2012 Honda Insight Review - Price & Specifications | CarAdvice

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2012 Honda Insight Review - Price & Specifications

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HONDA INSIGHT
VTi
A$ 29,990

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  • xnove

    amazing , better than commodore

    • jj

      but ANYTHING is better than a commodore!

      • Sexythang

        trudat

      • Al Juraj

        Unfortunately, the sales charts beg to differ.

        • Grayfox

          that is because many aussies are bogans who rather drive a burley V6 or V8 which makes them think i am aussie because i drive a holden

      • golfer

        did you not mean EVERYTHING !?!?

  • Hyundai smoke

    Impressive car! Anyboby else thing those tail lights look like a cross between a vz commomdore and an au falcon?

  • Pauly

    Now with the $10,000 saving in base form against the Prius and a $18,000 saving when comparing the upper spec models, you need to do the maths and see how much petrol you will use in a Insight before you break even against a Prius.

    Not bad Honda Australia, so now you have proven you can price your cara at a reasonable level in Australia, don’t stuff it up with the new Civic, CR-Z, New CRV next year.

    • vti07

      Hopefully the Jazz Hybrid if and when it comes out is competitively priced as well.

  • F1MotoGP

    It is a very nice family city car. In Japan 2009 Insight was the 5th best selling car with 93,283. I just noticed AGAIN as with the first Jazz this car has a DRUM brake at the back!! Why? In Europe is disc. Otherwise car is good size and a good size of boot. Fuel economy will get better than 6.2 because it is a new car need few thousand and will be around 5l/100km.

    • jj

      i lol at people who say about the jazz’s drum brake rear end.

      come for a drive with me in my 02 model and ill pu the brakes on hard…. you can collect your eyes from the dash afterwards.

      it has also done 130 thousand kays and the rear linings are still like new! i replaced the front pads at 115000 kms and i drive the poor thing HARD.

      it also has abs and ebd.

      i wouldnt put discs on it if i had the option.

      • Owen Petersen

        Disc brake rears are largely redundant as one of the main energy saving gained in an IMA system is through regenerative breaking which is done through the front wheels and to maximise this you don’t need the back breaks to do much work as they are just converting momentum into heat rather than electricity which kind of defeats the purpose of a Hybrid system. Besides that drum breaks actually make better hand breaks and this is really the primary function on a Hybrid as minimal assistance is required from the back breaks during normal driving.

      • MisterMister

        I had rear drum brakes on my 1st gen CR-V and they were absolutely terrible. It required so much pressure on the brake pedal to get the car to stop, especially on downhill slopes (the car weighed 1400kg). It didn’t have ABS either.

        • Owen Petersen

          Neither did any of it’s competion in those days. Also the CRV didn’t have IMA regenerative breaking to help slow it down so your last remark is very much redundant to this discussion.

          • golfer

            Regenerative braking (not breaking as you put it) is used to generate electricity for the electric motor to use when it is driving/assisiting the driving of the car.

            ABS is a safety feature which stops the wheels from locking up when you brake hard. It instead, locks the wheels for microseconds, then releases them for a split second then engages them again. It does this repetitively when it detects wheel lock. This is because when the brakes are locked, the ability to steer the car is lost.
            So the 2 are seperate systems and have very different purposes.

      • golfer

        I’ve spent several weeks driving a late model Jazz. It’s a piece of noisy rubbish and the brakes are hopeless when you need to stop in a hurry. I learned this the hard way with 3 people in the car and the car not pulling up properly at a roundabout. Reading this article about the Insight, I fear the same problems are still present.
        If they could make it quieter and stop properly it would go a long way to improve it’s image.
        Drum brakes are pathetic.

  • Pauly

    There are reports all over the web of people bettering Honda’s fuel economy claims by a small margin. I think some people have managed to get it down to 4.2L or something around there.

  • Alexander

    It’s pretty easy getting better fuel economy than the claimed economy in a hybrid, you just have to make heavy use of the electric assist. Over 500km I’m currently averaging 3.6l/100km in a 2010 Prius, and that’s with very little effort. Using hondas IMA system, people have averaged far below claimed averages, I rented a Civic Hybrid and averages 4.0l/100km, so an insight should get even better in the hands of a hypermiler…

  • Owen Petersen

    Good to see the Paddle shift fitted to the Australian version as the Japanese base spec doesn’t have this, bluetooth, I-pod itegreation or climate control. They also have steel wheels and hub caps on the Jap base model along with drum brakes. Looks like we are getting a good package for a change. Having driven a Japanese spec car which had nearly 30,000kms on the clock it was able to achieve 4.2L/100kms whilst being flogged through the countryside. Also I agree on the handling it is quite surprising how well this car steers. I’m really looking forward to getting one. I would like to see you post a correction for your mistake two days ago Andrew where you said in your article that the Toyotas use Lithium-ion batteries. They are in fact Nickel Metal Hydride just like Honda. Other than that though I am please to see a possitive article about a Hybrid at last.

  • MisterMister

    How come it’s taken us so long to get the Insight in Aus? USA has had it since early 2009. And I really hate Honda’s aftermarket Bluetooth kit that sticks onto the A-pillar. Looks really tacky.

    • Owen Petersen

      The good thing is it works and it’s more ergonomic there than built into the stereo. I agree that in an ideal world it would be on the wheel however economy of scale is always a factor and the scale of the Australian market is rather limited.

