It was a bit of a tossup between this and the Toyota Prius for us. They both came out around the same time and boasted massive fuel savings and general eco friendly good times. We sort of thought about it and reckoned that they might probably get a whole lot cheaper within a year or so if the whole idea was a flop. They weren't really a flop, although I think the Prius might be the more popular one, but anyway we did wait and eventually just got one second hand as the price had come down quite a way.
We've been delighted with the Honda Insight since, simple as that. It starts up straight away every time, pretty much silently too! First thing is the petrol consumption of course. Now, it was advertised to us as being I think mid 80s mpg, which we were amazed by, and I have to say a little suspicious, but we hadn't heard anything to the contrary in the time it had been out before we bought ours. In fact we've found that if we drive carefully, don't brake too much on the motorways and that sort of thing, then it gets well above that! I mean we've averaged over 100 on some trips, it's just incredible. Also, since we got one that was registered after 2001, it had no road tax at all! It's an exemption for especially eco friendly cars. Truth be told we're not actually eco nutters or anything, just wanted a car that was cheap to run.
The Honda Insight is not slow either. It nips in and out of traffic well, and has a top speed well above what we'd ever take it too. It cruises very comfortably at 80 and I'm sure it could go higher without breaking a sweat. It isn't quite as comfy as we might have liked, and my hubby has actually taken to using a thin foam cushion, but that actually does the trick just fine so it's not a problem without remedy.
Of course the biggest problem is that it's a two seater. Our little babies have flown the nest now, and they live abroad, so no need to have the extra spaces, but we have had to turn down giving lifts before because of this. As a result thought the boot is big... well it's actually just long and very shallow. Overall the Honda Insight is a slightly odd shape so it's tricky to fit large loads in - especially as the head rests don't adjust at all, which seems silly really.
Anyway it's been just fab for us, and we travel quite a bit these days which it's been great for. It's been so reliable, and not given us any big repair bills at all in the seven years or so that we've had it. I'll certainly be looking to replace it with its successor when we come to part with it - which will be a sad day!
I bought the Honda Insight mainly because it's a hybrid and as an environmentalist I really feel I must at least do something to lessen the burden on mother nature. However I really wish that the motoring industry would share my concerns and produce a truly great hybrid car, akin to the quality of all the smoke chugging monsters they put out weekly.
The problem is not the fact that the Honda Insight is a hybrid, but that it doesn't really do what it is supposed to do very well. On the motorway it's sluggish and insufficient. The suspension is rickety and the handling is unresponsive. The cabin looks fantastic but it's ultimately not that practical.
I know these are early days for the truly ecological cars but the question is, shouldn't we have come up with something better by now? I'm sure, of course, there are better hybrid cars, but the Insight one is really best avoided (in my opinion).
The car is just fantastic, it has to be one of the cleanest and most fuel-efficient hybrids on the market. The dashboard looks like a spaceship, especially at night times when the blue lights are on.
The speed meter lights up in different colours to show how economically you are driving with green meaning very economical and blue/purple not that economical.
The seats are very comfortable. It has a USB socket so you can plug in your mp3 players and also iphones. The touch screen navigation and multimedia system is excellent, best that I have seen to date.
All in all the car is amazing and would definitely recommend it to anyone.