2010 Honda Insight EX: Who Needs Passengers

Not trying to make excuses for Honda or anything, but could he fit in the middle seat?
I know it would be uncomfortable, but he might have a little more headroom..

Shame on Mrs. Riswick for feeding him so much in that he grew too tall for the back seat of the Insight!

Only one thing to do....off with his head! Then he'll fit quite well.

Does he fit in the Fit? That would be a good comparison between the Insight and the Fit.

Ouch! That doesn't even look safe.

I guess this is what happens when Riz becomes known for his snarky posts- snarky comments! (looking at altimadude in particular here).

That's pretty pathetic rear space, but how do the rest of you fit in the Insight? Non-edmunds employee opinions of the back seat (friends, family, etc)?

I haven't been in an Insight yet but I have plenty of headroom in the Fit's backseat and I'm 6' 2".

Since you have one of each in the fleet, lets see a quick comparision.

If it's as bad as it looks it could kill the Insight. People accept small back seats on sporty cars but not on family cars.

@ jstandefer "To be fair, though, it does look like Riswick is slouching in photo 2 to maximize headroom in the Prius, which he is sitting as high as possible to minimize headroom in photo 3"

i concur 100%

Who cares about meaningless statistics such as rear seat headroom that mean little nothing in the real world? It's a Honda which automatically means you get sublime steering feel. That after all are what cars are really about.

Actually, the real measurement is not if adults fit in the back seat, but to car seats? Babies don't need headroom.

My best friend was looking to replace his '06 Prius with either the new Prius or the Insight. The ultimate test for any car is to see if it could fit my 6'5'' frame. The Insight felt exactly like it looks in those pics (and I'm 2 inches taller than James). It was a deal breaker and Honda lost one of many sales

That is really stupid, I must admit. I barely see the point of having the rear doors if that's all the rear seats can offer.

According to Edmunds.com the rear headroom in a Prius is 37.6 inches while the rear headroom in a Insight is 35.9. 1.7 inches is very real.

Toronto Blue Jays

+1 more on the slouch. Wrinkled up shirt, curve torso, legs up higher (look at relationship to forearms and elbow bend), etc.

I don't dispute that the Insight has less rear headroom, but it looks fine for 6' and under which means most of the population. Can't please everyone. I wouldn't buy either car anyways.

I've done the same test-sit myself, and I'm 6'2" tall. The difference is real. I can sit in the back of a Prius, but it's not possible in the Insight.

But let's put this in perspective. a) This isn't a car designed for real estate agents or executives going on a power lunch. b) If you selected 4 random friends, how many are over 6-feet in height? (Basketball teams = don't answer. c) how tall are you wife and kids? Answer for me = 5'4", 5'1, 4'10.

For this car's market segment, the lack of
"4 tall adults" carrying capacity isn't a drawback.

The importanter thing is this: The Insight's DRIVNG position is much better than a Prius'. It has a height adjustable seat and an effective telescopic wheel. It feels much more accomodating to me. Yes, the Prius gained both features this year, but the telescopic wheel goes AWAY from me, not closer, which is what I need.

Bottom line: the Prius is the better eco-taxi, but the Insight is just fine for statistically normal clumps of people.

Ooooooh, how cute!

Mike Magrath, you should have sit on the other side of the rear seat and take a picture with James Riswick in the back of the Insight together...

Answer for me = 5'4", 5'1, 4'10

I hope the kid eats all of its food...

the Insight is just fine for statistically normal clumps of people

That's true if it was sold in some starving third world country with people no more that 5'4". This is the US!

the Insight is just fine for statistically normal clumps of people

I bet it fits just fine for these guys (especially 3rd from right)
http://www.stratfor.com/mmf/132965/two_column

Who needs rear seat headroom in a sedan/hatch? NO ONE of course. I can see that the LT visit here is going to be a non stop excuse fest. Is anyone going to comment on the Camaro like rear visibility? That blind spot looks serious.

I found the front cramped in this vehicle too. Then again, being 6'2" I write off the read head space in most 'economy' or 'compact' vehicles. I regularly have to bend my head in my friend's Civics, KIA Rio, old CRV, etc. I think for 6'+ headroom you need to go to go to a midsize or fullsize sedan.

I like the Insight, but what I'm confused about is how Honda is going to market it after the Fit Hybrid comes out.

You can have an Insight, which is basically a Fit with none of the versatility of the Fit.

Or, you can have a Fit Hybrid, which is a Fit with all of the versatility and room of a Fit, handles better, is lighter (and therefore will get better fuel economy), and costs LESS!

This seems no better than my old 05 G35 coupe. I'm only 5'6" and my head hit the rear glass when I sat in back. I can't see how the Honda is worse that that.

There was a qualifier: "Both front seats were set to mimic his driving position."

So Jriz is sitting behind himself so to speak. Perhaps the Prius leaves him with more rear legroom to sit behind himself so that he can slouch or relax a little more without worrying where his knees and feet will end up.

To sit behind himself in the insight, might call for more upright posture in order to fit back there at all.

I don't necessarily see a reason to yell foul on this.

Wow crowb, I was actually going to write just that.

You can't tell by the pictures, but the Insight's driver seat indeed eats into rear legroom much more than the Prius'. I am able to slightly (*slightly*) slouch in the Prius, as I usually do in a back seat, because the increased leg room allows me to. That's also how I comfortably sit most of the time.

However, I would have to sit like a 14-year-old slacker in Mr. Hodgkins' class to have my head free and clear in the Insight.

In total, the Prius has the headroom of a midsize family sedan. The Insight has the headroom of a sport coupe.

-Riswick

James,

Is it safe to say that rear headroom is the only thing that the insight has in common with a sport coupe?

"When Erin posted that she thought Consumer Reports was wrong in their confusing bashing of a pretty OK car, I was with her. (C'mon, it's not even close to as bad as a Caliber.) "

Any objective reasons why this car is better than the caliber? Doesnt loook better, has same hard plastics, performance is equally tepid- if not worse. Seems like it actually may be close to the Caliber in most regards.

I like it!

Well, I sat in the backseat of a Hyundai Genesis today, and my head was touching the roof. I'm 6'0" with long legs. Let's see how many Riswicks will fit in the backseat of the Genesis.

"Any objective reasons why this car is better than the caliber? Doesnt loook better, has same hard plastics, performance is equally tepid- if not worse. Seems like it actually may be close to the Caliber in most regards." The entitlement to be smug and unbearable, driving away all your friends apparently carries a lot of value. It is Southern California...

In any case, the Insight's greatest achievement is making the Prius actually seem decent in some regard.

I sat in the Insight's back seat over the weekend. I'm only 5'10", but I had no problem back there. I actually liked it despite hating the Prius.

"In any case, the Insight's greatest achievement is making the Prius actually seem decent in some regard."

very true. I like the Prius more than ever now. The fact that the auto press hyped up the Insight only to find out it was mediocre and flat out cheap makes me laugh.

What makes me laugh is that if it wasn't Consumer Reports everybody here will be admiring the king's invisible clothes...

Maybe Riswick should un-pop his collar for some extra room up high...

But in all seriousness, since beauty is not part of the equation in this segment, couldn't Honda have raised the roof a bit to provide more headroom without creating additional aerodynamic drag?