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On Sale Spring 2009, Expected Price: Around $18,500 (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/honda-new-insight-hybrid-car-photos-specifications.php)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Honda_Insight-II.jpgMichael Graham & Richard Gatineau - treehugger – October 2, 2008

At the Paris Auto Show, Honda is showing an almost-production prototype of its new dedicated hybrid car, the 5-door hatchback Insight (V 2.0). The company is also working on a hybrid based on the CRZ and a Jazz/Fit hybrid, as well as a new version of the Civic Hybrid. "Honda is planning global sales of more than 500,000 units per year with its four hybrids [with 200,000 of those being Insights], said Takeo Fukui, president and chief executive officer of Honda."

We have a lot more details (engine, MPG, etc) and photos... http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/honda-new-insight-hybrid-car-photos-specifications.php

If it's so similar to a HCH in performance, why not just CALL IT ONE! Falls decidedly short of the first insight's high MPG bar.

...but it looks HOT!

Similar fuel economy to the HCH-II? What happened to "better than the current Prius" mileage?? :ccry:

I think it will do better than the Civic because it is a much smaller car and probably lighter? It is a great looking car, but I think I will personally stay with the Civic because of the size! H

AUGGHH! I totally agree with everyone!

-It's awful that that the Insight II will have an FE of around the Civic Hybrid. However, if this holds true, Insight II will face the fate of the Accord Hybrid.

-A hybrid dedicated car should have fuel economy that exceedes the the FE of a hybrid variant like the Honda Civic.

The Insight II, as we ALL expected;

Should have a EPA FE of at LEAST 65~90 mpg

Have ability to run on gas, or Compressed Natural Gas, or plug-in.

Have a manual transmission.

Essentially, Insight II should beat the Volt and Prius at what they do. However, it's failing in all of these aspects!

And why is everyone so shocked that it's selling for around $18,500?? Wasn't the Insight only $22000~$19,000? Why is the Insight II spinning out of control !

ARRGGHH!!

If it's so similar to a HCH in performance, why not just CALL IT ONE! Falls decidedly short of the first insight's high MPG bar.

...but it looks HOT!


Totally true. The interior is very nice, however, take note that the headlights look like the late 80's/early 90's generation Honda head lights as they are boxy and not curved. Oh well.

1.3L? isn't that what the HCH uses? No wonder it gets similar mileage. Big disappointment!

Looks really good in the rear 3/4 view, though:
http://www.treehugger.com/honda-new-insight-hybrid-car-b05.jpg

Looks a bit like a certain Civic many of us would like to own.

Well, that's pretty darned suck-tastic... :(

-soD

Insight video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su4OuQvVPHI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THdPcDqM-cA

Underwhelmed by Honda and overwhelmed by GM as of late. Oh well.

I guess I'm just puzzled. Why not simply bring back the old Insight? Surely the physical & human investments in production from 2000-2006 are still floating around.

I guess I just wish they didn't call it the Insight. Call it a Civic+, or a Fitvic, or something. Just don't disgrace the name Insight with something B+ list.

It's like a Van Halen reunion with the next American Idol winner on lead vocals. No thanks.

Well that's something of a let-down. I guess they wanted to differentiate the regular civic from the HCH by giving it an Insight badge. They probably would have done better stuffing the IMA into a civic coupe body if they wanted to save weight. I was totally looking forward to a cheap 70+MPG car for under $20k.

I wonder how much it would cost to build the old version of the Insight, but with newer batteries and IMA internals?

With a starting price around the same as a Civic EX this will no doubt sell well.

Plus it still has all the space advantages the HCH lacks.

If they keep the price down and limit dealer markups it will sell like hotcakes. In my area the Toyota Dealers are chaging $27k for a base Prius.

What happened to the 70mpg the Honda engineers were toting earlier?

I'm glad it didn't make me feel bad for investing in the HCHII

I'm glad it didn't make me feel bad for investing in the HCHII

Me too...but thats the only upside to this news. I would have considered trading in the HCHII if the insight 2 got 60-70mpg range. Does look nice though and the price will encourage a lot more people to think about hybrids next time they buy a new car.

If anything I see this Inisght 2 taking away sales from the civic hybrid as well as the prius. It's cheaper than the Prius but still has the same hatch-back utility that the prius has over the civic hybrid.

And at $18,500, it's gonna be taking away a lot of sales from other car companies too. I mean a few years after the expensive dealer markup is gone. Why would you buy a Mazda 3, Corolla, or any other cheap econobox when you can buy the insight for the same price almost?

Only real competition will be the things like the Aveo and Yaris if they were like $12,000. But you gotta remember in a few years from now once the dealer markup is gone on those insights, gas is gonna probably be like $6/gallon.

Well, the mpg is a bit of a disappointment, and I do wish they'd have saved the Insight name for a true commuter car. Also disappointed that this doesn't appear to include the dual-clutch IMA design we'd hoped for that might allow electric-only operation.

But you know what? For me the new Insight brings near-Prius FE and utility (HCH is a no-go in my book because of its non-utilitarian sedan design) closer to my financial reach. And maybe without the Prius' leave-you-stranded traction control.

Another complaint: I can't help noticing this thing is even lower to the ground than the Prius or the Fit. Even the side clearance is only about 3", which is going to high-center a lot of people just trying to get into their driveways. I guess the automakers have decided that those of us who drive to trailheads have already bought SUVs or Subarus. Too bad. It wasn't that long ago when passenger cars had enough ground clearance to get you to your favorite hiking spot. Now they're practically forcing outdoor enthusiasts to buy SUVs.

In any event, I agree with bomber that this thing is going to compete with cars like the Mazda3 and maybe the Jetta. It will sell well despite our nitpicks.

