, etc. and they continue to serve up less than Honda-ish vehicles. Fact!

Agree with Erin.

I was fortunate enough to test drive one of these.

Ok, everything seems decent enough, then I look at the price.... $23k? I'm sorry do you know how many good cars you can buy for $23k? That's the same price as a much more usable mid-size sedan (albeit without the janky nav system), or much more realistic Mazda3. OR VW Rabbit. OR Jetta Sportwagen.

And you mean to tell me a ~3MPG increase in fuel economy over say, a Ford Fusion is worth putting up with a useless rear seat, junky powertrain, and trashcan materials?

And then I'm left with the question- why would anyone buy this? No honestly, for such a paltry advantage in fuel economy over a Fit, why would anyone spend $4k more for a car that is significantly worse in every way? Ok, so for a Hybrid it's good, but what does that matter if hybrids are crap to begin with?

"What the critics say..." in the background. Heh.

I'd buy a TDI Sportwagen over this with a small premium (or if it was available a Golf TDI) and be much happier.

I will say this about the Insight, though-- I really like that shade of blue. It reminds me of the blue on my friend's Challenger SRT-8.

It seems to me that excuses are being made here. Yes, the suspension is stiff but for all the wrong reasons. The interior is laughable, especially when you have other vehicles in that price class offering up better execution and materials. The electric motor is puny here, gas to electric and vice versa is clunky and on top of it the car is sloooooooooow. Add oh so call paddle shifters (don't make me laugh), and it has all the makings of a DUD!

Judging from the average fuel economy of your own Fit, I see no reason to skip it and spring for the Insight. You would think after so many years Honda would have finally perfected the formula.

And BTW a Prius with Touring Pkg (basically a Prius V) is not anywhere near clumsy.

"But among all the hybrids I've driven in the last 5 years, the 2010 Honda Insight comes the closest to being a car I could stand to drive every day."

Erin, have you driven the Fusion, Camry, Accord, & Altima Hybrids? I wonder how this compares in driving feel to those?

This is not about disagreeing on buying a hybrid, the topic is about why Consumer Report is wrong.

and I think it's stupid that people take Consumer Report as the bible for everything.

What does "judged as a hybrid" mean, anyway? It's still a car. Just because it handles slightly better than the outgoing, 5-year-old Prius (and yet apparently does everything else worse) does not make it a feat of engineering, a good value, or a good car.

Oh and this car stickers for almost exactly the same as a base GTI. Aside from fuel economy, which we all know by now how to calculate the cost-benefit analysis of, compare anything about this car to that one and get back to us. I'd be shocked if you can find even one other thing superior about this dreadful penalty box.

1. Fit is 15460 - $19,830
2. Insight is $20,510 - $24,314
3. Mazda3 5-door is $19,980 - $25,690
4. Jetta SportWagen TDI is $23,870 - $29,115
5. Fusion Hybrid is $27,995 - $31,940

There's clearly a large price gradient here...
What's up with comparing a top of the line of one car with the base model of another...

Well, with the price of a Ford Fusion Hybrid, I'm better off just getting a Passat CC! Yaaaa!!!!!

Toyota claim they sold 13,000 Priuses this past month, yet I have not seen even one on the road!

But Insights are everywhere! OMG they swarm! I don't understand how Honda says they only sold 2000 of them.
Must be a regional fashion. I must live in the Honda Belt.

billt9, are you asking that question honestly or are you just trolling? The answer to your question is of course that the Insight is so bare that (just like with other Hondas) you have to get the EX model just to get basic features like stability control. A quick perusal of the Edmunds comparator shows the following advantages of even a base GTI:

200 HP vs 98HP
heated seats
rear independent suspension
rear stabilizer bar
rear armrest with pass-thru
cargo area power outlet
multi-adjustable front seats
illuminated vanity mirrors
floor mats
leather-wrapped steering wheel
rear disc brakes
brake assist
bi-xenon headlights
self-leveling headlights
satellite radio
10 speakers vs 6
8 more cu. ft. passenger space
more headroom and rear legroom
rear seatbelt pretensioners
3 yr/36K mi included maintenance
3 yr/36K mi roadside assistance

The GTI also has a dramatically nicer interior, both rides and handles incomparably better and is subjectively much better looking.

Advantages of the Insight EX-L:
full-electronic climate control (vs partial-electronic)
navigation
Bluetooth
fuel economy
... and that's it.

