2019 Honda Insight Review - First Drive
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Date: 2019-05-30
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Comments and reviews: 10
Matt Leary
I drove the Honda insight and the Hyundai ioniq within 30 minutes of each other yesterday. It was 113 degrees out and the Insight was white with black leather and the ioniq was silver with black leather. It seemed to me that the Hyundai ioniq air conditioner work much better. The air coming out felt cooler and it also felt like the fan speed had a higher setting. To me there a big difference. I can tell you that the fit and finish of a Honda is outstanding. The exterior and interior of the vehicle was absolutely beautiful. The Hyundai is definitely lacking in this area compared to the Honda. The Honda doors closed very solid well the Hyundais felt just not as good. Driving both cars the Honda felt more engaging well the Hyundai felt a little soft. I put both vehicles in power mode and hammered the accelerator. The Hondas engine RPM went really high and engine got really loud but the acceleration didnt seem to be there. I know its because of the type of transmission it has but to me its a deal-breaker. A Hyundai has a dual-clutch transmission and the car seem to be quicker and lot quieter when getting on the accelerator. I never took either car over 50 miles an hour but the engine noise off that Honda was way to loud. I suggest Before You by either car that you test drive them both and try out the air conditioners and try out the power mode. Just my two cents from a guy who spends 60 hours a week driving.
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I drove the Honda insight and the Hyundai ioniq within 30 minutes of each other yesterday. It was 113 degrees out and the Insight was white with black leather and the ioniq was silver with black leather. It seemed to me that the Hyundai ioniq air conditioner work much better. The air coming out felt cooler and it also felt like the fan speed had a higher setting. To me there a big difference. I can tell you that the fit and finish of a Honda is outstanding. The exterior and interior of the vehicle was absolutely beautiful. The Hyundai is definitely lacking in this area compared to the Honda. The Honda doors closed very solid well the Hyundais felt just not as good. Driving both cars the Honda felt more engaging well the Hyundai felt a little soft. I put both vehicles in power mode and hammered the accelerator. The Hondas engine RPM went really high and engine got really loud but the acceleration didnt seem to be there. I know its because of the type of transmission it has but to me its a deal-breaker. A Hyundai has a dual-clutch transmission and the car seem to be quicker and lot quieter when getting on the accelerator. I never took either car over 50 miles an hour but the engine noise off that Honda was way to loud. I suggest Before You by either car that you test drive them both and try out the air conditioners and try out the power mode. Just my two cents from a guy who spends 60 hours a week driving.
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GerryStilton
Hi Alex, I appreciate your reviews, because they are always thorough and full of details that most if not all the reviews dont talk about. I understand you are a techy, would you share your thoughts: Its nice they put the battery under the rear seat for more trunk space, but unless they have electromagnetic shielding to shield the body (which I read doesnt cost much, I wonder why anyone would want to sit on top of battery that would have large currents going through it and creating large EM fields (physics 101 right hand rule. Whats the down side? Well, you are directly exposing your vital organs into the fields, such as your testies, pancreas, liver and kidneys not sure if thats a good idea, especially when kids are in the back and their bodies/ organs are not fully developed. And for an extended road trip of even just 2 hrs or may be 4 hrs, what would that do to ones body on a cellular level with that kind of high level exposure? What kind of destruction to cell walls and mutations would it cause? Thanks, GShow less Reply
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Hi Alex, I appreciate your reviews, because they are always thorough and full of details that most if not all the reviews dont talk about. I understand you are a techy, would you share your thoughts: Its nice they put the battery under the rear seat for more trunk space, but unless they have electromagnetic shielding to shield the body (which I read doesnt cost much, I wonder why anyone would want to sit on top of battery that would have large currents going through it and creating large EM fields (physics 101 right hand rule. Whats the down side? Well, you are directly exposing your vital organs into the fields, such as your testies, pancreas, liver and kidneys not sure if thats a good idea, especially when kids are in the back and their bodies/ organs are not fully developed. And for an extended road trip of even just 2 hrs or may be 4 hrs, what would that do to ones body on a cellular level with that kind of high level exposure? What kind of destruction to cell walls and mutations would it cause? Thanks, GShow less Reply
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Joseph G
Alex, do you know if Honda has made any changes to address the reliability issues the Civic Hybrid had? The Civics issues are probably why this is called Insight so I hope Honda has done something about the issue. If this comes with a lifetime battery warranty, I would say its a definite leader in the segment for people without a family, but without its a non-starter for me. I agree with you that the Accord/Camry hybrids are probably the main competitor to this vehicle, but I think this in the base trim is actually a better value proposition than the Accord. The Camry is probably comparable, but only starts on a more expensive trim so theres a big price difference. The caveat is the Accord and Camry will probably both retain value better if you sell in a few years.
