Sept 9, 2001 - Elliot Fishbein - "A lot of technology without much improvement"
Pros It's a Honda	Cons A lot of technology without much advancement
Overall Rating: I am NOT impressed by the Insight. I own a '91 Honda CRX-HF. This 11 year old car consistently gets 50+ miles/gallon without any of the wiz bang technology and complexity of the new Insight. I find it very disappointing that after 11 years of technological advancement all that Honda can offer is an old CRX body (which was beautiful), ruined by the addition of fender skirts, that gets maybe 10 miles/gallon more. I love my old CRX-HF, it is my perfect car. My next car will get at least 100 miles per gallon and have a body that does not look like it was designed by Mr. Potato Head. I hope it says Honda on the hood. Here's some quick and fuzzy math regarding the costs of operating the Insight. Say you drive 10K per year and get 60mpg. That's 167 gallons of gas. At $1.50 per gal. that's about $250 to drive 10K for gas. If I read the specs right the battery system for the Insight costs $1250. Throw in the labor charge of maybe $500, that's $1750. If the battery is rated for 8 years (and god knows how much it will cost 8 years hence) that prorates the battery cost at about $220 per year. Between the battery and gas you spend approx. $500 per year to go 10K. Do the math for a car that gets 30mpg. You'll get the same per year cost of ownership, about $500 per year to go 10K. A big roomy Buick can do that. My 1991 CRX-HF getting 50mpg costs a $300 to run for 10K. I applaud Honda for producing the Inspire. However it is not as "green" as you want to believe. We have taken one step forward and maybe two steps back since the 1991 CRX-HF.

Editor's Note:

I received this interesting submission for the Insight Owner Opinions page from Elliot Fishbein, in an "I dare you to print this" email. Elliot doesn't actually own an Insight, but he expresses a similar viewpoint that I've heard other Honda CRX HF owners express.

I don't agree with a lot of what Elliot says.

One thing he says is that the Insight's 61/68 MPG (City/Highway) rating not being enough of an improvement over the 88-91 CRX HF's 49/52 MPG rating to justify the extra expense and technology.

As he points out, it is true that if you don't drive a lot, the Insight will cost more to operate than the CRX HF did. What this ignores, though is:

A. The Insight isn't just about fuel economy. Its amazing feat is that it achieves high efficiency together with very low emissions. Improving emissions typically results in worse fuel economy. For example, the California emission version of the CRX HF resulted in fuel economy falling to 43/49 MPG! Even that version of the CRX HF was much, much dirtier running than the ULEV/SULEV levels achieved by the Insight today.

B. The Insight also has a 25% higher power to weight ratio than the CRX HF, resulting in better performance.

C. If the CRX HF were built to meet current safety standards, it would likely have to be significantly heavier, giving it still lower performance and fuel efficiency.

D. He states that the battery is rated at 8 years. This is not true. It is warranteed for 8 years / 80,000 miles, meaning that Honda will replace it for free if it fails in the time span that Elliot is calculating. (The FAQ has an article on expected battery pack life).

I'm sure that the Insight could have achieved the 100 MPG rating that Elliot wants, if it were built to the same emissions, performance and safety standards as the CRX HF. I'm not sure I'd want it though - even if it were legal to sell today.

Additional Note on Appearance:

Elliot also clearly dislikes the Insight's styling. Of the people I meet on the streets, many love the Insight's appearance, while others don't.

Since the Insight's appearance was dictated primarily by aerodynamics, not by copying the latest styling trend, it looks a little different from the typical car sold today. I think that the people who dislike it are those who somehow expect a car to look a particular way, while those who like it seem excited by something a little different.