2010 Honda Insight Review

2010 Honda Insight Overview
Honda will unveil their new 2010 Honda Insight, Honda’s answer to the Toyota Prius, at the Paris Car Show in October of 2008. The car that shares a name with Honda’s original Hybrid will be a “large” compact that is priced under the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic, with the expectation of beating both cars in MPG.

2010 Honda Insight Price
The 2010 Honda Insight is expected to be priced lower than the 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid, which starts at $23,550, and lower than the 2009 Toyota Prius, which starts at $22,000. Car websites have speculated the new 2010 Honda Insight could sell for under $18,500, with other sites doubting Honda can go that low, putting their estimates between $19,000 and $20,000.

2010 Honda Insight Gas Mileage
The 2010 Honda Insight is expected to have better gas mileage than the 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid, which gets 40 city/45 highway/42 Combined, and better than the 2009 Toyota Prius, which gets 48 city/45 highway/46 combined.  Car websites have speculated on the gas mileage for the 2010 Honda Insight; conservative estimates claim MPG will be in the high 40s and low 50s and more hopeful estimates place the MPG in the 60s.

2010 Honda Insight Release Date
First pictures of the concept version of the 2010 Honda Insight Thursday September 4. First live viewing scheduled for the Paris Auto Show in Oct. 2008, Release in April of 2009.

2010 Honda Insight Production Amount
Honda plans to sell 200,000 of their new 2010 Honda Insight worldwide; and 100,000 of their 2010 Honda Insight in North America.

2010 Honda Insight Design
Reports said the design would draw heavily from Honda’s new hydrogen fuel cell car FCX Clarity, and the car would fall in the compact car class. Honda believes hybrid technology is best suited for the smaller car. Pictures released of the concept version of the 2010 Honda Insight shows resemblance to both the FCX Clarity and the Toyota Prius. The 2010 Honda Insight is three inches shorter, one inch narrower, and with a top two inches lower than the 2009 Toyota Prius. In relation to the size of other Hondas, the Honda Insight will fall between the smaller Honda Fit and the larger Honda Civic.

The 2010 Honda Insight will be a four-door hatchback. The cars’ Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) will be stored under the rear cargo area. The back seat will fold down like the back seat in the Honda Fit. The Honda Insight is expected to carry many basic features such as anti-lock breaks and curtain side airbags but will limit the bells and whistles in an effort by Honda to keep the price down.

2010 Honda Insight Engine
The Engine will be an updated version of the Honda Civic Hybrid’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) The IMA will be lighter and smaller and contain fewer pieces than the IMA of the Civic, driving down cost. The hybrid engine differs from the Toyota Prius’ motor, with an electric component aiding the acceleration but never powering the car on its own, while the Toyota Prius tries to run sole on electric power as much as possible. The battery for the 2010 Honda Insight will be a Nickel Hydride Battery Pack (Honda does not believe in the practicality of the Lithium-ion battery). The transmission will be a continuous variable automatic (CVT).