So, care to provide some more valuable input as to why this isn't a valid comparison?

Erin, you usually write very good posts, but when you say, "But among all the hybrids I've driven in the last 5 years, the 2010 Honda Insight comes the closest to being a car I could stand to drive every day. " I find that a tad over the top. Have you driven a camry, altima or fusion hybrid? And how about the GS450h? That thing is a rocket and its fun to drive. Im just giving you other hybrid options, because in my humble opinion, they can be quite nice. I love the V8 power of my RX400h and getting a real 26 mpg is no small feat. just my 2 cents...

Navigation on both cars cost exactly $2,000.

Somehow the losing car in a comparing statement must have nav tossed in the price tag... "omg this car costs $2,000 more!"
While the winning car in the comparison must have nav removed.

Why does the losing car have a nav? Edmunds gets all their cars with navs.
And of course, all cars can be had without the nav, while keeping everything else.

billt9, if you're going to be pedantic you might have noted that the GTI TMV is only $1K more than the Insight EX without navigation, and that the GTI effectively has a delete option for the 2.0T engine as well, leaving it as a base Rabbit still with 72 more HP than the Insight along with most of the aforementioned advantages, and leaving the Insight with exactly zero advantages besides fuel economy. So slice all you want, the Insight remains a dismal car at an unattractive price.

So then we forget about diesels and hybrids and go back to gas engines then!
This price thing is a problem with the diesels and hybrids.
What is 17 mpg (41 mpg is +70% from 24 mpg) higher worth to you?
What is producing 41% (4.5 tons vs 7.7 tons) less CO2 worth to you?

That's all hybrids and diesels are.
The rest of us buy V6-V8s, cuz that's how we roll.
We hope our neighbor buys a hybrid/diesel, so their savings more than offset any waste we produce, and keep gas prices down.

...and I don't get a GTI. 0-60 in 7.2 seconds? I must be spoiled. a crossover will smoke that.

@BillT9

I was actually comparing a simple 4 cylinder Fusion.

billt9, as fluid as your arguments are it's honestly impressive that you haven't hit on a good one yet.

First, Edmunds got 0-60 in 6.7 for the GTI and they're not known for optimistic test results. Perhaps you haven't noticed that reputable manufacturers generally quote worst-case performance figures?

Regardless, the problem is not that the Insight is a hybrid, it's that it's a horrible car -- again, worse in every way than the outgoing, 6-year-old Prius except being marginally better in subjective handling qualities. Comparing it to any of its contemporary non-hybrid competition (the 4-year-old GTI being only one example), it's simply a joke.

I have great respect for the VW TDIs and the Fusion Hybrid (and possibly the new Prius) which prove that efficient vehicles don't have to be saddled with overwhelming day-to-day compromises. The Insight, however, is so bad that it's going to drag down public perception of hybrids by association.

See for $23,000, I could get a 306 hp Camaro. Better choice than a GTI.
Now I need a dude to get an Insight to balance me out if I get a Camaro.

A simple 4 cyl Fusion? That's 25 mpg combined, and not remotely sporty. That gets filed below the GTI!

I wasn't aware they now made a 4-door Camaro.

@BillT9 : but it gets 34MPG highway, and it's likely to achieve higher numbers in real world driving if driven prudently, which the Insight needs to obtain its crummy 38MPG.

"Well, with the price of a Ford Fusion Hybrid, I'm better off just getting a Passat CC! Yaaaa!!!!!"

Out of all the analogies posted here, that is by far the most absurd.

The Fit that Edmunds has in their long term test fleet is averaging some 31 MPG, and with it you have a much more enjoyable and usable vehicle.

Granted a Mazda 3 hatch is 19K, the sedan starts 4K less with the same quality and well laid out interior.

"And then I'm left with the question- why would anyone buy this?"

Not many people are buying it even though Honda-philes in the media wont mention this fact.

I dont want this or the Fit but if I had to buy Honda I most certainly would go with the Fit. The Fit is almost 2 secs faster to 60 and handles considerably better.

Although the Insight will have some impact on Prius sales Honda failed to realize hybrid buyers are typically well educated and well off. They can afford to buy a car for $30k so I dont know why Honda was hell bent on giving them an under engineered $23k car.

