My Review of the Honda Insight (3 Months 7,500 Miles)

[jmatero]

How loud a car seems is all about what car you're coming out of. If you're coming out of an A4, the road/engine noise can indeed be described as "disgusting". If you're coming out of another Honda, it will seem normal. To be honest, there is NO sound deadening in the I2 (weight savings). I'm not talking about the engine noise which is pretty brutal... just the noise on the highway at 60mph. Keep in mind, I currently drive a 2008 Mazda Miata with a soft top... and that car is LOUD... to the point where a drive over 20 mins is tiring with the top up:

1. Carpet is paper thin and the is bare floorpan metal under that.
2. Headliner is also paper thin and there is no padding above it... just metal.
3. The A-pillars have no foam or other sound deadening within them.
4. The metal itself is incredibly thin (again weight savings).... you can actually flex the door sills using your thumb which I found pretty shocking. It also suggests there is no sound deadening foam in there either.
5. Low-rolling resistance tires are loud in general.
6. The glass throughout is VERY thin. A tap on the rear hatch glass or the side windows sounds like a flower vase. If you look at the actual thickness of the side windows when rolled down, they are very very thin. It's no wonder there are so many reports of the glass rattling unless it is fully up.

I'm not trying to trash the I2... not at all... It's just that the number of measures Honda had to take to keep the cost down and get the mpg up resulted in a product that comes across to many as the ultimate economy car with a mild-hybrid system. In fact, if the insight had the fit powertrain, I suspect it would cost LESS than the fit on the lot.

I'm ready to plunk my money down and honestly, the ONLY thing keeping me from pulling the trigger is the noise on the highway which matches the Miata. Ugh.

[themyst]

Owning a 135i along with an Insight EX, what did you expect out of 20k subcompact hybrid? Yes the car is noisy, yes the car has a stiff suspension, and yes the car has a ton of cheap plastic. Is this no different than the 2000 Celica I owned years ago in college? Cardboard headliner, cheap plastic, foil-like thickness on the panels, easily scratched plastic. It is a 20k car, not a 50k car, you get what you pay for. The 135i has a stiffer suspension than an Insight, chugs gas at a 18-19 MPG clip in mixed driving and is worthless in winter weather.

I paid for a fuel-sipping economy vehicle that brings the cost of commuting down significantly, can haul groceries and children in a pinch, and handle all-weather driving. Looking back, would a Civic EX have been a feasible alternative? Yes... however, I have no qualms owning the Insight one bit. All things considered, driving the Insight in S mode with the manual paddle shifters is pretty fun. I also don't have to watch the speedo every five seconds as when you're doing over 75 in an Insight you know it. I hit triple digits and not even realize it more often than not in my 135i.

The only thing I pray for during my ownership of the Insight is reliability. The rest of the nitpickings I can live with easily.