Prius-killer alert: The new Honda Insight could be thousands less

The hybrid scene has suddenly become hotter. This is Honda’s much-talked-about "Prius fighter," the Insight. Ten years on from the first vehicle to bear the name (that odd little two-seater), this is a proper five-door, five-seater model — just like the car it’s going up against.

The car pictured here is still officially a concept vehicle and will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show next month. But with production happening so soon, the streetable model shouldn’t differ that much, if at all.

Honda now realizes that people like their hybrids to look like hybrids, so the 2009 Insight has a distinct design (does that make it ego-friendly?), although the styling does echo the company’s flagship ‘green’ car, the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle. The Insight is said to be a tad smaller than the current Civic, but thanks to reductions in the size and weight of Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system — the high-tech part of the hybrid equation — the package still offers plenty of room.

There’s also another benefit to the IMA makeover. It’s cheaper. So Honda is promising that the Insight will cost no more than equivalent conventional models when it goes on sale next spring — effectively undercutting the Toyota Prius. The Prius currently starts at $22,000 and figures in the region of $18,500 have been bandied about for the Insight. If that’s the case, it would be the cheapest hybrid on the market. Honda is looking to sell 200,000 Insights a year, with the United States buying half that number.

—Colin Ryan

Photo: Honda

Comments

[Ryan]

In for one.

[hb]

I'm much less interested in the looks than in the gas mileage.

[MarkW]

No MPG numbers? No plug-in capability. Looks like a Prius with a different grill. Excuse me while I look for something noteworthy.

[Arp]

So Honda is fighting the Prius with... a Prius! Brilliant.

I don't understand this idea of hybrid buyers needing their hybrid to look like a hybrid. Where did this load of pundit rubbish get started? The Prius sells well because it is the best MPG car on the road that isn't a bloody Civic. It's not about being fashionable or flaunting your eco-ness, it's about saving gas...and not having to drive a Civic, which was styled by second graders.

[JST]

I agree it looks alot like a Prius in the picture, especially the back half. I also agree that it doesn't really matter what it looks like. I have a sedan that gets about 23 mpg, but with fuel prices so high I'm in the market for a commuting car that is uunder $20k and will offer significant improvements in fuel efficiency. I don't really care what it looks like. I would love a plug-in, but if they are still a few years away I might buy one of these. Please auto-makers, bring on the fuel efficient cars. You literally can't build them fast enough. I'm sure there is already a waiting list for this one.

[Anthony]

Are you sure that's not a picture of the Prius? There's not much differentiation in the body styling, so like others have said... fight the Prius, by releasing a... Prius! An no plug-in? What are they thinking?

[Kirk]

I'll wait for the CR-Z coming out after this thing launches. A hybrid that does not look or feel like one

http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-z/

[Tom]

As the happy owner of a Prius for the past two years now, I can only say for those of you considering a hybrid - ABSOLUTELY DEFINITELY GET ONE!!! Even better that the premium is coming down! Let's save on gas, clean up our air, and end our reliance on middle eastern oil! I hope that all the auto makers step up and hear the clarion call.

[James in SB]

Who cares what the damn thing looks like if it gets 50 mpg? Given that 40+ percent improvement over the highest-mpg cars on the road that AREN'T hybrids, it could look like George Bush and people would buy it.

[bc]

Bring the BMW diesel over from Europe.It smokes a prius. 54.3 combined. I think it is a 120d, 200 horses 290 ft lbs that's a car

[HCH-2]

This is much needed for Honda to compete. Who are people kidding? One of the main reasons that the Prius is the king of the hybrid hill is because it screams... "I AM A PRIUS. MY OWNER CARES!!!.. just like all them celebs." Even if the Civic Hybrid got 5 mpg better than the Prius, it would still trail in sales. Not everyone that has a Prius truely cares about mpg, as evidence by the ones that are doing about 85 on the freeway while I cruise along at 65-70 in the slow lane, in my Civic Hybrid (since I don't want to scream "I drive a hybrid").

[Ed]

Why must the most fuel-efficient hybrids look so ugly? I think Priuses are extremely ugly; Honda could've done one up on Toyota by making their new hybrid a cheaper AND attractive car. Instead, if you want fuel efficiency, you have to drive a large, square egg.

[cybele]

Prius Killer?How so? Just because people will have a new choice in a sedan that gets excellent mileage? As if the Accord killed the Camry?

It's simply another choice out there, Toyota certainly isn't keeping up with demand for the Prius. I love my Prius, at five years old I figure I've got another five years before I'll probably be looking for a new car. I would sure love ot have more choices!

