[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by broski499

I talked to my mechanic about the insight, honda hybrids in general and he has scene a ton of problems with them. The electric motor not being powerful enough, the battery being too small, a lot of problems with warranty claims.

Sounds like you have had a good experience?

Yes, and I'm not alone. Year after year the second gen Insight is in the top 5 of reliable small cars.
The only surprising thing there is it being classified as small, it is my biggest car ever, bigger than a Golf, bigger than my Almera.

The hybrid battery is relatively small, but that does not matter. It is not an EV. It does not use the electric motor to reverse, like a Prius. It won't use it below 9 mph. But it does use it to help spin up the CVT drums to make revving easier (one of the drawbacks of conventional cars with CVT) and it helps smooth out the power delivery.
In a 20-30 mph zone it could just decide to go electric for half a mile.

Arguably the Prius is more high-tech, power delivery is (even) smoother and the 3rd gen Prius is more economical than the 2nd gen Insight, thoughthe difference is less than the EPA figures suggest. But the responsiveness of the Insight and the way it corners makes it more pleasant to drive. And it is a lot cheaper.

There are some minor issues, like the weak OEM 12V battery. Mine was replaced under warranty.
The hybrid battery seems solid though, unlike the Civic Hybrid and first gen Insight; confirmed G2 hybrid battery fails are very rare indeed, AFAICT I don't know of any.