Hey guys, you should all know by now that this review was bull. A non Insight owner just trying to piss real owners off.
If you check his previous posts he appears to have bought his Insight almost a month before I did. I'm pretty sure he's legit.
Let's stop trash talking. It's just one review and it's obvious from this thread that most people don't experience what he's talking about. He has certain expectations for a car and the Insight isn't meeting them. I've had cars like that...
Hey guys, you should all know by now that this review was bull. A non Insight owner just trying to piss real owners off. This guy probably paid $30k for a 2010 Prius and is sad he wasted money so he is trying to stir us up with ridiculous claims.
For God's sake, what has this thread got to do with Prius or any suicide bombing aftermath
I am okay with goofy comments to a not-so-positive review, but things are getting outta hand here...
Car and Driver actually said;"This is the first car they have ever driven that they wanted to drive straight into a tree".
Actually Car and Driver DIDN'T say that. Automotive journalist Jeremy Clarkson, an avowed hybrid-hater and host of the BBC's "TopGear" program, wrote that in a review published in the London Times. He had all kinds of humorous (and awful) things to say about the Insight in that article. I loved the article and haven't chuckled so much at a Clarkson review since he ripped the current Subaru WRX STi. I don't, however, often agree with Mr. Clarkson about economy cars. He's purely for entertainment in my book. You can read his entire piece here:
Car and Driver, on the other hand, said the following of the Insight:
"For the record, the Insight drives like a Honda, with tight suspension motions, a firm ride, well-connected steering, and a no-fat musculature. Interior sound levels are mild and well controlled, especially at freeway speeds. Cockpit space is generous for two in front, a bit tight on the knees in back if front occupants are unwilling to compromise on legroom. The rear bench is high, firm, and exceptionally well shaped for lumbar support."
In other words, Car and Driver actually liked the car.
I appreciate your review, just as I appreciate Jeremy Clarkson's review, and respect the fact that everyone is entitled to their opinion. Thanks for posting about your experiences.
As for the Jetta TDI, I would pass on it. It's still built on the noisier Generation V Gold chassis, is assembled outside of Germany, and at least in my region is being marked up well over MSRP (read over-priced for what you get). I owuld wait for the Golf TDi that will be arriving in a month or so. It uses the refined Generation VI Gold chassis (it is *the* Gen VI Golf after all), is made in Germany where VW quality seems to be a tad higher, and though it too will likely face a premium over MSRP, at least you get the quietest and best build quality VW TDI available.
Good luck to you!
P.S. I believe that the OP is indeed a Generation II Insight owner. I also don't think he's trolling. His opinion seems to be shared by about half of the automotive journalists that climb into the car. In fact, I can't recall a more journalist-polarizing vehicle recently. It seems very binary - some love it, others hate it. I'm not an owner yet, and possibly will not become one, but I'm in the "love it" camp based on prior ownership of two Civic Hybrids (an '04 which I drove for 120k miles and an '06 which I drove for 90k miles), and two twenty-minute mixed loop test drives of the Insight II.
- Jim
Last edited by Astrotraveler; 10-19-2009 at 09:03 PM.
Its all perspective and how you see things thru your prisim.
I came from a 2008 Honda Civic. Could not wait to get rid of it. SUPER cheap, noisy and would feel like its shaking apart at 70mph. Heck the way they fold the doors have cut my man tit wide open twice that i can recall.
My insight is quiet. Simply quiet, NOT SILENT but quiet. By comparison i rode in my wife's Mitsu Outlander for the 1st time in months. Thought i was in the center of a tornado. THAT is a noisy car, road noise, wind noise everything. My Insight is a far quieter ride than my civic.
Funny thing is my friends who are car buffs have all read the reviews of the G2 Insight, and then rode my car.. and all mention how they felt the reviews were unfair. They say they hear NO hybrid whine, NO road noise etc etc.
If you are coming from a luxuary european car, why on earth would you be in an Insight? Honestly?
My insight purrs at 80 mph, and is quick enough on small streets to get me a ticket easily.
In my driving, i am only getting 43-46 mpg. I wish my numbers were higher.
As far as Overall Car Satisfaction, i really do like this car. I wish the Navi/Ipod systems were more refined. I really do enjoy driving this car.
D
__________________
2010 Insight EX BSG Raptor Silver with Nav
If you are coming from a luxuary european car, why on earth would you be in an Insight? Honestly?
Honestly, that's exactly what I did when I bought my first hybrid, a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid. I traded a 2001 BMW 5 Series in on the HCH.
But I had a very good reason for moving to a hybrid - a 180 mile per day, 5-6 day per week, round trip commute. Factoring in the occasional weekend road trips, I generally put ~50k miles on my daily driver per year. It simply didn't make sense to me, to grind a costly luxury car to dust under circumstances where the joyous aspects of driving the were lost in traffic.
The hybrid was perfect for me. In fact, so perfect that I traded the '04 in on a new '06 with 120k miles on the '04's clock, and still netted more than $16k in trade. I liked the '06, but not quite as much as the '04. My mileage in the '04 was always a little better. The '04 seemed a little more responsive. I also liked its minimalist interior layout. The '06 was no slouch though. More comfy seats, more room and a more comfortable ride were pluses.
