2010 Honda Insight Test Drive With Overall Review

By: Andy Hodges
Staff Writer
Published: Jun 11, 2009

Honda Insight test drive and review delivered more than 51 miles per gallon.

The 2010 Honda Insight handled well during our test drive while our overall review determined that the car offers a great price. The vehicle is priced at just $19,000 (about $24,000 for the full package with Navigation) but this could be different depending on dealership. The vehicle achieves 40 mpg city and 43 mpg highway with a combined mileage of 41 mpg.

The Honda Hybrid features an Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system. The basic propulsion comes from its efficient 1.3-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with 88 horsepower and 88 pound-feet of torque. However, the electric motor produces another 13 horsepower and 58 pound-feet of toque.

New cars are dropping in price and offering better fuel economy. This car is no exception as it offers the consumer some of the best in hybrid technologies and fuel efficiency. The hybrid battery is a 108V pack that uses nickel-metal hydride cells.

Hybrid tax credit incentives for this automobile have expired. This is very unfortunate as demand is increasing and most consumers could really use the government incentive. However, the MSRP is still priced at $19,000 and not bad for a new car.

Honda also offers a continuously variable transmission (CVT) in the vehicle. The braking system is unique as the motor acts as a generator and feeds electrons back to its battery. There's enough electric to propel the automobile at city speeds up to 30 mph with the engine completely off.

The Honda Hybrid can also reach 0-60 in 10.7 seconds. During our test drive, we clocked this speed about 8 times. Even so, consumers are looking for better gas mileage, not power under the hood.

Honda Insight delivered 51.8 mpg during our review. This is far more than the combined mileage of 41 mpg that is advertised. We used slower acceleration and coasted during stops.

The Insight is comfortable and provides plenty of room. The engine noise did seem above normal in comparison to other new cars. Passengers may experience a little road noise but not enough to ruin the comfort.

The interior design makes you sit lower than most automobiles. For example, you sit lower, which does provide more legroom in the front. We also noticed that the tilt steering wheel also extends outward for taller drivers.

A new Eco-Assist driver coaching system is the key interior feature of the new Honda Hybrid. It takes advantage of the Civic-style split-level dash by altering the background color of the high-mounted speedometer from blue to green that unveils efficient driving. The default page of the comprehensive trip computer houses a bar graph that encourages gentle use of throttle and brakes, and it awards leaf icons for sustained thrift over a trip and over the life of the car.

We will follow up with a Part 2 of this Honda Insight review and test drive. We will supply a link on this page when it's available.