[Mr. Natural]

1844 Insights sold in September. 6302 year to date.
http://hondanews.com/media_storage/JPG/sept18sales.jpg

 

[Rhino]

Outside of Prius, hybrids just aren’t selling that well in US. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Everyone wants pickem up trucks and SUV’s. We’ve been hearing gas prices going up for past 10 years, just hasn’t happened. 2.49 here. People aren’t going to pay 3-5k more for hybrid than regular with those gas prices. Most don’t break down longterm, they look at dollars today right or wrong.

 

[Mr. Natural]

I’d agree if it was 3-5k more, but my Insight Touring was only 1300 more than a Civic Touring. They’re really closing the gap on pricing.

 

[Rhino]

I’d agree if it was 3-5k more, but my Insight Touring was only 1300 more than a Civic Touring. They’re really closing the gap on pricing.

True, but honestly I thought the regular Civic was more fun to drive. I was disappointed in the Insight drive. To be fair I got stuck in traffic most of it so there could be another test drive coming.

 

[sleewa]

True, but honestly I thought the regular Civic was more fun to drive. I was disappointed in the Insight drive. To be fair I got stuck in traffic most of it so there could be another test drive coming.

I have a 2017 Civic Touring and a 2019 Insight Touring, so I've had side-by-side driving experience with both.

Keep in mind that the 2017 Civic Touring (and by extension, the 2018) has a turbo, so it *will* drive differently. The serial hybrid on the Insight does take some time to get used to - not because it is worse, just different. For a "normal" car, we're used to hearing the engine progressively whine/growl as you accelerate - and we hear the engine howling only when we're really accelerating hard - so we've come to "expect" that. When I first test-drove the Insight, I was taken aback by the engine whine going 35mph up a hill - but after a month+ of driving the car, I've adapted. My expectations have changed on what I should hear when I drive the Insight. In normal driving, the Insight is quieter and smoother than the Civic.

Because of the hills around where we live, the Civic averages 32-33mpg for local driving (has gone as high as 45mpg on a relatively long, flat highway trip of 200 miles). By comparison, the Insight has averaged about 44mpg for local driving on short trips with hills. Our 2010 Prius II got about 40mpg for the same local driving on short trips with hills. I *really* prefer the Insight over the Prius - nicer, quieter, more comfortable.

 

[mgldan]

I was one of 1844 people! I feel more special today. It's such a small club. Less than 2% of Honda's total vehicle sales that month.

I totally agree that driving the Insight requires adaptation. The rhythms of this car and its handling are totally different from my 2003 VW Passat. I've learned to notice how I feel in my gut when I'm turning, accelerating, and navigating the freeway. My mileage (reported by the onboard computer) went from 47 MPG to 53 MPG on the same trips.

Shouldn't read too much into one month's sales. Does that website keep trends over the year and from year to year?

Not having looked comprehensively at how Civic, Accord, and CR-V do historically, I would say this just seems to go along with the narrative that Honda buyers prefer safe choices. Civic is inexpensive, Accord is large and familiar, and crossovers are popular. My friend is thinking of an HR-V and she's lived in California for like 12 years now.

Would be neat to see a breakdown by trim.

The closest dealer to me was pushing Clarity over Insight. Maybe these numbers are why. Clarity has an all-electric option, and it seems to occupy that niche space of most green car in Honda's lineup.

On a different note, I can't believe that such accurate sales numbers are just out there for the public!

 

[Rhino]

So funny, I don’t look at Accord as large, I feel it’s normal. Feels really comfortable. I’m 6’2 though, the Insight wasn’t comfortable enough for my hip flexors, and I’m not overweight at all.

 

[ddemetra]

1844 Insights sold in September. 6302 year to date.

September Sales
1844 Honda Insight

Toyota hybrids
11 Prius V
784 Prius C
4370 Prius Sedan

Considering the Insight is brand new, I'ld say it's doing quite well compared to the Prius line

 

[Rhino]

September Sales
1844 Honda Insight

Toyota hybrids
11 Prius V
784 Prius C
4370 Prius Sedan

Considering the Insight is brand new, I'ld say it's doing quite well compared to the Prius line

Prius C last year

 

[ronnie]

I think there are a lot of people that will consider the Insight as time goes by. Some of my friends who are in their 50s and 60s and are long-time Honda owners are looking at my new EX Insight with envy. I can tell that in time they will seriously consider it over the Civic and/or Accord for their next purchase.

I'm finding my savings in gas compared to my 2015 Honda Fit which I traded in for the Insight is about $40-45/mo which is significant. I've driven the car about 5,500 miles since June 29 and only filled up about 12 times. My overall MPG average is about 51-52 mpg.

The car is fun to drive, full of high-tech features (including Apple Car Play now with Google Maps and Waze), smooth, generally quiet, comfortable and sporty when necessary (in Sport Mode). My wife and I are planning an 8,000 mile road trip this summer and I can't wait.