The only positive reviews I've seen of the Insight say something like "it may not be fun to drive, but no hybrid comes closer." Perhaps the car you and other positive reviewers are looking for is a fuel-efficient non-hybrid, not a hybrid that isn't good as a hybrid.

I test-drove an Insight last month, and it was a surprisingly bad car. It was cheap-feeling, stiff-riding, and noisy, it was far from agile or fun to drive, and the hybrid system was clunky. I drove the new Prius Wednesday, and it made the Insight seem all the more half-baked.

Sure, the Prius is far from anything the average car nut would enjoy, with the lightest, numbest steering in anything I recall driving, but if you actually want to pay a price premium you won't likely recoup for a hybrid, you might as well pick the one that's far better as a hybrid. Especially considering how little handling benefit you get in the Insight versus how much you have to give up.

Since Consumer Reports testers don't know how to drive for their lives, clumsy handling in the Prius isn't an issue for them. They probably never noticed that attribute. CR is so pathetic, anytime someone quotes a CR article about a car, I laugh at 'em.

CR loves appliances, which means they love Toyotas and nothing else.

Yeah Toyota can do no wrong. Even though the rest of the press notes Toyotas are lacking in dynamics CR somehow rates nearly every Toyota tops in their road tests. Then again, they dont tell you how they get the numbers so they can score vehicles any way they want.

I poked around one of these at the last auto show and it was disappointing. I have Rubbermaid bins in my garage with better quality than some of the interior bits and the whole thing looked sloppily put together. I'm a Honda fan and I've loved the Hondas and Acuras I've owned in the past but nothing in their current line up with the exception of the S2000 comes close to being as interesting as their previous offerings. Shame really.

OK. how about some of you actually read CR before you criticize it? Let's get some things correct here. CR doesn't like the ROUTINE handling in the Prius any more than the like the Insight's. In fact, the like it less. But in EMERGENCY handling tests, the Insight wagged its tail quite a bit and even the ESC didn't fully control it. That just didn't happen in the Prius, especially the touring edition. Also, the Insight's acceleration was well below that of the Prius. Believe it or not, that also counts heavily in their test, because it IS a safety issue afterall.

As far as this crap (read: abject lies) about their loving on Toyota/Lexus above all else crap or they can't drive: go to their blog, which you can access for free, and you'll see the truth is that when it comes to personal picks, they pick Honda or Nissan over Toyota more times than not. Also, several Hondas outscore the competing Toyota. Furthermore, watch some of the video reviews. These are professional track drivers. Yes, their rating standards skew heavily to practical concerns, but the name is CONSUMER Reports, so what do you expect? Go check out the top 10 selling cars in the US: most are trucks or sedans. So would seem that's what consumers are looking for.

One last thing: CR had their Insight for quite a while. Judging from their First Look vs. the final report, the Insight got harder to live with as time went on. Erin has not driven the car nearly as long, so I find juding CR as wrong this soon into the game quite surprising.

I don't get why there's so much negativity on here. I love my Insight. It's a great car, and I'm getting a better MPG than EPA. If you hate it, OK, but why the need to trash it? Just don't buy one then! You need a car longer than the test drive to really form an opinion.

Dear 1487..You are absolutely correct about hybrid drivers/buyers having the funds to spend on a more upscale, better engineered vehicle. My Insight-ex cost about $22,500, but I gladly would have spent more for a more upscale car. Not,over $30,000, as a Prius V might be, but in the range of $25,000-$27,500. Honda did not want to compete with the Prius, but, I do not think that a hybrid is for everyone, thus, the Hybrid for the rest of us theme does not work at this level. BTW, I still like my Insight at 42-44 mpg, decent handling and relatively quiet.

Honda's mistake is that they based their selling strategy on "low price" and "handling". But hybrids are more expensive anyway and have worse handling too.
So it's like advertising the neighborhood with the coolest temperature in hell... I guess it comes handy if you really want to live in (automotive) hell :)

Just buy a diesel like the majority of Europeans and call it a day.

We are heading down to the Honda dealer to buy an Insight today. My wife works for a huge bank and they will give her $3,000 if she buys a hybrid. With my 1995 Mustang CFC trade in @ $4,500 we are getting $7,500 towards our new Insight. With all this in mind I will go forward with the Insight LX if it can (at the speed limit) drive up a steep hill near the dealer, otherwise I will have to pay the extra cash for a (current base) Prius II. We can't afford anything more and we have driven them all over the past few months.