Honda’s goal with the 2010 Insight Hybrid is to reduce the premium price commanded by hybrid technology. This is what Honda does best, so we can expect the 2010 Insight to raise the technology bar and lower the sticker price. How does the Insight compare to Prius?
The first question is easy. How does the 2010 Honda Insight compare to the Toyota Prius in terms of gas mileage? Popular Mechanics compared the two under similar conditions. “After 200 miles of mixed driving around Phoenix, however, the Insight bettered the Prius, achieving 42.4 mpg versus the Toyota's 41.1 mpg,” the team reported.
The next question is easy as well. How do the two cars compare on price? Prius pricing begins at $22,000 (MSRP). Honda has promised the Insight will be priced significantly under $20,000. Automotive website Jalopnik.com thinks the MSRP will be considerably lower. “Honda hasn’t yet released an official price, but its own hints and informed speculation pegs it somewhere in the $18,500 neighborhood,” the Jalopnik writer said. “That’s a reasonably large difference from the current 2009 model Prius, which starts at $22,000. If Honda can maintain that price differential, or maybe even increase it when the 2010 Toyota Prius is launched, it’ll have a significant advantage.”
To be sure, these cars are direct competitors. Each is a standalone hybrid with no gas-only version offered. Each is a four-door hatchback with five seats. Both cars have folding rear seats for greater cargo flexibility. Both are affordable, but the Insight looks to have a significant edge in affordability.
How about another straightforward question? Okay, how do the Insight and Prius compare in their individual approaches to hybrid performance? Prius is gas-aided electric and Insight is electric-aided gas. Both are valid ways to apply hybrid technology, but the Insight’s hybrid drivetrain has some “real-world” advantages.
The all-new 2010 Honda Insight employs an updated version of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system that is the command center for a 1.3-liter eight-valve inline-four and a 13-hp electric motor. The system develops 98 hp and 123 lb/ft of torque courtesy of two valves per cylinder and two-mode VTEC variable valve timing and lift. Both motors feed a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The Insight switches to electric-only power when cruising at low speeds. In this scenario, the VTEC system idles the valves, so the engine still spins, but without consume any fuel. A nickel-metal-hydride battery under the rear cargo floor captures the braking energy and is the power source for the electric motor.
By comparison, the Prius uses complicated planetary gears to feed power to its transmission. It’s a NASA-style hybrid. Complexity and technology are wonderful when they work, but they tend to be nightmares when they don’t.
The car critics who have driven pre-introduction Insights say the Honda Insight is far more fun to drive than the Prius. As Jalopnik noted, “Drive a Prius for any reason other than decent mileage and you’ll be massively disappointed by the experience. It’s not all that slow, but it is unresponsive and wallowy. The brake pedal feels weird due to the regenerative system, and the whole thing is just sorta lacking. In contrast, the Honda is actually…fun to drive.”
Part of the “fun-to-drive” factor found in the Insight must be credited to the car’s Eco Assist system. Give Honda credit for realizing that the single largest factor in getting great mileage is the driver. The Eco Assist system helps drivers drive more economically by giving them the information and encouragement to do so. Most drivers get involved quickly, enjoying the challenge of driving “eco-logically.” However, for those “set it and forget it” folks, the Insight has an “Econ” mode that is capable of gaining around 10 percent additional efficiency. Japlopnik says to “think of it like Prozac for cars, evening out the peaks and valleys of your throttle inputs, turning the engine off earlier when coming to a stop, running the A/C more efficiently and telling the cruise control to use less throttle. It’s a welcome aid.”
The Prius seems to glory in its hybridness to excess at the expense of driver comfort and convenience. Here’s what the reviewer at Edmunds’ Inside Line found. “When you climb inside a Prius, you're confronted with a decidedly unorthodox dashboard layout. There are no conventional gauges; instead, the speed readout and general operational information peek out from a narrow slot at the base of the windshield. The climate control, audio and navigation controls are all embedded in a single, centrally located multifunction screen. Even the gear selector sprouts from the dash immediately to the right of the steering wheel.”
By contrast, the 2010 Honda Insight is a decidedly “normal” compact car. Again, here’s how Edmunds described it. “There's a real gauge cluster in front of the driver and non-virtual heating and ventilation controls that fall immediately to hand. The Insight's cabin also places you in a driving position that's more natural than that of the Prius, and this is further enhanced by the Honda's telescoping steering wheel and height-adjustable seat. These two latter features aren't available in the Prius, yet it desperately needs both of them...you can never place the tilt-only steering wheel in quite the right place. Simply put, you sit on the Prius and in the Insight.”
The Insight is also a remarkably practical vehicle. The giant hatch lifts to nearly vertical, revealing a capacious trunk and 60/40 seats that fold nearly flat. The Insight is smaller than the Prius, but it has 1.5 cubic feet more cargo room than the Prius.
We think the 2010 Honda Insight has what it takes to “mainstream” hybrid technology. Come in soon to see for yourself.
