2010 Honda Insight is EPA rated at 40/43 while the 2010 Toyota Prius is rated at 51/48. How can this be that the 2nd generation Insight, with its mileage legacy, be out done by the Prius?
Well if this is true then why didn't the EPA get the same results? Their testing now is more real world than it used to be, so it seems to me that they would have had better numbers if it in fact were true.
The new Insight doesn't even beat the 2nd Generation Prius's mileage EPA numbers of 48/45. The Honda Insight legacy was born to be a high mileage vehicle, but at a 40/43 rating it leaves one asking what the Hybrid in it actually does. Those numbers are really disappointing.
Well if this is true then why didn't the EPA get the same results? Their testing now is more real world than it used to be, so it seems to me that they would have had better numbers if it in fact were true.
Actually.. One thing I see interesting is that so far everyone who has gotten an Insight has gotten better than EPA mileage out of the vehicle. My best friend is a Prius mechanic and he said one of the worst problems they have with selling the Prius is that customers are always bringing them back in saying they don't get the mileage they are supposed to get. So, I wonder when it comes to real-world driving vs. EPA testing, if the numbers aren't skewed in toyota's favor.
Secondly, the new Insight isn't nearly as feature-rich (in fuel saving techniques) as the previous model. For example, Honda did away with the aluminum design, made the car much larger, made the electric motor smaller, the battery pack smaller and lower voltage, went from A/C to D/C, etc. However, there are new features related to the gas engine that come from the Honda civic line, such as the fuel-cut mode, etc.. But over all, I wouldn't expect this car to compete with the previous model Insight.
However.. consider this. The car seats 4 people comfortably, has all the new safety features of a modern car, plenty of cargo room, decent accelleration capability.. all that for a car that gets 45 to 50 mpg in real-world driving scenarios. What other cars besides the Prius offer this? Most other cars that fit these standards would probably get half the fuel economy. My Saturn Ion, for example, gets about 25 mpg real-world mileage. Yet when I park the cars next to each other in the garage, they are about the same size (they are even similar color!) and offer the same features I mentioned above, but the Insight gets double the mileage.
Well, I for one get exactly the EPA numbers on the Insight II no matter what, and I got exactly the EPA numbers on my Prius II....The only difference is that I did not have to think or really try with the Prius like I find myself doing with the Insight II
Actually.. One thing I see interesting is that so far everyone who has gotten an Insight has gotten better than EPA mileage out of the vehicle.
And most everyone with a Prius gets better than the old EPA ratings. So again I have to wonder, what happened to the Insight's great gas mileage? It seems they are no longer the best mileage vehicle out there.
Ok we've been around and around and around and around on this....
The goal of the new Insight was price, not astronomical MPG's. And for this goal I think Honda did a good job. They got Toyota scrambling to reduce the price of the new Prius and they are coming out with a stripped down version to compete with the Insight.
Their customer base is people like myself who have considered a Prius but ruled it out because of price (and the uh-hem... styling). I have been getting greater than the EPA estimates and I have a horrible 1 mile commute to work that I drive four times a day (I come home for lunch).
Yes Honda gave up the MPG throne, but they weren't making any money on the first gen Insight, and I bet there aren't many people on this forum that would go to work every day just to loose money, so you can't fault Honda for rethinking their strategy here. If you disapprove of their new strategy so much go buy a Prius.
Don't get me wrong I was an Insight fan over the Prius for a long time but I needed more room and sold my 1st gen Insight for a 2nd gen Prius. The 09 Prius price starts at $22k, while the 2010 Insight is $19,800, hardly much of a price difference when you consider what you get. Better fuel mileage, more horsepower, a bigger fuel tank and more standard options. I can only imagine that the 2010 Prius will be even better.
2010 Honda Insight is EPA rated at 40/43 while the 2010 Toyota Prius is rated at 51/48. How can this be that the 2nd generation Insight, with its mileage legacy, be out done by the Prius?
Prius can move under pure EV from start, the IMA based cars cannot. The Prius also has more than 2X the battery capacity of the I2 and just under 2X the battery capacity of the otehr IMA based cars. That makes a difference in city driving also. Hondas have always been stronger on the highway and weaker in the city due to the design of IMA. An EV or even a PHEV will always excel in stop and go.
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Less MPG Than Prius?
