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.
This is what the Insight was designed for... to be a hybrid, with good fuel economy, that drove like a standard ICE car.
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'd sure hope for nearly double the price tag, that the Tesla would have better features than the Insight. As far as the hydrogen comment, That's more of a GM comment, seeing as they actually produce hydrogen cell vehicles.
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 (open cell foam is a fantastic noise reducer), a spare kit I can't buy even though the trunk fits one (agree immensely), a cluster of stuff surrounding me, the high center console (I hated this at first, but have come to love it), ridiculous low passenger seats (true, why aren't they at least the same height), gaping panel gaps (pretty bad by todays standards), silly Honda logo and sounds the car makes when you open the door, the ridiculous sound it makes when under 12 mph , the ridiculously thin sheet metal (weight savings, although I agree, they could have used more aluminum), useless LKAS ping pong (I feel they did this for the "driver alertness" sensing), 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. (Well yes, but the Tesla only has two powertrain options vs 3 of the Insight)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. (Or at least allow further customization of what's displayed)
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. (Solid point, although I like not needing to look for a button and know where they all are without needing to take my eyes off of the road)
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? (Makes sense, can't argue this point)
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. Ok, but didn't they technically do this already, if you get in the car, having never driven a hybrid, and want to go anywhere, you don't have to figure out how to work anything. I remember the first time I got into a Prius (2nd gen) and had to move it around the body shop, and I had to search for the "shifter" then read the dash to figure out how to "put it in park"