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I remember seeing a Honda Insight around town.  At 6′5 inches, it didn’t look like the car for me.  It looked tiny, cramped, like some kind of experimental vehicle aimed at capturing the hearts and minds of people who felt that go-carts were nice bit a bit too roomy.

Enter the 2010 Honda Insight - a completely retooled and revamped Hybrid.  It’s bigger than the first generation.  It has better lines, and looks less like a gadget, and more like an actual road-worthy vehicle.  Actually - it looks like a Prius.  To achieve the aerodynamics needed for the 40+ MPG rating, they had to style the aerodynamics in much the same way Toyota had to.

One nice thing about the new Insight, it’s more affordable than a Prius.  Base models start under $20,000, and top out around $24,000 (as opposed to my Prius, which - admittedly feature rich - ran me about about $28,000.)

Honda calls their Hybrid technology “IMA” - “Integrated Motor Assist.”  It behaves differently than the Prius “Synergy” Hybrid design.  With Honda’s IMA, the gasoline engine does most of the work, while a secondary engine - an electric engine - kicks in during times when additional power is needed.  Contrast this to the Prius, which uses its electric-only motor when starting from a dead stop, or when travelling at low speeds.

While the Insight does have an electric-only mode, this mode only becomes active while the vehicle is already in motion, and won’t travel as far as the Prius will in its electric-only mode.

The new Insight also includes an “Eco-Assist” - a computerized controller that helps adjust the car’s Hybrid behavior to your driving style.  That’s one problem I have noticed with my Prius - mileage results vary wildly, depending on how I drive.  I only get good gas mileage when I drive my Prius properly, and figuring out how to drive it properly is a process of trial and error.

I can see where Honda’s “Eco-assist” feedback would be handy in that case, to help drivers who want to be more environmentally-conscious adjust to their new Hybrid fuel-economy maximizing features.

One advantage of the Honda design - if you have battery problems, the car runs just fine in a gas-only mode.  The Prius, however, will leave you stuck.

Still - 40+ MPG is nothing to sneeze at.  The new Insight is slightly bigger and more efficient than a Fit.  Think of it as a more affordable slightly less efficient Prius.

Honda’s Insight page has a nice tour of some of its other features, I recommend taking a look here.

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If you demand it, companies will come up with it. This has never been more apparent than with hybrid autos, the companies answer to a consumer nation that has become more environmentally aware.

The day you knew hybrids were here to stay was the day car companies started announcing hybrid SUVs. Imagine, all the size and little of the guilt. That being said, there are some misconceptions about hybrids, so lets address the big two.

Buy any old hybrid and you will get a major tax credit. This is the first myth that arises around the hybrid. Can you get a tax credit? Yes, but you must comply with certain requirments issues by none other than the Internal Revenue Service.

If you want to claim a tax credit for buying a hybrid, you have to comply with a few regulations. First, you have to purchase a brand new hybrid. Second, the IRS must have ceritifed the car. Third, you can only claim the amount then available.

The funny thing about the tax benefit of purchasing a hybrid is it is a moving target. The IRS initially sets an upper limi and then has the option to lower that amount each quarter of the year after it analyzes the number of cars sold.

This lowering of tax credit amounts can be a real shock to someone that purchased a hybrid. As of the writing of this article, the famous Toyota Prius is about to lose all of its tax credit. One has to think that fact is going to hurt sales.

Many people are outraged by the phasing out of the tax credit available for hybrids, particularly the manufacturers. Talk about a selling point! The credit, however, was never meant to support an industry, only generate interest in it.

A second area of misunderstanding with the hybrid vehicle has to do with the batteries. Obviously, the car requires special batteries. There is a myth that they have to be replaced every 40,000 miles. This is alleged to be a big problem because they are expensive.

In truth, there is no requirement that hybrid batteries be changed every 40,000 miles or so. Most brands come with warranties of up to 100,000 miles. Although hybrids are fairly new, the batteries are reported to last well into the hundreds of thousands of miles.

Should you make your next vehicle a hybrid? If you want to cut your driving costs and help the environment, then the answer is definitely yes. Just make sure to buy it new and check with the IRS on your tax credit amount.

Want to see how you can get hybrid-like fuel economy out of your current vehicle? Click Here for my best tip on how to improve fuel economy for your current vehicle - hybrid or not!

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