2010 Honda Insight Hybrid - Like a Prius, only Honda-ier

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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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