Production 2019 Insight revealed
 

https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/u.../2018/03/9.jpg

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https://www.slashgear.com/2019-honda...brid-26524361/

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/03/26/...nsight-55-mpg/

https://www.greencarreports.com/news...r-prius-hybrid

Decent looking sedan, but a far cry from its origins.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-...e-metallic.jpg

I wonder what the point of it is considering there is already a Clarity, Civic, and Accord? It needs to occupy a unique space within the brand, otherwise it's just redundant. Like seeing the active grill shutters.

What is that bulge on the passenger side mirror? A camera?

why so dull-looking?

It better post decent numbers...
I feel like I haven't seen Honda make a pretty car or a good spec car in forever. It literally seems like just about everything they make now is stuck in obscurity compared to when they were the stuff of legends in the 90s.

That's a good thing for Honda--the original Insight didn't sell very well, and the 2010-2014 wasn't what they had hoped either. With this getting 55 mpg and looking like a normal car, it seems they're taking a different tack.

It will likely be much cheaper than either the Clarity ($33,400 starting) or Accord hybrid, and of course more fuel efficient than the regular Civic.

Multiple outlets report that the car is driven mostly by the electric motor alone, with the ICE providing motive power only under certain circumstances. Interesting.

I believe that's the blind spot camera, Lanewatch or whatever they call it.

It reminds me the strategy of some manufacturers such as Volkswagen and GM in some third-world countries such as mine, where GM threw a lot of small sedans that may end up cannibalizing sales and harming the economics of scale. Volkswagen did a similar approach in China.

Well, unless Honda decides to position the Civic as the "sporty" compact sedan and leaving the "eco-conscious" market chunk for the Insight, it might be OK.

They've shot themselves in the foot multiple times now with their ecocars. The weird looks of the original Insight and the perceived limitations of a two-seater kept buyers away. Dogged adherence to the single-motor "sandwich" design kept efficiency well below competitors on the Civic hybrids and second Insight. The new Clarity has such a tiny fuel tank that its total range is only 340 miles, when the competition is advertising 600+. A boring-looking sedan that gets great MPG and has no weird quirks seems like just what they need.

It's definitely easier on the eyes than the Prius. If I were in the market, I'd give the Insight a serious look.

Even though I usually prefer Toyota over Honda, I'd also be inclined toward the more conventional looks of the Insight.

They should design a plug in with 50 miles of range and ill be allllll over it. Especially since I wouldn't have to mansplain my Prius to everyone anymore lol

Sure wish it was a hatchback, and not a sedan... Even if they were just going to 90's Ford Probe style on it...

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/1993-F...-Pictures-c268
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Right! In profile, it already looks like a liftback. It would have made it a more useful car.

More expensive to manufacture?

Market resistance to the "hatchback" descriptor? Americans only want hatchbacks when they're in the form of a SUV.

55 mpg US city
 

source: https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/fir...irst-look.html

However, they appear to not know the facts about the 1st gen car:

They probably didn't even consider the 1st gen considering the low volume. That comment may have been entirely based on 2nd gen.

They said "previous Insights". That's what got me all up in arms.

Triggered me?

I honestly don't know of any normal person who knows the Gen 1 Insight was a thing. Everyone thinks the Prius was THE Hybrid that started it all.

Yeah, I interpret their comment the same as you. They could have been referring to previous model years within the same generation (gen II), or they could just be uninformed about the gen I.

The Insight was the first hybrid I was aware of, but I had no interest in it due to it being a 2-seater. That, and I was a poor high schooler, so I had no chance to buy it. I drove a '69 Beetle back in those days. I could fill the gas tank, pay with $10, and get change back. I could fill the motorcycle, pay with $5, and get change back. The Dodge van was expensive, requiring a $20 bill, but I got change back on that too.

