Anyone Own or Driven a Newer Honda Insight?

[verothacamaro]

I'm looking to purchase something reliable that gets great mix-driving MPG.

Do you currently own an Insight?

If not, have you driven one?

What's it like???

[evil_demon_01]

Driven a few, Nice cars and alot of space considering.

Obviously they aren't a race car, but still have enough getup and go to get you around.
What kind of things are you wanting to know?

[Leung]

what about the hybrid Civics? i see those all over the place here in Cincinnati.

I think the Civic gets 49/51 miles to the gallon.

since they look just like my 8th gen civic, the only thing different is probably the engine. I mean the interior is as room as my 90 Accord.

[deevergote]

I would take the Civic over the Insight, mainly because replacement parts are going to be more common. Neither one of them will be able to get out of its own way, and either hybrid system will be pricey to repair if it breaks... but at least the Civic is going to share parts with thousands of other Civics on the road!

I haven't driven either, though considered both (and even briefly considered the CR-Z). Ultimately, I chose to stick with my Fit, as it's quite simple, reliable (218,000 miles!), and I get 36-42mpg with mixed driving... while giving a pretty heavy flogging every day.

[Accrdwgnguy]

The Civic Hybrid is about 6 -7k dollars more than the Insight, so any money you are saving by driving a hybrid is negated.

[HenRoc]

Insights aren't bad cars if you like the idea of saving money on gas. Personally I'd opt for the Civic hybrid since in my opinion it looks allot more roomier than the Insight then again Im a slightly big guy

Speaking of which..one of the techs had to replace a motor on a newer Insight. The owner went somewhere else and had an oil change done and because the drain plug wasn't tight, you guess the rest.

Upside? He got a brand new motor from Honda.

[Leung]

I don't know big the op is but I'm 5'11" and weigh 230 pounds. There's plenty of room in the civic since it's no longer a sub compact car. Is it even classified as a compact?

[deevergote]

The Civic Hybrid is about 6 -7k dollars more than the Insight, so any money you are saving by driving a hybrid is negated.

Is it really? I thought they were only $22,000-ish... that's what I remember seeing when I bought the Fit, anyway. Of course, the Insight wasn't an option back then, nor the CR-Z... and it was the previous generation Civic.

[HondaB18]

if you can swing the extra cost go for the prius, better bang for your buck in terms of what you get vs cost. toyota uses HSD which is full hybrid while honda uses IMA which is mild hybrid. they both are good cars but with the insight, honda skipped out on things like sound dampener so the engine noise will be louder but much cheaper. also depends on your commutes

[verothacamaro]

I looked into the CR-Z and I actually really like it.

Still, it's a bit impractical and manuals are hard to find (why would you buy a sports coupe with an automatic?)

I actually really liked the 2nd Gen Prius -- comfy, frugal, and full of features. The newer version looks even better.

Thanks d00dz

[deevergote]

The CR-Z is hard to find in manual? I thought the fact that it was a manual hybrid was the biggest draw!

I understand the draw to the Prius... but every time I see one, I just want to punch the owner in the vagina. And they ALL have vaginas (regardless of the presence of a Y chromosome...) Of course, as someone that drives for a living, I tend to see more people in Priuses (is that the proper way to pluralize Prius?) driving like total douchewaffles. Most of them are leadfooting it down the highway, too! So much for fuel economy...

[verothacamaro]

The CR-Z is hard to find in manual? I thought the fact that it was a manual hybrid was the biggest draw!

I understand the draw to the Prius... but every time I see one, I just want to punch the owner in the vagina. And they ALL have vaginas (regardless of the presence of a Y chromosome...) Of course, as someone that drives for a living, I tend to see more people in Priuses (is that the proper way to pluralize Prius?) driving like total douchewaffles. Most of them are leadfooting it down the highway, too! So much for fuel economy...

Unfortunately, most dealerships in this area appeal to slow-driving-in-the-left-late dolts that wouldn't know what the hell to do with a clutch.

I usually have to drive well into Virginia for anything worth buying.

[Ralphie]

The CR-Z is hard to find in manual? I thought the fact that it was a manual hybrid was the biggest draw!

I understand the draw to the Prius... but every time I see one, I just want to punch the owner in the vagina. And they ALL have vaginas (regardless of the presence of a Y chromosome...) Of course, as someone that drives for a living, I tend to see more people in Priuses (is that the proper way to pluralize Prius?) driving like total douchewaffles. Most of them are leadfooting it down the highway, too! So much for fuel economy...

Wow that's really odd.

I commute from Brooklyn to Newark everyday and i see 100s of Prius drivers. 90% of them are polite, modest drivers just cruising along.

The only people who drive them like assholes here, are the DEP and city workers who get them as work vehicles.

As far as the OP.....i heavily researched both as i did not know that the Prius got upwards of 45-50 mpg (C&D pulled 60 on their test)

With gas prices what they are, i felt as maybe i should look into getting a serious hybrid to offset my wife getting a CR-V.

The Prius is the more refined of the two.

It is polished, the mechanics are better, and you got more options (I.e. like the ability to remotely cool the car etc)

Although, you can still expect to pay 20k for 4-5 year old Prius's lol.

They are holding their value EXTREMELY well.

Which brings us to the Insight.

If your going to spend almost as much on a used Prius, i would say just get a brand new Insight.

Yes it gets SLIGHTLY less mpg......yes the Honda road noise is there....and yes the options are smaller....but you save hella $ and i personally think the 2nd gen Insight's are fucking sexy!

[deevergote]

Yeah, I've gotten cut off dozens of times by people driving a Prius. It has become a running joke between me and my friend Lauren. I text her every time it happens. She hates the things (she's a gas-chugging GM girl...)

But yeah... brand new Insight > used Prius. Hybrids are great... efficient, seemingly well made, ugly as sin (they look like suppositories... but I suppose that's necessary for aerodynamics!)... but the battery/electric guts of them are still pretty pricey to repair and service. Someone's 5 year old Prius that you get for $20,000 might need $5000 worth of work very soon! Maybe not... they're all still fairly new, so it's hard to say exactly what to expect as they age.

Another one to consider is the Ford Fusion hybrid. It got fantastic reviews when it came out, but I haven't heard a thing about it since. It might be worth some research.

[Ralphie]

Exactly.

You can go spend 20k on a car right now and if the previous owner dogged it, when the hybrid components start needing replacing OMFG it's so expensive...

just the battery packs alone are crazy.

So if your in that 20k ball park, seriously consider an Insight.

The Fusion is good but the Edge is much nicer(although not a Hybrid lol).

And the Nissan Leaf is worth checking out, although im not 100% sure what the price tag on that is.