My test vehicle for the week is the completely redesigned (thank frickin’ goodness!) 2010 Honda Insight EX. You are not alone if you don’t really remember what it looked like originally. When it first came into production in 1999 it was a very funny looking vehicle that was underpowered and only sat two people. Sound familiar at all?
Maybe you will remember John Travolta characters calling it “the Cadillac of hybrids” in a movie years ago called Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty. Danny DeVito’s character asks him “what about speed” as a yellow Ferrari pulls up beside it, and Mr. Travolta replied “If you’re important, they will wait!” I am sure that Honda was hoping that this would help sell this little hybrid car, but I have not seen very many of them on the road since they came out. But I know that proud owners are feeling important driving this car because of its incredible fuel economy and impact on the environment.
And now, this new Insight no longer looks like an Insight; in fact, it very closely resembles the Toyota Prius. Very closely is almost an understatement. I had three people ask me about my new Prius and were shocked to find out that this was in fact a Honda!
Despite looking completely different – the Insight is all grown up, literally! It now has room for five people and a tonne more cargo. But the Insight is actually smaller than the Prius: It is about 5cm narrower, 5cm shorter height-wise and about 10cm shorter overall. I didn’t really notice a huge difference between the two. But it is a considerable improvement over the previous 2 seater Insight.
With angled noses and high sloping rear ends, if you park the two vehicles side by side, the Prius and Insight could pass for siblings. The overall shape is described as a teardrop - I am not a fan – I know that the idea behind it is aerodynamics and improved fuel consumption (which it has) but this look does nothing for me.
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| There are two trim levels to pick from, the base LX starts at just around $25,000 and the EX to $27,500. |
Maybe you will remember John Travolta characters calling it “the Cadillac of hybrids” in a movie years ago called Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty. Danny DeVito’s character asks him “what about speed” as a yellow Ferrari pulls up beside it, and Mr. Travolta replied “If you’re important, they will wait!” I am sure that Honda was hoping that this would help sell this little hybrid car, but I have not seen very many of them on the road since they came out. But I know that proud owners are feeling important driving this car because of its incredible fuel economy and impact on the environment.
And now, this new Insight no longer looks like an Insight; in fact, it very closely resembles the Toyota Prius. Very closely is almost an understatement. I had three people ask me about my new Prius and were shocked to find out that this was in fact a Honda!
Despite looking completely different – the Insight is all grown up, literally! It now has room for five people and a tonne more cargo. But the Insight is actually smaller than the Prius: It is about 5cm narrower, 5cm shorter height-wise and about 10cm shorter overall. I didn’t really notice a huge difference between the two. But it is a considerable improvement over the previous 2 seater Insight.
With angled noses and high sloping rear ends, if you park the two vehicles side by side, the Prius and Insight could pass for siblings. The overall shape is described as a teardrop - I am not a fan – I know that the idea behind it is aerodynamics and improved fuel consumption (which it has) but this look does nothing for me.
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| The 60/40 rear split seats come in very handy when you need to move people and stuff around. |