Honda Insight car review
The Honda Insight is the cheapest hybrid on the market, undercutting the Prius by around £3,000.
But how well does it perform as a practical family hatch? We check out whether the Insight is a sound as well as an ethical investment.
Honda Insight gallery:
Honda Insight IMA ES-T Hybrid CVT
Mileage: 1,300
Average speed: 18mph
Fuel consumption: 39.7mpg
Insurance group: 6
CO2 emissions as tested: 105g/km
Company car tax%: 7%
EuroNCAP result: *****
Price: £18,890
(Buy used Honda Insight | Buy new Honda Insight)
Options: Metallic paint £40
It’s a cliché that having children is a perspective-changing activity – and it also gets you £250 from the Government to invest in shares for their 18th birthday.
Pre-parenthood this would have been a cue to identify the likely source of the best returns. Post-parenthood and your decision may, like mine, be complicated by the new and unexpected appeal of ‘ethical investments’.
Likewise, some hybrid buyers are attracted by the cost-saving potential of congestion charge exemption coupled with potential car tax and fuel savings.
Makes sense as a family car
But, just as with shares, part of the Insight’s appeal is its ‘ethical investment’ qualities.
And since the arrival, six weeks ago, of our daughter Dorothy, the Honda Insight just seems to make more sense as a family car.
For one thing my driving style is more suited to the Insight now.
I’ve reached a zenith of sedate cornering, cautious speed bump engagement and progressive braking plus acceleration - all qualities which suit this car to a tee and help keep my daughter asleep.
Tears-free ride
I mentioned in my first Honda Insight long-term report that the firm ride has attracted criticism, while even with paddle-shift controls, the CVT gearbox is not the ideal fit for someone in search of a good time.
But when your idea of a good time is ensuring a tears-free ride for your smallest passenger, the Insight is absolutely fine.
The child-friendly attributes mentioned in my second Insight report have taken priority.
Honda Insight gallery:
Improved fuel economy
Ease of driving, good rear seat and boot access plus useful storage are the aces up the Insight’s sleeve.
I’m not sure what I’d do with a sharp-handling, feisty hatch right now.
And while I am still nowhere near the Insight’s claimed fuel economy figures (due in part to my predominantly urban journeys with an average lifetime speed of 18mph), the smoother driving which comes with transporting baby-seat bound passengers is certainly improving matters.
A viable option
Of course, for many motorists the word hybrid will remain a turn-off, at least until the arrival of less worthy cars, including Honda’s own CR-Z.
But for families who like the idea of a car-shaped ethical investment the Honda Insight is already a viable option.
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