[Calarity]

Hi, 1st post, but I've been here since before the Insight came out. I want a new car soonish. I really like all 3 of the new Honda electrified cars. This will be a major change from my '03 Acura CL-S 6 cyl coupe. It's powerful, near luxury, comfortable, sporty, rare, and a manual shift. I've had coupes for decades, Prelude and Acura Legends.

Insight - I'm worried the driver cabin is smaller and I'm concerned it will feel too slow when pushed and I will miss my sportier 265hp CL.

Accord H - I like it's roomy front cabin and nicer features, but the price is higher and I've never owned a sedan or even use a back seat much.

Clarity PHEV - My fav, it's a groundbreaking car. I like the uniqueness but I can't plug in at my condo, would have to charge publicly, price is more.

I have not test driven yet cause I do not want the dealer stalking. Has anyone gone from a midsize or powerful car to the hybrids? Insight is my top contender, but I will have to get over my need for speed!? I like the mpg, tech and safety features. I know I need to test drive, just wanted to join in here. Enjoy your drives.

 

[Hapless11]

I went from a Fusion Titanium to an Insight Touring. No regrets whatsoever. The Fusion was quicker, but I find that I don't speed as much with the Insight because it's become somewhat of a game to see how high I can get the gas mileage. Just a different way of thinking. The Insight is classified as a compact by Honda but actually falls into the midsize segment according to government standards. It's not much smaller than the Fusion was on the interior. I started out looking at the Accords but found the Insight to be the best value. I glanced at the Clarity but the styling was a bit much for me and I didn't want to think about the plug-in aspect.

In Sport mode, the Insight will push you back in your seat when you get on it, but in all modes you lose some steam at higher speeds. It was worth it for me, but YMMV.

 

[Calarity]

Thanks, I really like the Insight tech/safety features compared to what my 03 CL has. I didn't want black interior again, and do not like ivory much. I like the light gray Accord leather a lot. The Accord interior is very nice, understated, like some Germans. I drove my Mom's Buick recently - 100 fluor blue dash lights all over was not pleasing.

I need to go drive an Insight. I'm even looking at used 18 Accords, and used! Insights already online. I prefer to let the first buyer pay the premium, but Insight is not too pricey new. Also, sedans are not selling. I can't help but think the Insight sales will catch fire tho. A hybrid CRV will sell a lot. I think in 2-5 years most vehicles will have at least, some electrified propulsion.

 

[wonthanh]

I am leaning towards insight over the clarity for a few reasons:
1. for the extra amount I would pay for the clarity, I don’t think I’ll make that up in gas savings for a loooong time since I drive less than 10k miles/year.
2. The infotainment system of the clarity is outdated and has no volume knob.
3. Looks.
4. Difficult to charge at home (no garage or driveway).
5. this year I won’t have enough tax liability to get the full $7500 tax incentives.
6. Not a fan of the steering wheel layout which was taken from the civic.

Disclaimer: have test driven the insight but not the clarity.

 

[Mr. Natural]

Hi, 1st post, but I've been here since before the Insight came out. I want a new car soonish. I really like all 3 of the new Honda electrified cars. This will be a major change from my '03 Acura CL-S 6 cyl coupe. It's powerful, near luxury, comfortable, sporty, rare, and a manual shift. I've had coupes for decades, Prelude and Acura Legends.

Insight - I'm worried the driver cabin is smaller and I'm concerned it will feel too slow when pushed and I will miss my sportier 265hp CL.

Accord H - I like it's roomy front cabin and nicer features, but the price is higher and I've never owned a sedan or even use a back seat much.

Clarity PHEV - My fav, it's a groundbreaking car. I like the uniqueness but I can't plug in at my condo, would have to charge publicly, price is more.

I have not test driven yet cause I do not want the dealer stalking. Has anyone gone from a midsize or powerful car to the hybrids? Insight is my top contender, but I will have to get over my need for speed!? I like the mpg, tech and safety features. I know I need to test drive, just wanted to join in here. Enjoy your drives.

I think you’ll find the cabin size very similar to your Acura. Perhaps even slightly roomier.

 

[Calarity]

Well, I have sat in the Insight and Accord, the Insight seemed smaller than my Acura. Could be all in my head as I see the Insight is an 1" wider than my car...
It's surprising how many cars the dealers leave totally unlocked when they are all closed on Sundays).

 

[J. Bond]

Given your living sit, without convenient charging, I’d rule out the Clarity. In person, the looks are fine — for some reason that back wheel partial cover seems minor and far less noticeable in person than in the pictures. If you can't get the full tax credit, that makes it much less attractive, too.

The Accord EX model gives you the option of adding a real Blind Spot Monitoring system and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, but the trim and that do drive the cost way up! And, you'd need to be comfortable with the loss of head room due to the moon roof.

We do get used to driving our cars, yet still can adjust to new ones. I really like the wide visibility of our old Accord and the Insight and Clarity seemed more cramped to me, due to the sloping roof line, I believe. But when I got back into our Accord, I noticed some cramped feeling, too! It all depends, I suppose, on how particular one is being!

The Insight sounds like a good fit! These decisions, aside for the financial aspects, are not irrevocable, either, You could always buy the Insight and in a few years trade it in for a new X!

