2011 Honda Insight Review and Prices

By Chuck Giametta

2011 HONDA INSIGHT BUYING ADVICE

• The 2011 Honda Insight hybrid is the best car for you if you want one of America’s highest-mileage cars at a reasonable price -- and can live with its quirks.

• The 2011 Honda Insight marks the sophomore model year for Honda’s answer to the Toyota Prius. No changes of significance are expected versus the 2010 Honda Insight. That means this aerodynamic five-passenger, four-door hatchback will return will an EPA fuel-economy rating of 40/43 mpg (city/highway). Insight pricing should again start under $21,000. No car that costs as little has fuel-economy ratings as high, though some less-expensive ones get within sniffing distance. More significantly, Toyota has aggressively priced the Prius only a couple thousand dollars higher than the Insight – and the Prius is roomier, more powerful and refined, and rates a formidable 51/48 mpg.

• Should you wait for the 2011 Honda Insight or buy a 2010 Honda Insight? If this blend of size, styling, and image fits your environmental commitment and your bank account, there’s no reason to wait for the 2011 Insight.

2011 HONDA INSIGHT CHANGES

• Styling: The 2011 Honda Insight styling will won’t see any changes. Its low nose, swept-back windshield, and long, gently arched roof reduce mileage-robbing wind resistance. They also let onlookers know that Insight is a gas-electric car. That message is important to many hybrid buyers, as evident from the success of the distinctively styled Prius. The Prius is only about 3 inches longer than the Insight, but has enough passenger-compartment volume to be considered a midsize car. The Insight falls in the compact class. It has fairly spacious front seating and rear accommodations a bit squeezed for knee and head room. The seating itself is notably supportive, though. And Insight’s hatchback design gives it fine cargo space: 15.9 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks up, 31.5 with them folded. However, a horizontal rib dividing the hatchlid’s upper and lower glass panels seriously interferes with the driver’s view of traffic behind. The Insight borrows some front-chassis engineering from the Honda Fit, a slightly smaller and less-expensive four-door hatchback with a conventional gas engine.

• Mechanical: The 2011 Honda Insight uses a small, four-cylinder gas engine boosted by an adjacent electric motor to produce 98 horsepower. It runs primarily on gas and uses the electric motor as an assist to produce more net power than the engine alone can make. Honda calls the system Integrated Motor Assist (IMA). It self-charges Insight’s nickel metal hydride battery pack; no plug-in is necessary. Under ideal conditions, IMA can save fuel by running the Insight on electric power alone at low speeds for short distances. It can also shut off the engine while the car is stopped, then automatically turn it on again when you touch the accelerator. By contrast, the gas-electric hybrid system in the Prius and, for example, the system in the midsize sedan Ford Fusion Hybrid, more equitably share gas and electric propulsion. They can run on battery power for longer periods than the Insight, and under a wider range of conditions. Consequently, they use less gas (the Fusion is rated at 41/36 mpg), but they also are more expensive; the Fusion Hybrid starts around $28,000. Like its hybrid competition, Insight has front-wheel drive and a continuously variable automatic transmission. On the road, the Insight can feel strained when you want to accelerate rapidly off the line or overtake faster-moving traffic. In ordinary driving conditions, the powertrain acquits itself is well enough and the car is stable on the highway and goes around corners with confidence. On the downside, engine and road noise are prominent and the ride is quite firm. Worst of all, the electric steering system provides little road feel and inconsistent response when you turn the wheel.

• Features: The 2011 Honda Insight should repeat the 2010 model’s three trim levels: base LX, better-equipped EX, and top-line EX with a navigation system. Each comes with air conditioning, power windows, locks, and mirrors, a tilt-telescope steering wheel, a height adjustable driver’s seat, and 60/40 split/folding rear seatbacks. Head-protecting curtain side airbags also are standard, as are antilock brakes. The EX models add an antiskid system. Insight asserts its hybrid-ness with Honda’s Ecological Drive Assist System -- Eco Assist, for short. It rewards fuel-efficient driving with green dashboard lighting and transitions to blue if you use more gas than necessary. You earn digital plant leaves for good behavior, and can press an “Econ” dashboard button to dial back the air conditioning and recalibrate the throttle to save even more gas. The only tire size is a modest 175/65R15 and the tread is a low-rolling-resistance compound to aid fuel efficiency. The Insight’s dashboard design enhances the sense you’re driving a car with an alternative-fuel powertrain. It’s futuristic without being gimmicky; even the green-to-blue color change is thoughtfully integrated, and the shape and placement of the controls shows original thinking and sound ergonomics. Interior materials are solid and feel slightly richer than Insight’s pricing might imply.