      • Jack

        Got one in my Accord Euro, never seen it work

        • Owen Petersen

          The only problems I’ve ever seen with them is either with the phone or the operator. There is about 500 phone which are compatable and about 300 which aren’t like anything there are quite often software issuses with a lot of phones. I’d suggest taking it into your local dealer to get a lesson in how to use it.

  • http://caradvice OSU811

    they are actually a very good car for a hybrid!
    they steer and handle like a sporty hatch,
    and have enough power to be entertaining,
    only dissapointment as with all hybrids is the cvt operation which isnt to my taste!
    Bring on the CRZ with a proper 6sp manual that might
    satisfy me.

  • http://caradvice OSU811

    would love to see Honda;s hydrogen car the clarity
    in oz! just need to convince the oil companies to
    put in the pumps in the service stations!!

  • MisterMister

    In the second photo from the bottom, is the antenna on the roof meant to slant to the left like that?

  • vti07

    I’m fairly certain the eco trophies you may have earned would be wiped out by other people during each scheduled service…

  • Nowhere

    personally, all the toyota hybrid cars look too “small”. If i ever want a hybrid, i would like something that looks like a sedan, fool everybody thinking that its a normal car, except that its hybrid! The Kia Optima hybrid looks really nice. Not so sure about the Sonata hybrid, but hey, it looks much bigger.

    • http://caradvice OSU811

      what about the civic hybrid?
      looks same as normal civic sedan apart from the wheels!

    • correction

      Lexus LS600hl looks the same as a normal LS460. Lexus RX450h hybrid is the same body as RX350 non hybrid

  • Nick K

    Well done Honda, this is an impressive value for money car. My main gripe with it, is its dumpy styling… I don’t think I could live with a car that looks like this. Still others may like the styling, in any case it deserves to do well.

  • Lloyd

    “Better than a Commodore” What?!
    So its better at towing my 24ft Caravan and/or my boat with family and luggage? I don’t think so.
    People that buy this will have different needs or maybe they don’t need to tow but I can’t see how a Commodore and this are comparable or why this comment was even made.

    • Al Juraj

      There’s always a Falcon to better suit your needs.

  • http://www.reviewdoo.com/ review

    @ Llyod – Anything is better then a commodore! Commodores are so crap people are slapping chevy badges on them! Go jap the whole way, quality is much better. Great review btw/

  • LukasUtopia

    When the first hybrids appeared they were seen as too different in appearance, now though even I can now appreciate the modernity if this slippery shape.

  • Matthew

    Its an impressive car, the center console just looks looks thrown together

  • Jabba the Hutt

    It’s a shame about the interior dimensions. If it wasn’t for this important factor they’d sell in droves to taxi fleets. Being $10 grand cheaper than a prius will no doubt get it some sales as cab though I suspect.

    • Cranky Franky

      You cant beat a falcon taxi. Theyare superior to this trash in all respects.

      • vti07

        Some people will argue that the Commodore makes a superior taxi as it is considerably roomier than the Falcon for rear passengers.

        • Cranky Franky

          Everyone knows that the Commodore is not reliable enough to be taxi. There is more to it than just space, even an Aurion/Camry would be better than a Commodore.

      • golfer

        I guess you haven’t seen the dozens of Prius taxis running around many citys.

  • http://www.vrrrooommm.com zubair

    Another good hybrid car from Honda. Nice design.

  • Andrew Juma

    Paddle shifts on a hybrid. What next, reclining Maybach seats in a Corolla?
    I applaud Honda, Toyota et al for their technological prowess, but these cars are just not for me.

  • darkone

    great another hybrid,real cars have 3 pedals and a gearstick,and no,paddle shifters arent proper gearchanging because it still really an auto.Still cant see the point of hybrid cars,they are only making the owners think they are environmentally friendly,some smaller cars out there use just as little fuel as these things,and cost a hell of a lot less to fix when they go wrong!.I think the Insight just looks like a plastic wedge like 80% of all new cars.

  • http://www.capeplates.co.uk Number Plates

    From the outside this reminds me of the new Nissan Electric car. Not my favourite shape. I can see why the 1999 Insight never caught on – those rear tyre covers were hideous.

  • http://www.northumbrianumbers.com Private Number Plates

    All manufacturers are jumping on the Hybrid bandwagon when the real effort should be going into the Hydrogen fuel cell car.

    • golfer

      Diesel hybrid would be better.
      Electric motors to drive from standstill, providing maximum torque from 0 RPM.
      Efficient lashes of torque when the turbo is spooled.

      The best of both worlds, performance and fuel efficiency.

  • http://www.iusedtires.com/ Used Tires

    The shape of Honda Insight much reflects to Honda City of ASIA

  • Berroff

    It is pity that the Insight is nearly twice more EXPENSIVE in Oz than in other parts of the world. It looks like we’re the world’s richest & dumbest market… I’d think of European diesel which is simpler, cheaper, more reliable & economical than most hybrids, at least until the fuel cell hydrogen (FCV?) Honda arrives here…

  • Walter von Sturler

    PRODUCT WARNING!!! Honda Insight hybrid. The joy quickly became a nightmare. In for numerous mechanical repairs for many weeks. This car is a serious DUD. Accelerator finally stuck and this is the result. Rolled two times. No airbags deployed. Thank God Mum walked away from this. If you are in the market for a hybrid, steer well clear of this lemon. Class action in USA against Honda pending..

  • J T

    12 year battery warranty 5 year general car and engine warranty, what’s unreliable about that?