Review: 2010 Honda Insight -- it matches the Prius's looks but Toyota's hybrid remains the benchmark

June 21, 7:44 PMAutos ExaminerBrady Holt

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The 2010 Honda Insight is marketed as a sporty, budget-priced take on the Prius, but the overall package just doesn't work.
See more photos of the Insight below the article in today's slideshow. 

The Toyota Prius is the ubiquitous hybrid car. It’s instantly recognizable and it can deliver impressive gas mileage while functioning easily as an acceptable daily-use car. 

However, the Prius has been only acceptable in most ways by the standards of today’s economy cars. Most notably, its tires are designed for maximizing gas mileage over all else, hurting ride and handling, and it costs more than any other mainstream compact car, thousands more than a comparable Corolla. 

Honda has tried to capitalize on the Prius’s shortcomings with gas-electric hybrid versions of its Civic sedan, as the Civic is more comfortable and more of a driver’s car than the Prius. But unique wheels and a little “hybrid” badge never gave it a distinctive visual appeal. So Honda has tried again. 

The first generation Insight, the first hybrid car sold in the U.S., got excellent gas mileage but offered space for only two passengers for its price tag of nearly $20,000. The new 2010 model abandons that model, instead aiming directly at the five-door five-seat Prius. The two cars’ outlines are now nearly identical, each aimed at minimizing air resistance without giving up too much interior space. 

With the Insight, Honda now has a hybrid that’s both easily recognizable as a hybrid and has a rear seat. The Insight’s base price of $19,800 undercuts that of the Prius – which starts at $22,000 – and Honda promised it would be a hybrid for people who want to feel more connected the road rather than just their fuel economy, as well as a budget hybrid for those who aren’t going to step up to the extra cost of the Prius or other pricey hybrids. 

Unfortunately, the details knock down the Insight as a major threat to the Prius’s dominance in this class. 

The first key issue is the hybrid system: the Insight’s just doesn’t work well. The Honda’s electric motor has 13 horsepower to the Prius’s 67, meaning it’s much easier to have the Toyota running gas-free with only the motor moving the car. The Insight is a “mild hybrid” that uses its electric motor more as a supplement than a replacement for the gasoline engine. The Insight’s engine does shut off seamlessly when you’ve stopped but reawakens with a jerk when it’s time to go again. 

The 2009 Prius also manages to beat the Insight’s EPA mileage ratings of 40 city / 43 highway by 5 miles per gallon or more than 12%. And a redesigned 2010 Prius that’s just now going on sale further blows it away, averaging 50 miles per gallon in mixed driving instead of the Honda’s 41. 

It’s worth noting that careful driving has netted very impressive mileage for the Insight, but the Prius’s design gives it an inherent advantage using the same methods, as its electric battery can do much more. 

Another issue is interior space. Since 2004, the Prius has been able to somewhat justify its price premium over other compact cars by offering more room, slotting in somewhere between Toyota's Corolla and Camry. However, Honda went the opposite direction with the new Insight; the sloping roofline cuts off rear-seat headroom and leaves passengers with less space than Honda’s cheaper Civic sedan and Fit hatchback. The front seats are similar to those in the Civic: firm, well-shaped, and comfortable. There’s sufficient space for front-seat occupants, but no more than in other compact cars. Like the Prius, the Insight is a hatchback, which gives it good cargo versatility. Also like the Prius, however, the aerodynamic shape cuts into cargo volume. 

Another issue is the refinement. The interior looks and feels much more basic than a $20,000 car should, and the ride is stiff and quite noisy. The Insight jostles passengers over bumps and there’s lots of road noise. The 1.3-liter gasoline engine doesn’t sound pleasant and, as noted, doesn’t kick in smoothly when after the Insight is idling electric-only. 

The Insight also doesn’t do much in the way of connecting the driver to the road, without the level of agility and steering feel of even a Civic. The Prius may be further away still, but the Insight’s stiff ride, like the Prius’s, is clearly to benefit gas mileage rather than crisp handling. Also, like the Prius and other modern hybrids, the Insight offers no manual transmission, though you can select shift points with the continuously variable automatic in the upper-level Insight EX model. (The original Insight had a standard stickshift.)

And lastly, the Insight doesn’t compete so well on price either. The $19,800 LX model – the car driven for this review – is less expensive than the cheapest Prius, but it gives up features like cruise control, alloy wheels, and electronic stability control. For those things, step up to the Insight EX – which at $21,300 is hardly a killer deal compared to a comparably-equipped $22,000 Prius. 

I test drove the Insight for this review three weeks ago today, and as of this writing that same car remains on the lot at Sheehy Honda in Alexandria, Va., a local indicator of why Honda has backed way off its sales target of 90,000 Insights per year.

Sheehy’s internet sales department marks the Insight LX’s sticker price down from $20,470 (the base price plus destination charge) to $19,495. EXs go down from $22,010 to $20,995. New Priuses are going for their sticker price at Fitzgerald Auto Malls, but if you do decide on a hybrid, it’s worth a bit of extra money. The Prius will give you more space, more refinement, and, most importantly for a hybrid, more miles per gallon than the Insight. 

Besides, if saving money is your primary focus, don’t buy either hybrid. Just buy a nice inexpensive and fuel-efficient compact or subcompact car. A Honda Fit, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Versa, or Toyota Corolla offers all the benefits of an Insight or a Prius but the gee-whiz technology and the higher-than-high gas mileage. (For even greater savings, you could consider a used car instead of a new one.) 

The ultra-high gas mileage won’t likely cover the extra cost of a hybrid; the EPA estimates you’ll spend $1,219 a year to gas up a Corolla versus about $732 for a Prius. There’s no guarantee either car will last long enough to make back the extra $7,000 or more you’d spend on the hybrid. 

That’s not to say there’s no reason to buy a Prius. You can treat it as an economy-maximization toy that also saves you some money, and it’s convenient to minimize gas station visits if cost isn’t a priority to you.

But with lower gas mileage than the Prius, less hybrid finesse than the Prius, less space than the Prius, nearly the same price tag as a comparable Prius, and none of the promised handling sharpness, there really is no reason to buy an Insight if you do go the hybrid route. 

Vehicle tested: 2010 Honda Insight
Vehicle base price (MSRP): $19,800
Version tested: LX
Version base price (MSRP): $19,800
Vehicle price as tested (MSRP): $20,470
Estimated transaction price as tested: $19,495
Test vehicles provided by: Sheehy Honda of Alexandria, Va

Key specifications: 
Length: 172.3 inches
Width: 66.7 inches
Height: 56.2 inches
Wheelbase: 100.4 inches
Weight: 2,723 pounds
Trunk room: 15.9 cubic feet
Turning circle: 36.2 feet
Engine: 1.3-liter I4 with 88 horsepower + 13-hp electric motor
Transmission: continuously variable automatic
EPA city mileage: 40 miles per gallon
EPA highway mileage: 43 miles per gallon
EPA mixed driving: 41 miles per gallon