2011 HONDA INSIGHT PRICES

• The 2011 Honda Insight prices won’t be announced until shortly before the car goes on sale in 2010, but they should not escalate much. That suggests a 2011 Honda Insight LX price of around $20,600. There are no options, and the LX should again come with will a CD audio system, four speakers, and an auxiliary input for iPods and other digital audio devices. (All prices in this review include the manufacturer’s mandatory destination fee; Honda’s fee was $710 for 2010).

• Expect the 2011 Honda Insight EX price to be around $22,200. It’ll add to the LX the antiskid system, alloy wheels, and cruise control. EX Insights also have steering wheel-mounted paddle “shifters” so the driver can trigger manual-type gear changes programmed into the CVT. An audio upgrade with six speakers and USB interface for iPods and other MP3 devices is also an EX feature. A front center console and heated outside mirrors with integrated turn signals complete the EX picture.

• The 2011 Honda Insight EX with Navigation should come in around $23,950. It’ll have Honda’s voice-activated navigation system with a 6.5-inch dashboard screen. Bluetooth hands-free cell-phone linking also is included. And the steering wheel gains buttons to control both navigation and Bluetooth functions.

2011 HONDA INSIGHT RELEASE DATE

• The 2011 Honda Insight should go on sale in spring 2010.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE HONDA INSIGHT

• In the short term, Honda could fine-tune Insight’s steering feel or ride quality, but don’t expect major alterations to its looks or basic engineering. The company has reportedly backed off consideration of a hybrid version of the Fit. That allows it to concentrate technological and marketing resources on the Insight, and could hasten introduction of plug-in hybrid version. The 2011 Chevrolet Volt, a compact-sized four-door hatchback, is set to bring plug-in tech to the hybrid field, though it’s likely to be priced in the high-$30,000 range. Toyota has also reportedly considered a plug-in version of the Prius.

• The 2011 Insight will spawn a sporty two-door hybrid, the 2011 Honda CR-Z. This performance-oriented front-drive coupe builds on Insight’s IMA system with a larger four-cylinder engine for better acceleration and will use an enhanced suspension for sharper handling.

• In the long term, the Insight could provide Honda with a test case to determine whether dedicated hybrid models are the way for it to continue along the green path. Hybrid versions of its Accord midsize sedan and Civic compact sedan weren’t huge sales successes. That doesn’t rule out future gas-electric editions of both, however. And Honda is working on a pure-electric car, likely for model-year 2015. The company is already running a small test fleet of its FCX Clarity midsize hatchbacks powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Retail sale of full-production FCX Clarity models is targeted for around 2018.

2011 HONDA INSIGHT COMPETITION

• Toyota Prius: The obvious hybrid alternative will cost you slightly more than an Insight to start – perhaps around $22,500 for a stripper version, and will easily nudge $30,000 when ordered with options Insight doesn’t offer, such as leather upholstery and a solar-panel roof to help cool the car. But Prius is a larger, quieter four-door hatchback than the Insight. It’s faster and more fuel-efficient, too, though it earns its own driving demerits for numb handling and indifferent steering. The current Prius was introduced as a 2010 model and, barring addition of a plug-in edition, shouldn’t change for several years. Toyota is, however, reportedly considering a two-door version of the Prius to compete with the 2011 Honda CR-Z.

• Honda Fit: We would counsel you to consider the Honda Civic Hybrid, but the Civic is due for a full redesign in model-year 2011 and details about the return of its gas-electric model are sketchy. In the interim, you can sample Honda design efficiency and waste-no-resource engineering in the remarkably roomy Fit. This subcompact four-door hatchback takes up less space on the road than the Insight, yet has more usable passenger and cargo volume. It’s got front-wheel drive, surprisingly sporty handling, and a smooth four-cylinder gas engine rated at 27/33 mpg with manual transmission, 28/35 with automatic. Prices are a treat, starting under $16,000 and topping out around $20,000. Fit won’t see any major changes for several more years.

• Volkswagen Golf TDI: Widen your definition of alternative fuel to include diesel and you’ll be impressed by this oil-burning version of VW’s compact hatchback. Golf was restyled inside and out for model-year 2010. It dropped the Rabbit name but returns as a front-drive four-door hatch with an available four-cylinder turbodiesel of around 140 horsepower. Diesel fuel prices fluctuate from less- to more-expensive than gasoline, but expect the Golf TDI to rate about 30/41 with manual transmission, 29/40 with automatic. And it’ll deliver more responsive acceleration than the Insight. Compared to those of just a few years ago today’s diesels are quiet, relatively odor-free, and meet gas-engine emissions rules. Golf TDI prices are likely to start around $23,000.