At my store we don't do dealer availability markups, it destroys consumer confidence.

I'm not sure what people are so negative about with this car. The current IMA system is apparently only capable of so much. It sounds pretty good for a 5 seat car. This car will sell if it comes in under $20k. The Prius and HCH are a little overpriced IMO.

If the mileage is similiar then that will def be disappointing.

With the two cars so similar, I wonder if they won't outright cancel the HCH-II soon after. Glad I got mine.

nf

I think you all are forgeting the CR-Z concept, that's the 2-seater you're waiting for.
About the name: let Honda people use their minds as they are used to, and keep their company profitable, so we can have this kind of techo-simple beutys for many years ...
I think they have proved many times that they know us and know our needs ...

I think you all are forgeting the CR-Z concept, that's the 2-seater you're waiting for.
About the name: let Honda people use their minds as they are used to, and keep their company profitable, so we can have this kind of techo-simple beutys for many years ...
I think they have proved many times that they know us and know our needs ...
As long as they don't do like they did to the Fit, to make it "sporty". :(

I'm not sure what people are so negative about with this car.

Simple: we expect more out of a company with the track record and engineering capability of Honda. The **whole** point of the Insight is fuel economy. Its namesake has been the mileage king since it was introduced, and its main competitor is the current-production mileage king (the Prius, in the US anyway). Yes, it's a nice looking car. And it's nice that it will be a few grand cheaper than the Prius (though also a bit smaller based an everything I have read). But we know for a fact that they have been playing the wrong game with their optimizations a la Fit 5-speed and there is no excuse for them to do that with a vehicle called the Insight.

I can only hope that they will build in a few tricks to help a conscious driver to take its mileage to where it ought to be.

Simple: we expect more out of a company with the track record and engineering capability of Honda. The **whole** point of the Insight is fuel economy. Its namesake has been the mileage king since it was introduced, and its main competitor is the current-production mileage king (the Prius, in the US anyway). Yes, it's a nice looking car. And it's nice that it will be a few grand cheaper than the Prius (though also a bit smaller based an everything I have read). But we know for a fact that they have been playing the wrong game with their optimizations a la Fit 5-speed and there is no excuse for them to do that with a vehicle called the Insight.

I can only hope that they will build in a few tricks to help a conscious driver to take its mileage to where it ought to be.

I agree about the Fit. It could be so much more in the MPG department.

The new Insight was obviuosly built to a price point. Personally, I expcet a little more too as a long time Honda owner. The official numbers have not been released yet, so we will have to wait and see. It's a good choice for the time being given the narrow field of competitors in this segment.

I suspect as time moves forward the Insight will be the value leader and the Civic hybird will get the newer technology first before it is passed down to the Insight to keep prices low and thus, I would not be surprised to see a greater mpg difference between the two in a few years.

It's disappointing because early rumors were much higher.

http://www.autoobserver.com/2008/06/honda-hybrid-may-be-called-insight-set-to-out-prius-the-prius.html
The hybrid's economy is also "insane" says this well-placed insider with a good-natured laugh, which suggests a rating well above today's Civic Hybrid which has an EPA-estimated city/highway rating of 40/45 mpg, the best of any 2008 Honda.

So how insane, exactly? Well, Japanese sources predict a domestic fuel rating of
30 km/l, equal to 71 mpg in the U.S. Now, that's in Japan's 10.15-mode fuel cycle, which is now a bit old and quite often shows hybrids in an especially flattering light.

Some are talking about even more, as in 35 km/l (equal to 82 mpg), which is pretty much what the old Insight registered in Japan (although it was much less in the U.S.). A more realistic expectation for the U.S., then, would seem to be in the 50-55 mpg-plus range.

http://www.dailytech.com/Honda+Insight+Coming+Back+as+2010+Model+at+18500+/article12582.htm
Fuel economy for the Insight is reported to be as high as 71 miles per gallon.

Hi Andrew:

___We have reported that here but with caveats. Dailytech is not on top of this game but what most should consider when discussing the Japan 10-15 is that the Prius-II is rated at 83 mpg on that test cycle.

___Do not even bother considering the speculation from previous reports when you find out they were somehow based on the Japan 10-15.

___Given the 3 new test cycle additions to the 08 EPA, I doubt anything will touch 70 mpg again other than the pure electrics/OEM PHEV’s. The Insight while running a hard accels and decel’s including the 80 + mph cruise in the high speed test, A/C use in the 96 + degree heat test and the 20 degree F cold test would smash its actual fuel economy performance to smithereens. The same with anything else weighing 1,900 + pounds under those exact conditions.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

All the features of the Civic Hybrid, plus more utility for $5000 less, how can you be disappointed?!? That is a huge improvement! I agree, I'd like the mileage to be higher too. But, its still a huge step forward.

You're absolutely right, Daox. This is a great thing. It's not far removed from the Fit hybrid we were looking for earlier.

You're absolutely right, Daox. This is a great thing. It's not far removed from the Fit hybrid we were looking for earlier.Ha! Good point. I've been crying in my beer over the delays to the Fit hybrid, but except for the reduced cargo space (due to the lower roofline) this thing pretty much is a Fit hybrid.

Let's not forget the 2006 Honda Insight with auto trans has a combined MPG rating of just 47 and sales were dismal http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm.

The new Insight will seat 4 and be a direct competitor to the Prius. I believe they will sell all they can build. I may be tempted to put one in my garage next to my 2000 Insight.

If I could convince my wife to drive one, it would be an ideal replacement for that FSP she's in right now! :)

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/09/video-2010-honda-insight-hybrid-spied.html

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/09/honda-insight-hybrid-revealed-prior-to.html

But I wish it had Li Ion batteries!