I've had a long history with Hondas. I've actually only ever bought Honda's and I thought that some of them were amazing and at at the brink of cutting edge for their class. I've owned or stewardes 93 Accord, 96 Accord, 97 Accord Special Edition, 2005 Civic, 2013 Accord.
Integra GSRs with B18 engine, S2000, NSX 1st gen, H22 engine in Accord SiR/Prelude VTEC were really great innovative cars. Then the 2000s came and the accords were just boring until the 2013 which I thought to be spectacular. Aced the new frontal small overlap crash test, outstanding CVT, and 185 hp from a NA 2.5 liter... With 36-39 real world mpg. I was sold. Much better than Nissan and Mazda offerings. The standout 3rd gen two motor hybrid later appeared in the Accord but it was too pricey for me to dump my 2013.
At this point I've rented many hybrids... And they were all junk until the 4th gen Prius. The CMax and 3rd gen Prius were the worst. As a hybrid system, the Insights 3rd gen 2 motor is excellent.
I think the current gen accords are ugly... But I would have probably bought the hybrid EX with the same 3rg gen two motor hybrid if not for the Model 3 LR. Not really wanting the new Accord which is larger than my 13, the price was right as was the mpg so we bought the Insight after a friend bought one.
The 3rd gen two motor hybrid system is a standout but I feel the packaging of it into the Insight is meh. The Honda sense is not useful either. I rented a 4G Prius and drove it a 1000 miles over a week and though the I thought fuel economy was standout and the car had some really cool features but the car was boring to drive. Though I really like the Toyota sensing package. I passed on the Prius simply because of the cost, and the Prius Prime which is a bargain with incentives because bit was only a 4 seater and the stupid battery took up the trunk.
The Model 3 LR is double the cost of the Insight but I see every single feature the Insight has, has been bested. The Clarity looks like a patchwork of unfinished sheet metal. Honda is really not innovating but seems rather they are making compliance cars cause they think the future is hydrogen..... the i3 wouldn't fit my commute and neither of any of those 80-100 mile BEVs. I tried buying a Fit EV a few years ago on a shorter commute but couldn't secure a lease. The Clarity BEV costs like 36k.. which is absurd as you could by a superior Model 3 SR+ for $37k then. The same with a Bolt starting at $36.5k.. though GM has huge customer cash now.
At first I was ecstatic with the Insight and drove it all around. It was a step in the right direction... Quiet, electric AC, cool space saving buttons from the Clarity buttons instead of shifter... But certain things always irked me.. floor made of felt padding, a spare kit I can't buy even though the trunk fits one, a cluster of stuff surrounding me, the high center console, ridiculous low passenger seats, gaping panel gaps, silly Honda logo and sounds the car makes when you open the door, the ridiculous sound it makes when under 12 mph (Clarity makes it too.. yes I know it will be federally mandated but the sound could be better), the ridiculously thin sheet metal, useless LKAS ping pong, the tiny ill placed trunk button vs the large easily accessed gas door button, the throngs of useless configurable screens on the instrument panel, home is an actual hard button and not an LCD software button, the ridiculous sound it makes in Sport mode, no soft open damper on the glovebox, the noise cancellation that makes a hissing sound, inability to set the regen, and paddles??? Really.. it's a hybrid gas saver, not a electronic dual clutch tranny. If it was an i8 I would accept paddles but its a 50 mpg gas saver. Perhaps I shouldn't be so critical as the car is only $23k. My biggest complaint of the 13 Accord is that after 6 years Honda did nothing to fix the Bluetooth lag and $12 bottles of Honda CVT 2 fluid. No real complaints for that car, but I have so many Insight complaints.
I also did a lot of cost analysis too... The Model 3 SR was the winner in terms of cost due to incentives and charging at home but wife didn't want to share a Tesla with me.
Then I decided to buy the Model 3 Long Range for myself which was $12k more than what I had originally planned and charge that at work. When I picked up the car it was surreal... It was revolutionary. I have never liked a car so much. The 3 has numerous major quirks as well..... like road noise.... But the sum of the car is still a standout. The car is 2.5 months old. I have over 6k miles on it. The Insight is barely tipping 4k at 5 months. I actually need to drive the Insight more to lessen the miles on the 3. But then again, I've only spent $20 bucks to drive 6k miles.... I get most of energy for free from various sources. I don't get free gas for the Insight.
Every feature which I thought was great on the Insight I saw bested easily by the Model 3. Even the brake hold which I thought was silly on the 3, eventually I found superior to the Insight.
Honda compromised a lot to build the Insight and I find this to be it's fault. It's not going to beat the Prius, or the Ioniq, or any of the Toyota hybrids despite Honda's excellent mostly serial hybrid system. My opinion is that Honda should keep the hyrbid system but give it more EV like features and get rid of unecessary junk.
The 3 is simplistic and focuses on driving and not a flury of gauges, buttons and animations of the Insight. I like the 13 Accord as it's still simplistic... Just enough gauges and info and not overwhelming like today's cars. The regen on the 3 is just a straight line that swings between green and black. Is so simple yet effective... Compared to three step , 2 color gauge on the insight. My wife asked me the other day while I drove it, how do I know when the Insight is in regen and when is it motor only? After 5 months she doesn't know. I suggested to get rid of the busy gauges but she likes the animations even when she doesn't understand them.
What's the point of a EV mode when it's easily defeated by gas pedal, low battery or speed? Just get rid of it. The car tries to use battery as much as it can anyways. It's a copy of a Prius feature, a feel good option not needed. Why does there need to be EV, ECON and Sport buttons? Shouldn't there be a Normal button too? Can't those be menu settings? Simplify the cockpit and get rid of 3 buttons.
I finally set the very obscure power off auto parking brake in the Insight yesterday by listening to all the obscure beeps. Why not make that a menu option instead?
I think Honda needs to innovate more by simplification and by playing up the EV factor of it's serial hybrid. It's halfway there already.