Over the weekend we took our Girl Scout troop to the local police station for a scared-straight tour. Not that these good girls really need it, but it's best to get out in front of these things, I think.
Three nine-year-olds hopped in the back seat of our 2010 Honda Insight, and immediately began to squabble over who got to sit on the "high hump" in the middle.
"You can see everything from up here!," one girl bragged to the other two.
Until then, I didn't realize the Insight had such sporty rear seats. Good for keeping two rear passengers from sliding around, but hard on a third person over four feet tall.
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 20,231 miles
brn says:
01:43 PM, 12/15/09
It's silly that they call it a five passenger car when on seat is a hump.
mikept03 says:
02:15 PM, 12/15/09
That middle seat is really only useful in a pinch. But according to the few passengers I've had back there the seats are really comfy, if only there was more head room.
I don't really understand all the complaining about the back seat though. I mean it's something you know going into it, and if you're like me and rarely carry rear seat passengers, what's the big deal? It's nice having the extra doors for throwing bags, coats, etc bag there, as well as having the extra cargo space. To me it's like buying a coupe and bitching about it being hard to get in and out of the back.
dougtheeng says:
02:19 PM, 12/15/09
Looks like a short seat cushion back there - I doubt I'd be comfortable but you never know.
miraa says:
02:32 PM, 12/15/09
"Until then, I didn't realize the Insight had such sporty rear seats. Good for keeping two rear passengers from sliding around..."
The weak performance helps in this regard as well.
felonious says:
03:04 PM, 12/15/09
Can you please have someone try to install a car seat on "the hump"? I like to keep my child's seat in the middle and am interested to see the results in the Insight. (Also, try to install it on one of the side rears, for fun.) Please use the big Recaro. :)
billt9 says:
05:32 PM, 12/15/09
I hate long seat cushions.
They push on the back of my knees and reduce my lower back support.
I just needed to put a word in to counter you long cushion lovers.
Go short cushions go! Die long cushions!
firstwagon says:
06:09 PM, 12/15/09
"I don't really understand all the complaining about the back seat though"
Because the Prius has back seat that works much better. If Honda is going to copy the Prius they should at least try to be as good.
mheikka says:
08:26 PM, 12/15/09
To answer felonious' question - Many large child seats will fit on either side of the Insight's back seat, *provided* the corresponding front seat is NOT slid back as far as it can go and provided you do not need to seat more than one adult in the back seat as well.
Most large child seats (and even small boosters) will NOT fit in the middle location of the Insight's back seat, due to the hump and the narrow distance between the seat belt buckles. Nor could you load your child in the middle, as the sloping roofline of the car does not afford sufficient headroom to access the seat belt buckles if the child were seated in the middle.
In our case, our (only) 5.5 year old rides in the back on the passenger side, on a small booster. The adjustable rear headrest actually supports her well. If we have more passengers, we take our larger, less efficient car.
The Insight really is a 2 seat city commuter "second car" with some capacity to transport one or two K-5 grade children (or smaller adults) as rear seat passengers for short distances. You'll really need a larger, quieter car for anything else. The "coupe with a more accessible back seat" metaphor is appropriate here.
mikept03 says:
06:13 PM, 12/16/09
"Because the Prius has back seat that works much better. If Honda is going to copy the Prius they should at least try to be as good."
I admit the Prius is the better car technologically, and probly is more well rounded. Things I'm glad they didn't copy are the scary no-feedback steering, ultra-slow steering ratio, wallowy ride, unadjustable seat, center mounted gauges, lack of a tachometer, and bad looks (IMO). This is only comparing a 2009 Prius, the 2010 wasn't out yet when I got the Insight, and I couldn't wait for months without a car. I think the Insight works better than the Prius for some people, and vice-versa for others.