I kind of agree that this car will get ignored. It's a sedan. It looks kinda like the other sedans Honda has. I used to think the path to adoption of hybrids was through making them normal-looking, and figured the Camry and Civic hybrids would be the mainstays. I sorely underestimated how much many hybrid buyers wanted to make a statement of owning their hybrid, and so the perpetually weird-looking Prius is still the champ. And a nice-enough-but-anonymous sedan will likely end up selling low volumes.

As to Honda itself, actually driving my Civic from Honda's said salad days has been a revelation. I now entirely understand how it developed its legions of fans. The specialness Honda used to bake into its cars is essentially gone, although you can't say they've built total crap. This car vs. the 2012 Civic rental I had showed a really, starkly clear difference. The '12 was a nicer car in a lot of ways, but there was nothing very remarkable, fun, or charismatic about it. It seems like Honda has gone from an engineering company which happened to build cars to just another car company riding on its reputation and able to charge plenty for it (that's a shot at you, too, BMW).

Segment-for-segment, there's almost always a different vehicle I'd choose over Honda these days.

I actually don't like it because it looks like a normal Honda, boring.

Any published figures? I'm skeptical of any numbers better than maybe... 48mpg highway?

I wouldn't be so sure. Ford moved nearly 60,000 Fusion hybrids last year (almost as many units as the Prius); Toyota, 20,000 Camrys, and Honda, 22,000 Accords. There's definitely a market for hybrid sedans, it's just a question of whether the Insight's smaller size will put buyers off.

Cumulatively, Honda has sold 85,000 Insights across all model years. With results like that, it's hard to blame them for trying something different.

I'm interested to see how it stacks up against the Fusion hybrid, which is the one I'm always praising. The Fusion gets 45 MPG and has normal acceleration and handling, with a very quiet cabin.

https://c-7npsfqifvt34x24nfejbx2efex...hf_$/$/$/$/$/$The key to me I guess is the normalness of it. I mean honestly if you saw this interior without the Honda steering wheel I'd be hard pressed to say it wasn't an Acura. So plus one for the fantastic NORMAL interior. I've always said I won't give up my Prius until Lexus can come out with a fantastic little four door with a great interior with nice touches here and there that can get 55 mpg and this is pretty close (not as lame as the ct200). In other news did you guys see that Toyota upped the horsepower on their Dynamic force engine as well? Seems like the new prius may get a bump to 160hp in their 1.8 like the competition. So long 90hp hybrids! Everybody is winning here.

Honda only wants to sell upscale cars and has stated the Insight will also be “upscale “ and priced as such

So unless they end up heavily discounted, gone are the days of economical Honda’s

50 combined MPG estimate:

source: https://www.greencarreports.com/news...r-prius-hybrid

Interesting point also is it slots between the civic and accord msrp and can be optioned up. 23,570 high for the accord msrp and 18,840 low for the civic sedan's msrp. 2018 prius base msrp is 23,475. I'm guessing they will market it on mpgs being segment par, but mostly on its looks and low msrp.
http://www.motortrend.com/news/honda...-years-143303/

I didn't know they sold as well as they did. Still, the average Joe still thinks of Prius when you say hybrid. I honestly expected the normal-bodied hybrids to be the biggest growth market for hybrids, and while I guess they've been steady, it's still not stunning. We'll see. Maybe there's hope for the Insight.

Fords have been the hybrid to get if you didn't want the Prius, I'd say a Fusion would stack up well. Hyundai's come on strong too (of course they have. Hyundai's a juggernaut in going from strength to strength).

this car is more like a accord to me, Insight should've stayed more original in design

I should try a few Hyundai's out before I commit to a Fusion. Might be a moot point considering how ardent my wife is being about the next car being an SUV.

Kia Niro?

A decent analysis mainly about why Prius sales have disappointed... some points apply to all hybrids:

https://www.greencarreports.com/news...-4-reasons-why

I haven't seen a Ford Probe since 2001 at least. Man, even by then it actually looked great, at least better than most of what was available in my country at that time...