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Alex, do you know if Honda has made any changes to address the reliability issues the Civic Hybrid had? The Civics issues are probably why this is called Insight so I hope Honda has done something about the issue. If this comes with a lifetime battery warranty, I would say its a definite leader in the segment for people without a family, but without its a non-starter for me. I agree with you that the Accord/Camry hybrids are probably the main competitor to this vehicle, but I think this in the base trim is actually a better value proposition than the Accord. The Camry is probably comparable, but only starts on a more expensive trim so theres a big price difference. The caveat is the Accord and Camry will probably both retain value better if you sell in a few years.
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Luke Manning
Alex, love the review as always. I would like to ask if you could add a new section to your reviews. I would really like to see you review each cars Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assist features (Honda Sensing, Tesla Autopilot, etc) and rank them like you do other features like handling and braking. As they become standard/optional on more cars I think itd be nice to see how they compare. I know some systems work in stop and go traffic well, others not so much, and some stop below 25mph. Also all of these systems seem to handle lane centering differently and Id love to see your take on how well they do. This information isnt always easily found online. As always, thanks for being the best car reviewer on YouTube
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Alex, love the review as always. I would like to ask if you could add a new section to your reviews. I would really like to see you review each cars Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assist features (Honda Sensing, Tesla Autopilot, etc) and rank them like you do other features like handling and braking. As they become standard/optional on more cars I think itd be nice to see how they compare. I know some systems work in stop and go traffic well, others not so much, and some stop below 25mph. Also all of these systems seem to handle lane centering differently and Id love to see your take on how well they do. This information isnt always easily found online. As always, thanks for being the best car reviewer on YouTube
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Bob Riemersma
Im still disappointed they didnt just make this a Civic outright. They did a lot of damage to the Insight name with that travesty in 2010. I think a hatchback would have greater appeal too from better rear headroom to more versatile cargo carrying. It will be interesting to see how this new system performs in real-world conditions outside the Sun Belt though. The old IMA system was a real trooper in all conditions and I miss it. I had my 2003 Civic Hybrid CVT since May 2002 until I hit a deer and totaled it this year. I was quite happy with it and only missed the ability to handle long cargo now and then. 60/40 seat passthrough would help but a hatch would be better. I think I may have to let this new Insight evolve more.
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Im still disappointed they didnt just make this a Civic outright. They did a lot of damage to the Insight name with that travesty in 2010. I think a hatchback would have greater appeal too from better rear headroom to more versatile cargo carrying. It will be interesting to see how this new system performs in real-world conditions outside the Sun Belt though. The old IMA system was a real trooper in all conditions and I miss it. I had my 2003 Civic Hybrid CVT since May 2002 until I hit a deer and totaled it this year. I was quite happy with it and only missed the ability to handle long cargo now and then. 60/40 seat passthrough would help but a hatch would be better. I think I may have to let this new Insight evolve more.
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Scott Gehrke
Am I the only one that notices that Honda, despite all the neat instrumentation made available, has appparently eliminated the tachometer? Not one reviewer mentions this omission. Hybrid owners are often more curious about what their engines are doing than other owners. For example, I would want to know the rpms at 65 mph. Will the engine be buzzing at 3, 500 + rpms or cruising along at 2, 500 rpms? Nobody knows. Also why only make the digital speed indicator only display speed in kilometers per hour? (Analog display shows MPH) Since the digital display of speed is available on all trims, it should also be optionally user-configurable to display digital MPH. What a waste.
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Am I the only one that notices that Honda, despite all the neat instrumentation made available, has appparently eliminated the tachometer? Not one reviewer mentions this omission. Hybrid owners are often more curious about what their engines are doing than other owners. For example, I would want to know the rpms at 65 mph. Will the engine be buzzing at 3, 500 + rpms or cruising along at 2, 500 rpms? Nobody knows. Also why only make the digital speed indicator only display speed in kilometers per hour? (Analog display shows MPH) Since the digital display of speed is available on all trims, it should also be optionally user-configurable to display digital MPH. What a waste.