(And all these hybrids look similar because it's one solution to drag, which increased mileage without sacraficing power.)

[EL]

Many people that drive hybrids want the world to know they're driving a hybric - an ostentatious display of eco-concern. This vehicle is clearly targeted at, and therefore styled for, this segment of auto consumers.

[Daniel]

Just make it a Full Plug-In, Series Drive, BioDiesel Electric Hybrid that get better than 80 MPG and we could all tell the folks in the Middle East to take their oil and pound sand.

[Robert Baldwin]

"I don't understand this idea of hybrid buyers needing their hybrid to look like a hybrid. Where did this load of pundit rubbish get started? "

-- Because for less money one can get a Yaris, Mini, recently discontinued Echo or other high mpg car with nearly equal real world mpg. For primarily city driving a small hybrid excels, but for most people the total number of city miles is small. Thus, tax credits, HOV lanes and snob factor make up the difference.

Not to mention the one person I know who owns a hybrid. She lives in a 5000sf house -- all for one person (well, not counting the maid), which has a glassed in sunroom using about as much fuel itself as an Escalade. Their income was from owning a nuclear reactor engineering firm.
You tell me how the hybrid fits in this picture.

[robertr]

I don't understand why these can't easily be made plug-ins. There has to be a set of wires from the brakes that when doing the regen trick push power into the battery. Just put a couple of heavy duty leads that lead to a 110 plug with some electronics to step up / step down the power/amps and away you go ... right ?

[LA Land Fan]

bc, the reason a hybrid trumps a diesel, well at least in LA, is the fact that it shuts down at a stop. there is always stop and go traffic on surface streets and highways all over LA. now if they combine a diesel and a hybrid, then that would be something to talk about. as for the design, the front end looks nice with cues from the FCX, but back end could be less prius-ish.

[Arp]

Responding to Mr. Baldwin's comment above:

I disagree - most people spend a good deal of time in city driving, not highway driving. And, even if we're on the highway, there's a good chance we're crawling along the pavement. In these conditions the Prius smokes the Yaris, Mini, and Echo. Actually, the Mini's MPG is not that hot despite it's size (barely over 20 city/30hwy). Not to mention the Prius has more room than a Yaris or an Echo.

As for the person you know, at least she's not driving an Escalade and living in her 5000 sq ft home. Every little bit helps. Not, that a sample size of one is enough to draw conclusions from anyway. Speaking of anecdotal data, the people I know with Priuses (Priusi?) drive them because they commute in 'ellish conditions over an hour each way. They couldn't care less what sort of image they convey.

[Insightful]

I've had my Insight for about 2 years, and my heavy foot gets 46-49 mpg in SanFran traffic, so the little gas cars can't meet it. (Also love the 5 speed.) There are at least two reasons people buy a hybrid: the mileage/eco issues, and the ability to broadcast our good intentions. The Honda auto designers and marketing team finally see this second motivation, but they really need to take the next step and offer it as a plug-in instead of just a "me too."

[Eric]

Okay folks -- there's a reason this car looks like the Prius. Think about it. People better get used to seeing cars that look like the Prius because that's what cars with low drag and high aerodynamics look like. You wanna save money on gas or not?

[Joe]

The similarity to the Prius has more to do with results in the WIND TUNNEL than wanting to look anything like a Toyota, folks. When engineers aim for the least drag coefficient, they end up getting the same results.

[T.S.Elliot]

If you sold an auto to buy a Toyota Pious you have accomplished zip for the environment and have actually caused more stress. Natural resources, transportation costs, manufacturing pollution - all combined to create your 'clean car'. Some schmuck is driving around in your old car.

[Kha Le]

The reason this car looks like a Prius is because this is the optimal shape for the least wind resistance. I am sure Honda doesn't want the new Insight to look so similar but they probably have no choice.

[Candice]

I'm wondering why people are all about a plug in vehicle. Given the fact that DWP is not a very green power producing entity and primarily get their power from coal, there is no real green benefit to buying a plug in vehicle. Instead, the environmental burden is shifted to power companies who need to buy more oil and burn more coal in order for you to plug in your clean little vehicle and save a little change on gas. While you are saving a little change in one area, your power bills will just go up and where are we going to put all those hazardous batteries when you don't want your vehicle anymore? Not in your backyard of course, right?

How about you suck it up and live closer to work, clean up our inner City streets by populating them again with families of all ethnicities and economic statuses, and ride a bicycle to work?