Considering Insight or Prius

[Astrotraveler]

Originally Posted by stevenvillatoro

Insight costs thousands less to buy. Prius can sell you more frills.

That's not really true.

The Prius II is close to the Insight EX in content, really lacking only heated mirrors and the USB input port for iPods/MP3 players. You can't really compare the Prius II to the Insight LX since the LX lacks much of the Prius II content (4 speakers vs. 6 in the Prius, no cruise control in the LX, steel wheels in the LX, etc.).

The Prius II and Insight EX are priced within a few hundred dollars of one another. Therein lies the rub, and also the reason Insight sales evaporated when the Prius hit the US market at a lower than expected (both by Honda and by consumers) price. The Prius I, whatever its contents, will likely be similar to the LX in features (or lack thereof), and is supposedly going to be $1000 or more less than the $22k Prius II.

Toyota is jealously guarding its hybrid marketshare in the US, and apparently is willing to lose per-unit margin to do so. Base Prius pricing in Europe is about 5,000 Euros above the equivalent Insight. No wonder the Insight is selling more briskly there. Were the Insight priced 23% lower than a similarly equipped Prius in the US, I don't think Honda could keep up with demand.

I'm in the OP's boat. I like both vehicles. In fact, I think I prefer the Insight slightly. It's just hard for pull the trigger when I harbor suspicions of an imminent price drop on the Insight, rushed updates to make it more appealing, and the loss of residual value that would result. Recently Subaru did something similar. The new WRX was a dog. The very next year (year 2 of the new model) Subaru substantially reworked the WRX, giving it more power, better handling, improved content, etc. Now it is selling, but those with the MY1 version are hosed on resale.

I'm in no rush and am biding my time until I hear something definitive on whether we can expect any MY2 (i.e., 2011) updates to the Insight.

Regards,

Jim

[bish79]

Originally Posted by Astrotraveler

That's not really true.



The Prius II and Insight EX are priced within a few hundred dollars of one another. Therein lies the rub, and also the reason Insight sales evaporated when the Prius hit the US market at a lower than expected (both by Honda and by consumers) price. The Prius I, whatever its contents, will likely be similar to the LX in features (or lack thereof), and is supposedly going to be $1000 or more less than the $22k Prius II.

And that's not entirely true...

The Prius I does not and will not ever exist for the general public.

Furthermore, the Prius II's price just increased to $22,400.

Furthermore, Toyota's destination charge is higher than Honda's.

Net price difference on a Prius II vs and Insight is really about $1250 (plus tax, and good luck finding one without a markup).

[Astrotraveler]

From Honda's configuration website:

Insight EX no options with delivery = $22010

From Toyota's configuration website:

Prius II no options with delivery = $23150

The difference is $1140. The post I was responding to claimed that you saved "thousands" by opting for an Insight. You are certainly not saving "thousands" buying the EX vs. a Prius II in the US. In Europe, however, you are saving thousands on the equivalent purchase (5000 Euros in France, for example).

I think that alone goes a long way towards explaining why there are robust Insight sales abroad and, in the wake of the 3d Generation prius' Debut in the US, a drop in Insight sales (September's US Insight sales were ~1700 units versus ~4200 units in August).

Put another way, the pricing of the Insight abroad makes it a better "value" versus the Prius than does the much closer pricing here in the US. I blame the weak dollar in part, but Toyota has to contend with that same dollar/yen exchange rate. Toyota's closer to parity pricing in the US suggests they are willing to lose margin to retain market share. That makes it harder for the consumer to opt for the Insight, IMO.

I wasn't aware that Toyota has ki-boshed the Prius I. Thanks for the update. Nonetheless, an extra $1140 financed adds very little to a monthly payment. This places both the EX and Prius II in the same household budgets, which is not true abroad.

In any event, I haven't ruled out an Insight, and in fact prefer it over the Prius II. I just don't want to be kicking myself six months from now if Honda either lowers the US Insight price (or offers incentives) or offers additional content and upgrades in the '11 model.

Virtually every Toyota dealer in my region (Northern California) are offering the Prius at MSRP without mark-up. Until the Prius arrived, Insights were actually being marked up by a few hundred dollars, however. Now, I see some discounting off of MSRP for the Insight.

Regards,

Jim