Honda Insight (09 on) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 15 July 2009
The Insight is a five-door hatchback and looks similar to its main alternative, the Toyota Prius, with plenty of interior space and a large boot. There are some neat touches too, including the digital dash which tells you how green your driving style is. However on the move the Honda's engine has to be worked hard most of the time, which sees fuel economy plummet. It takes its name from Honda's first petrol-electric model and uses the same technology as the Civic Hybrid - known as IMA (or Integrated Motor Assist). It's basically an electric motor alongside a normal petrol engine. Electric power assists the engine by giving it a boost during acceleration, but the clever bit is when you brake or coast, the energy charges the battery for the electric motor.
3 out of 5

Other Honda reviews

4 out of 5

Running costs

The Insight is capable of 64mpg - although better equipped ES and ES-T models average slightly less with 61mpg. However in real world driving you're unlikely to see these figures. Road tax is cheap though, it falls into one of the lowest bands and gets a further discount as it's petrol-electric. That said, if Honda had managed to cut CO2 emission by just 1g/km, the Insight would have been totally free to tax. Group 6 insurance is lower than the Toyota Prius while servicing intervals of 12,500 miles are similar to standard diesel and petrol cars.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

12,500 miles.

Warranty

Three years/90,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£0.00 - £10.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

4 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
    96
  • B
    105
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

As you'd expect, this is the Insight's key strength. Economy is impressive with more than 61mpg, while CO2 emissions are just 101g/km of CO2. As well as low carbon dioxide, the hybrid engine emits low levels of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and particulate matter. Honda has also developed Eco Assist - a system that uses moving bars on the digital display along with an ambient light behind the speedo, encouraging owners to drive economically.

Find the exact engine and CO2