Honda Insight in Paris: Cheaper, not better than the Prius?
Not as efficient as the Prius in the city?The new Honda Insight hybrid will be the first real challenge to the Toyota Prius. But is it really a Prius fighter?
While the Insight IMA hybrid powertrain coupled with its 1.3 liter engine will be a bit smaller and lighter than the powertrain in the Honda Civic hybrid, it will still offer very similar fuel economy to the Civic hybrid. Thus, while the Insight might equal the Prius on the highway, the Prius will far out-perform the Insight in city fuel economy.
Of course, the Insight will be cheaper than the Civic hybrid and the Prius, making up for some of this city efficiency, but it will also be smaller than both hybrid vehicles. How much is extra space worth?
Insight versus the Prius? The choice is yours, and choice is what really matters.
Labels: honda civic hybrid, honda insight hybrid, Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
9:40 AM
20 Comments:
I was hoping the Insight would get more like 70 mpg....kind of a bust for me. I like the price but would rather have a Prius since it can be modified to get 100 mpg....
since the insight hybrid is smaller and probably more aerodynamic than the civic hybrid, with hypermiling techniques, perhaps 70 mpg would be possible on the highway.
i wouldn't be surprised to see this vehicle outperform the prius, at least the 2nd gen prius, on the highway. the third gen prius, we'll have to wait and see. it's supposed to do better on the highway than in past.
still, its city driving that will really differentiate the prius and the insight
It is a mild hybrid, not a full hybrid. Anyway, 45/40 mpg is cool anyway. It is better than Mini, larger than Mini and more fuel efficient! The price should be also about the same. No need to buy something like Mini!
shoot, it'll probably be cheaper than most Minis.
I doubt, because Mini starts from 19,200.
Well, it depends on what you consder "most minis". The base MSRP will be probably higher, everything else can be only guessed.
What a disappointment...particularly looks-wise.
What kind of look would have interested you, Noz?
According to Honda, the look of this vehicle, which needed to be a 4 door hatchback, was driven purely by aerodynamics.
Is it that it looks too much like the Prius?
Dahc,
There are more ways than one to come up with a certain drag coefficient. Yes, aerodynamics dictates to a certain degree what form a vehicle has to take but there are different ways to accomplish the goal.
This car looks very bland...the rear quarter area is disproportionate. And frankly this whole aerodynamics thing is blown out of proportion given the regime these cars operate under...most Prius owners would rarely go over 70 MPH.
And most of these cars will see their highest efficiency somewhere mid-range where WEIGHT would be more effective in reducing consumption than a slight increase in drag coefficient.
How come the Volt doesn't look like this?
In my opinion I see a strong similarity in the Volt, Prius and Insight.
Still, I agree with your larger point.
Automakers can't seem to step outside of the box. Overall, things have to look pretty much like they look today to appease consumers, at least that's what automakers seem to think.
Indigo Incarnates
Well... at $19k, I will be able to afford it. And it is SUCH a pretty car! :) I'm sold on it even if it only gets 48 MPG.
i won't try to talk you out of it.
i think it will be a great car for the money.
my only point would be that for drivers whom are regularly stuck in hardcore traffic, the prius should be a better car.
Honda said the Insight would approximately match the existing Honda Civic Hybrid in fuel economy in their unveiling ceremony. Regardless of that, I think it's good. The Honda Civic Hybrid was never intended as a long-term hybrid solution; it was a "quick-n-easy" that allowed Honda to take an existing platform and rapidly adapt it with a hybrid drivetrain, which was necessary to compete with Toyota's hybrid technology. This is actually really smart, since this allowed Honda to have a reliable development platform for IMA which they can now spin off to multiple vehicle lines. Now they can phase out the Civic Hybrid and replace it with this new Insight completely. Althought Honda's IMA is not as sophisticated as Toyota's HSD, it gets fairly close to what the HSD puts out in MPG.
IMO, this is good, even if the insight isn't the gas-sipping car we would have loved, it'll force toyota to slash prius prices. competition means we all win. Insight and Prius less than $20k in the next few years? WOO HOO!
I think in tough congestion the Prius will still kick the Insight's butt. Still, many drivers don't drive in that kind of congestion, and outside of those conditions the Insight will be a worthy alternative to the Prius.
Most important, if the Insight can keep pricing pressure on the Prius, that is definitely a huge win, as you note.
But certainly not more fun-to-drive than a MINI; not by a long-shot.
If the Honda FIT had a start/stop (S/S) system, I'd not even think about getting an Insight. To me, it looks hideous.
Honda had a good platform already on the Fit. It looks better, is sporty, has more utility, and already gets a great MPG rating if driven well.
Couple that with a S/S system and you'd already have a very nice, great MPG car for little to no increase in price above the current FIT.
What a bunch of idiots.
The Honda Fit is still coming Noz.
darex - Hybrids, as far as I'm concerned, are about congestion and city driving. The Best Mini gets a little over 32, others mid-30's.
Thus, the Mini isn't fuel efficient enough to put in this comparison.
Dacredyns:
MY MINI (M.T. Cooper, non-"S")gets an honest 36 mpg on the highway, and sometimes more, but much less in the city. Your numbers are, therefore, a bit off. Also, I know of several so-called "hybrids" (like those by GM) that get worse fuel-economy than my MINI.
darex-
i think the mini is a fantastic car, but in terms of city fuel economy it falls far short. that's not a critique specifically against the Mini. compared to most autos, the Mini is a pretty progressive green statement - that's fun to drive.
it's just proof that going small is not enough if your goal is ending foreign oil dependency or truly attacking global warming.
the new prius, for instance, is going to get 50 on the highway and the city, according to the EPA. that's roughly about what it would take - averaged across America - to end foreign oil dependency.
that's my goal.
i'm truly not trying to attack the Mini, just to stay focused on the goal. and in the end, even small cars are not efficient enough.
one way or the other that has to change.
still, i fully embrace those whom have chosen small cars over huge gas-guzzlers. so, cheers.
DAREX:
It's more than just fuel economy when it comes to hybrids. They reduce other emissions such as NOx, CO, etc...that regular cars cannot.
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