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Dan Yang
We have a serious safety problem about this car We bout the car 12/31/2018, and only 2 days at the daybefore yesterday evening dark, my daughter was drive on the freeway withbattery have 2 bars. When she need speed, paddled to floor, the car just goesvery slow, does not speed up. All other cars pass by and honk the horns pass byvery fast. It is a dangerous and scary saturation After get out freeway andshe struggled getting home, I did test drive with her, drive on the hill theproblem repeated. We sent the car to your service yesterday morning. Todaytheir specialist called me, said the car is designed like this You be the judge. Doe any one has this problem too?
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We have a serious safety problem about this car We bout the car 12/31/2018, and only 2 days at the daybefore yesterday evening dark, my daughter was drive on the freeway withbattery have 2 bars. When she need speed, paddled to floor, the car just goesvery slow, does not speed up. All other cars pass by and honk the horns pass byvery fast. It is a dangerous and scary saturation After get out freeway andshe struggled getting home, I did test drive with her, drive on the hill theproblem repeated. We sent the car to your service yesterday morning. Todaytheir specialist called me, said the car is designed like this You be the judge. Doe any one has this problem too?
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Andrew Prihar
Why would the Accord Hybrid be the natural competitor? Unlike the Accord Hybrid and the Insight, the Clarity is a plug-in, making it eligible for the 7, 500 federal tax credit. Touring trim of the Clarity can be found for around 37, 500 before the credit, making it 30, 000 and potentially lower with state tax credits. So you get a touring trim with the bigger size and smoother ride of (effectively) an Accord, 50 miles of pure electric range, and more HP and torque for 2, 000 more than the Insight. And thats a touring to touring comparison. Not to mention, Clarity will be far more efficient than Insight in most commuter use cases.
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Why would the Accord Hybrid be the natural competitor? Unlike the Accord Hybrid and the Insight, the Clarity is a plug-in, making it eligible for the 7, 500 federal tax credit. Touring trim of the Clarity can be found for around 37, 500 before the credit, making it 30, 000 and potentially lower with state tax credits. So you get a touring trim with the bigger size and smoother ride of (effectively) an Accord, 50 miles of pure electric range, and more HP and torque for 2, 000 more than the Insight. And thats a touring to touring comparison. Not to mention, Clarity will be far more efficient than Insight in most commuter use cases.
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WELL_HELLO MUTHAFUGGAHZ
Had a 2011 Insight EX as 2nd car for 6 yrs. awesome car, needed tires, gas and. nothing else ever happened to it. awesome. finally sold it to a student last yr, I no longer needed a 2nd car. why bother bring a new Insight for 19? Why not just make Civics with hybrid options like the new Accord. I dont understand why all the expense and what not developing a whole new car which looks so similar to a new Civic, most wont be able to tell the diff/. why bother then? I think this is more attractive than the strange Toyota Prius and the boring wedge yawn look of Kia Ionic. but why bother w/ a new insight?
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Had a 2011 Insight EX as 2nd car for 6 yrs. awesome car, needed tires, gas and. nothing else ever happened to it. awesome. finally sold it to a student last yr, I no longer needed a 2nd car. why bother bring a new Insight for 19? Why not just make Civics with hybrid options like the new Accord. I dont understand why all the expense and what not developing a whole new car which looks so similar to a new Civic, most wont be able to tell the diff/. why bother then? I think this is more attractive than the strange Toyota Prius and the boring wedge yawn look of Kia Ionic. but why bother w/ a new insight?
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Bogdan Bogdanov
Alex, I own a 2018 Accord Hybrid and I should correct you on the way the Hybrid system works. At steady highway speed, the car couples the engine to the wheels using the clutch, but it cycles the modes even if you run at steady speed. 1) Battery charge with clutch engaged, 2) Clutch engaged with no charging the battery 3) Battery discharge with clutch disengaged(EV mode), 4) Repeat. When under hard acceleration it always de-couples the clutch. BTW at 60 mph steady level road driving it does 50+ MPG and at 70 - 75 mph it goes down to 43+ MPG.
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Alex, I own a 2018 Accord Hybrid and I should correct you on the way the Hybrid system works. At steady highway speed, the car couples the engine to the wheels using the clutch, but it cycles the modes even if you run at steady speed. 1) Battery charge with clutch engaged, 2) Clutch engaged with no charging the battery 3) Battery discharge with clutch disengaged(EV mode), 4) Repeat. When under hard acceleration it always de-couples the clutch. BTW at 60 mph steady level road driving it does 50+ MPG and at 70 - 75 mph it goes down to 43+ MPG.
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