Along with everyone else, I've had enough of seeing so many examples of the Prius scuttling back and forth on the road. It's a fine car that I admire very much, but it looks like a banana slug, only sadly not as colorful. One of the things worth admiring about the Honda Insight is the way it rescues the futurism in the Prius' basic proportions and makes it a worthwhile visual expression.
So many car designs these days seem to me like little more than rough pencil sketches reluctantly scaled to a few manufacturing hard points by a surly, overworked designer. Automotive design has become all about artistic expression and no one mentions function for fear of being out of fashion. But it's brought us a generation of cars that look like supermarket packaging, not useful implements.
No one seems to design small functional cars so well as Honda. Remember the original Honda City? The Honda Fit and the Honda Insight are clearly the design standouts for the brand right now, while the Honda Accord Crosstour is a poster child for a half-hearted idea that's half-heartedly expressed.
As far as I'm concerned, there's no question that the Insight simply copied a shape popularized by the Prius, a aerodynamic raindrop not so different from Paul Jaray's Zeppelin dirigibles of World War I. The Prius has established a design direction that signifies modernism like no other. But I like the way that Honda has applied its own rigorous disdain of the extraneous and superfluous to make the form even more functional, shrinking the frontal area, tightening the fit around the passenger cell and crafting the inclination of the hatchback for less wake turbulence. And the result is beautiful as well as functional in the same way that good tools always have an intrinsic elegance.
I'd rather see a Honda Insight on the road next to me than the latest-generation BMW 7 Series.
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor @ 7,925 miles
cruiserhead1 says:
08:39 AM, 11/ 4/09
Boy, you are reading too much into it. Why don't you use real photos instead of exaggerated sketches? The real thing is a lot less dynamic.
Also, the Prius is more functional because they created a (boring but iconic) design that is MORE functional than the Honda.
The sloping roof does not encroach on rear passengers in the Prius. It does in the Honda.
I think the Prius is more aero than the Honda too.
What are the .cd and frontal areas of both?
carguy622 says:
08:41 AM, 11/ 4/09
I think the original 2 door Insight was the first of the teardrop shaped hybrids. The original Prius was sold only as a sedan.
I say Toyota copied the shape of the original Insight.
acbayard says:
09:02 AM, 11/ 4/09
Seems like this particular Executive Editor revels in writing crap supported by "alleged facts."
Functionality? The Insight's rear headroom is painful.
Drag coefficients?
2010 Prius - 0.25
2010 Insight - 0.28
2006 Civic Hybrid - 0.27
Sure - that says Honda was being really functional huh? Just like Nissan is "fixing" the 370's insulation problem? (Which MJ attributed to Renault).
hybris says:
09:58 AM, 11/ 4/09
I think the Insight would be better overall room wise by getting rid of the sloped back and making it come straight out instead then end with a flat rear end.
To simplify my idea think of a wood block now shape the front half of the block to look like the front end of the Insight.
louiswei says:
10:12 AM, 11/ 4/09
This post is total BS unless the real Insight looks like the ones in the artist rendering...
Which we know it does not.
cr_driver says:
10:25 AM, 11/ 4/09
I like better the new honda CRZ? than this ugly insight.
And how really does it stack up with facts against the prius? Functional?
super_ongoy says:
10:26 AM, 11/ 4/09
A banana slug resembles a male organ. Thus Priuses and insights look like a _enis.
The other day I went to the restroom and when I opened my zipper, I screamed, "Oh Prius!" Hey, they even sound similar! Now is that really a coincidence? Hmmm...
I have a real problem with buying the arguement that they have to look like _enis because that's aerodynamic and helps cutting down on fuel consumption. If that's the case then why don't Ferraris and Porshces look like _enis? I fear the new CAFE rules because it might turn all the cars into giant _enis.
super_ongoy says:
10:28 AM, 11/ 4/09
And you know why it's called "banana" slug? I bet it's not because of its coloration!
texases says:
10:47 AM, 11/ 4/09
Function? Sorry, you stepped in it big time, as fully explained in a prior post:
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2009/07/2010-honda-insight-ex-who-needs-passengers.html
crowb says:
11:05 AM, 11/ 4/09
@ super_ongoy
Penis isn't a bad word, so its ok to type it out.
Super cars are often shaped the way they are for aerodynamic reasons, though not for the same ones that the Prius or Inisght are aiming at. Things like maximum down force, grip, and high speed stability usually take a front seat in those instances. Fuel efficiency not so much. Hence the different shapes.
revaholic says:
01:41 PM, 11/ 4/09
Again, the Insight didn't copy the Prius. Look at the first generations of the Prius and the Insight. The Prius was a sedan with no teardrop shape at all, while the Insight already had this sort of streamlined shape. Then, in its second generation, the Prius adopted this shape. The new Insight is shaped pretty much like the original Insight, but stretched for four doors.
So who did the copying, if anyone? Not Honda.
This whole argument is so silly anyway. People think the Prius and Insight look the same just because their silhouettes are similar. Well, why don't we think all sedans and SUVS look the same?
sylvia says:
04:24 PM, 11/ 4/09
I want to like it but...
clarkma5 says:
11:38 PM, 11/ 4/09
Well I can't claim THAT much enthusiasm, but I rather do agree. It's a well done car.
super_ongoy says:
05:33 PM, 11/ 5/09
@crowb: Thanks. Now I know I can freely refer to male genitalia without feeling awkward about it. I can see now that there are several aspect of aerodynamics to consider. What I'm wondering is then why does penis has evolved to be aerodynamic? I am happy to report that I have not yet benefited by the fact that penis is aerodynamic.
stephen987 says:
08:24 PM, 11/ 5/09
So many possible rejoinders to this one . . .