 

[Calarity]

Thanks for the input. I'm sure I would adjust to the Insight cabin, I'm economizing so the Insight makes sense. I do wish it had the Accord's gray int. option but I know with the price they can't offer as many options. If I can wait longer a used 18 Accord is on my radar too. The 2019's are out soon.

If anyone else is shopping these 2 cars, there is a good youtube video with side by sides of every aspect of both cars by Car Confections, just search Insight vs Accord Hybrid.

 

[J. Bond]

Clarity, thanks for the heads up on the comparison! I'll check it out!

I agree with you on the interiors! Honda is nearly pulling a Henry Ford,

”Any color you want as long as it's black!”

As far as I can tell, only the Cosmic Blue has the light interior option!

 

[Mr. Natural]

This is the list of color combos from the Honda Insight Press Kit. I have found a few errors in the kit, so keep that in mind.

 

[Calarity]

J Bond, Honda offers several Insights with the ivory int. but Accord adds a gray interior I like. I've had black interior for years so I want a change, and not a big fan of ivory. Maybe the mocha? Strange they give us the unique Mocha (not offered on Accord) and leave off the gray option from the Accord.



I see one of my local dealers has several used 2018 gas Accords (demos) for sale, and one 2017 Accord hybrid.

 

[J. Bond]

Hey, gang! I was wrong.

Both the White Orchid exterior and the Crimson Pearl have the option for the Ivory Cloth interior.

See https://automobiles.honda.com/insight# But Goldy's chart in the post above is much easier to review!

Goldy, what errors have you found it?

 

[J. Bond]

Calarity, I checked out the video. Quite thorough and informative. In fact, even for those who only want to learn more about the Insight, it's quite helpful, with good attention to detail!

For anyone else interested, here's the direct link to the video.

Given that it's YouTube, you may want to purge your cookies afterwards — Google tracks us far too much!

 

[J. Bond]

Ran out of editing time!

Probably, the biggest weakness of the video is that he's presenting the Touring level of the Insight, so be aware that some of his comments won't apply to the LX or EX models. (He really should have labeled his video with the name of the trims throughout!)

 

[ddemetra]

I would have 2 concerns that steer me toward the Insight vs the Clarity.

1. Winter
The down side I have read about hybrids is when you turn on your heater, it runs the engine to produce heat.
With battery only, I"m sure this would take a major drain on the battery if it was -30 or -40 out. (like in Northern Ontario where I live)
As well batteries don't work as well when cold.

2. Parts
The Insight is essentially a Civic, with minor changes. So most of the parts (suspension, steering, etc) should be fairly identical.
I don't think the clarity is, which may lead to harder time sourcing parts. Like my last Civic I drive for 22 years, it's nice if parts are readily available.

 

[Jon_s]

I took an extended test drive of the Accord before waiting for and buying the Insight. The Accord EX scored a few points in my mind — it is faster, has rear seat vents, and has a sunroof. It was just too wide, though, especially for my extra-narrow two car garage. The Insight was a much better fit for me. I also found it more attractive, inside and out, and preferred its smaller, softer, seats. It looks and feels more like an Acura ILX from the future than a Civic of the present.

 

[Mr. Natural]

Hey, gang! I was wrong.

Both the White Orchid exterior and the Crimson Pearl have the option for the Ivory Cloth interior.

See https://automobiles.honda.com/insight# But Goldy's chart in the post above is much easier to review!

Goldy, what errors have you found it?

One error is that is states that the windshield is tempered glass. It’s not...it’s laminated. The other error skips my mind right now, but I’m sure it will come to me.

 

[Rhino]

Went to Honda today finally. Test drove LX Insight and Accord back to back. Sat in Touring Insight, no EX models. I’m about 6’2, 182 athletic build. I found Accord to be more comfortable, quiet, nicer. 60/40 split, rear cup holders, larger screen, larger rear seats, trunk, smoother drive, faster. I thought Insight was a little boring and disappointing honestly. As of today, I still have my Jeep because I wasn’t blown away enough to get rid of it regardless of mileage difference.

 

[Mr. Natural]

Went to Honda today finally. Test drove LX Insight and Accord back to back. Sat in Touring Insight, no EX models. I’m about 6’2, 182 athletic build. I found Accord to be more comfortable, quiet, nicer. 60/40 split, rear cup holders, larger screen, larger rear seats, trunk, smoother drive, faster. I thought Insight was a little boring and disappointing honestly. As of today, I still have my Jeep because I wasn’t blown away enough to get rid of it regardless of mileage difference.

You must be comparing the LX Insight to a higher trim Accord? My Insight has 60/40 split, rear cup holders, 8” screen, and is very nice. The Accord is roomier. It would certainly be more comfortable for someone 6’2, and the trunk is about 1.5 cf larger.

 

[Rhino]

You must be comparing the LX Insight to a higher trim Accord? My Insight has 60/40 split, rear cup holders, 8” screen, and is very nice. The Accord is roomier. It would certainly be more comfortable for someone 6’2, and the trunk is about 1.5 cf larger.

Nope. I was comparing LX Insight to LX Accord. I drove both yesterday. Accord is nicer. Drives way nicer regardless of trim. That’s not really debatable I don’t think. 212 hp to 151. 232 torque to 197. Quieter, smoother. More comfortable. I was just disappointed in the Insight drive personally. Not talking bad, just going by my personal experience.