Topic: CD Article: 2010 Honda Insight vs 2010 Toyota Prius

[Autos_Editor]

         
Feature:


The redesigned Toyota Prius and all-new Honda Insight will square off in 2010, following their introduction at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Assistant Editor Jil McIntosh reports that they're both hybrids, but that's where the similarity ends.
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[2JDM]

Looking forward to some more "numbers" and driving experiences.

The interior on the Insight is pretty crazy...

[Thinking Out Loud]

The interior on the Insight is pretty crazy...

  +2   I guess their designers had to 'vent' somehow after they were told that the plans for the exterior were currently being scanned and copied from a Toyota ad in the newspaper.

Liking the pricing too.  This is where the Volt should be priced (understood it is a different vehicle tho) if it will have any chance of volume success. 

[tpl]

So I see that the Insight has a conventional 12V battery... or something that looks like one anyway. Pity there is no pic of the Prius engine compartment

[fan-attic]

When asked to describe their "transmission", Toyota has frequently said that it is a e-cvt because it feels like a cvt to the driver. In point of fact, the prius does not have a mechanical transmission in the the traditional sense, cvt or otherwise. It has a power split device which directs power through an electrical path to the traction motor or to a one-speed mechanical path. The result is that the "transmission" has seven moving parts instead of the (100s?) of parts in the Honda Insight, which does have a conventional cvt transmission. The prius is complicated, but only in the software, and software doesn't rust...

[Sir Osis of Liver]

http://www.wind.sannet.ne.jp/m_matsu/prius/ThsSimu/index_i18n.html

Here's a nifty site that demonstrates the Prius' planetary gearset. Pretty clever engineering really.

[Jem_hadar]

Loved this article.

I really quite like the new Honda Insight.

And Toyota has improved the interior of the Prius by leaps and bounds if you ask me.

I never liked the Prius insides before -- thought it was quite unattractive.

Now its gorgeous and flowy -- very impressive redesign, Toyota! ^5

My hats off to you on that improvement alone.

[Schmengie]

I like the Honda's exterior design and it's price is a definite advantage, but that dashboard would be an instant deal-killer for me. It reminds me of an early-Nineties Aiwa boom-box. I'm usually not crazy about center-mounted instrument pods, but Toyota did a pretty good job on this one. The new Prius dash has a smooth and nicely integrated look that's completely missing in the Honda. Honda used to do dashboards so well - WTF happened?? 

[ArticSteve]

There is a possibility that Toyota will offer a stripper version of the current Prius price matched to the new Insight together with the new 3rd gen Prius.

[01escapeXLT4X4]

Thing is they are both nice cars but my biggest pet peeve

THEY LOOK ALIKE. Jeezze did the same guy or his brother design them?

[Greg B.]

Dunno about the cars, but I see there is a new and improved picture of Jil at the top of the article!

[EV Dan]

Some would just like to buy a conventional looking Toyota with a prius drive train. Is it due to lack of imagination they want to offer 3 priuses: old, 3rd gen and later a Li-ion plugin? I'd rather them save the Prius name for the best, most high tech and fuel efficient while sharing the current prii hardware with rollas yarises and other compacts. 

[msantos]

So I see that the Insight has a conventional 12V battery... or something that looks like one anyway. Pity there is no pic of the Prius engine compartment

There should be.  All of us (press) who attended the NAIAS and PDC in Detroit got a media kit with pictures and videos of the 3G Prius.  There must have been a reason why it was not posted with the article.  I can post one if it is OK'd by the admins.

Anyhow, this is a very good review and Jil's continuously increasing knowledge regarding hybrid tech is more noticeable than what with we see with rest of the automotive press in Canada.

Cheers;

MSantos

[ArticSteve]

Some would just like to buy a conventional looking Toyota with a prius drive train. Is it due to lack of imagination they want to offer 3 priuses: old, 3rd gen and later a Li-ion plugin? I'd rather them save the Prius name for the best, most high tech and fuel efficient while sharing the current prii hardware with rollas yarises and other compacts. 

Is it due to lack of imagination they want to offer 3 priuses

What 3  

The idea behind keeping the current Prius, but in a base trim, is to undermine Insight sales.  I would not characterize that as lack of imagination.

I'd rather them save the Prius name for the best, most high tech and fuel efficient while sharing the current prii hardware with rollas yarises and other compacts.  

I think the first order of business is to stay in business.  Gotta get thur the next 2 years and if gas prices remain low in the USA then these cars are gonna stall.

Dealers already have to many models of Prius to contend with as it is.  Bring forth the gen 2 in base trim and perhaps 2 models in 3rd gen (leather/no leather) for the affluent tree huggers.

[Mitlov]

Thing is they are both nice cars but my biggest pet peeve

THEY LOOK ALIKE. Jeezze did the same guy or his brother design them?

Funny thing about tools built for the same purpose...they often look similar.  Aerodynamics and efficiency dictate the shape of both the Prius and the Insight.  It's kind of like how a Corvette and a Viper have very similar silhouettes.

[Mitlov]

Some would just like to buy a conventional looking Toyota with a prius drive train. Is it due to lack of imagination they want to offer 3 priuses: old, 3rd gen and later a Li-ion plugin? I'd rather them save the Prius name for the best, most high tech and fuel efficient while sharing the current prii hardware with rollas yarises and other compacts. 

Is it due to lack of imagination they want to offer 3 priuses

What 3  

Prius MkII, Prius MkIII, Lexus HS250h.

The idea behind keeping the current Prius, but in a base trim, is to undermine Insight sales.  I would not characterize that as lack of imagination.

I agree.  One could easily compare it to the City Jetta, Jetta MkV, and A3. 

[Bullet Blue]

Having a stripper Prius will be nothing but a good thing IMO. It would be more competitive with the Insight, and more competition means we as consumers win. Good move by Honda to keep the pricing low for the Insight. Sounds like it's just as competitive as the 2010 Pruis in terms of gas and real world driving too. I wonder How it will affect Civic Hybrid sales though.

[EV Dan]

What 3 

MkII, MkIII, MkIII-plug (upcoming), when in my opinion to keep up the appearances they should be bringing the 3rd gen. standard with a plug (I mean c'mon, China has been mass producing plug-ins for over a month now) while working on a Volt killer Lexus ER-EV with a big ass Li battery. They have all the circuitry bugs long sorted out, they now have capacity to produce the battery, so what gives?

[ArticSteve]

I dunno, maybe Toyota has gotta a big SHOCKER under raps. 

[Leviathan]

Hmmm?