I gave the '06 to my son in late '07 as his first car (it had 90k miles on the clock at the time). Of course, he promptly traded it on a new Scion TC. With age comes wisdom I suppose.
I just hit the 7000 mileage mark with my Insight II. I'd like to make a couple comments. First, I've driven once with a strong 40+ mph tailwind which was probably at a 30 degree angle to the back of the car and the feel of the car felt out of the ordinary...I am sure our Honda Odyssey would have felt strange also, but the Insight is much lighter and has a relatively large side cross-section. The body shape may be a bit more susceptable to side/cross-winds than other cars....just part of the car's shape I suppose. I was wondering if a bit stiffer/lower springs would have tightened things up some. Eibach shouldn't have to go too far to check out their design around Palm Springs..if they decide to do a design. Second, regarding noise...I get comments about how quiet the car is and how noisey the car is. One needs to be specific. On some smooth surfaces the car is extremely quiet at 60 mph while on other surfaces (Chip seal type road surfaces) the car is loud/noisey (actually, I will call this tire noise, others call it road noise). Same road, same car, same commute, same tire pressure ~40psi, etc. just a different section of the same road. Whether it is road noise or tire noise or whatever...it is typically blamed on the car, and I believe Honda could have done a much better job here. If one opens the hood and examines the front wheel wells there are areas where it is only the plastic wheel well liner that seperates the tire from the engine compartment. This winter I hope to see if some sound treatment (barrier, insulation, deadener, Dynamat(R), etc.) can help the situation. However, road noise is typically low frequency stuff and 1/8" of anything isn't going to effect long wavelengths very much. There is a lot of info on the web regarding sound proofing Civics for stereo competition and some of their best known methods may port over to the Insight. Different tires may help, probably too soon for much A to B comparision between tire manufactures on the Insight II. I'd certainly be interested in any other's learnings in this area. -Ken
I came from a 2008 Honda Civic. Could not wait to get rid of it. SUPER cheap, noisy and would feel like its shaking apart at 70mph. Heck the way they fold the doors have cut my man tit wide open twice that i can recall.
My insight is quiet. Simply quiet, NOT SILENT but quiet. By comparison i rode in my wife's Mitsu Outlander for the 1st time in months. Thought i was in the center of a tornado. THAT is a noisy car, road noise, wind noise everything. My Insight is a far quieter ride than my civic.
I think I mentioned that I came from an aging, manual tranny/steering, no AC, 1990 Toyota pickup. And when I say "aging", I mean "shocks are starting to squeak and the clutch is worn out" OLD. Compared to that beast, my I2 is a WW2 sub hiding from destroyers.
Okay, okay... Nuclear sub.
As far as poor reviews go, I think they fall into 2 categories-- (1) Folks who, whether by perception, agenda, or because of a bad test unit, use one methodology and test suite, then use the results to launch a pile of complaints rather than actually using the scientific method and see if their findings are repeatable with other units, same model, different trims, etc. (I'm looking at you, Consumers Union); (2) Performance car types like Clarkson who simply aren't interested and shouldn't have bothered except to troll Honda drivers.
And even though I disagree with the findings/test methods of Consumers Union and many other naysayers based on my experience and that of other I2 drivers, I can respect that they didn't like the car. Let's face it-- no other company ever really tried until now to take the best hybrid tech and compact car they had available, and whittle down costs to the point where it's accessible to prospective Accord/Camry/Prius buyers. Not only that, they integrated a few basic tools (if a bit inaccurate) in order to teach regular drivers how to drive more efficiently. That's innovation, that's stepping outside the box and risk-taking, and inevitably we'll get people who won't like this new thing because (a) it's not a Prius, (b) it's not a luxury car, (c) it's not a performance car, and/or (d) it's friggin' new.
I think the OP was disappointed that the I2 didn't have the oomph that nearly every other car on the road does, and because of that, all the other issues, whether because of a lemon or because of 7000 miles' worth of abuse via frustration, got amplified in his mind.
A bit long-winded, but on balance, I don't think the OP is a troll. An angry, disappointed, and dissatisfied customer, yes, but not a troll.
And for the Jeremy Clarkson types, I should point out that the Insight II will positively flog the stuffing out of the third generation Prius on track days.
Once the Prius exhausts its battery, it's "sayonara" time.
Relevant? Perhaps. It looks like the Insight still functions as a reasonable economy car post-battery-depletion. Moreso than the Prius. I can see an advantage on long, battery-draining, uphill grades.
The only thing I noticed that the OP mentioned is how easily the car seems to scratch. I have quite a few scratches already, although having four kids parking their bikes next to my car might have something to do with that.
Both Honda Civic Hybrids I've owned had *very* soft paint. I find the report of scratches to be consistent with my recent Honda ownership experiences. In fact, the only recent Honda product I've owned that had durable paint was a 2005 Acura RL.
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