2010 Honda Insight: A Few Thoughts from the Garage
March 24, 2010
The more I drive our long-term 2010 Honda Insight, the more I think that Honda really didn't anticipate how vastly improved the 2010 Toyota Prius would be.
For sure, Honda's take two on the Insight is a better-driving car than the second-generation 2004-2009 Priuses that lurk in every Southern California subdivision. But alongside the third-gen Prius, the case for the Insight is much tougher to make. It has a harsher, noisier ride and a smaller, lower-buck cabin. And I don't think the Insight's slightly sportier steering and crisper turn-in are enough to offset this stuff -- to say nothing of its lower EPA mpg ratings.
Ultimately, the Insight only works for me if I think of it as a Civic alternative. It's a five-door hatchback and I sure can't get this functionality in a current-gen Civic. And I love its JDM face. You see a bunch of Hondas with this face (mostly Japanese-market Odysseys) if you walk around in Japan, but it's still unusual and fresh looking in the U.S.
So my appreciation for the 2010 Insight is a little shallow, but you might be a little shallow, too, if you parked in this company.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 14,519 miles
