My Test Drive of the 2011 Honda Insight

In the late fall I had the opportunity to test drive the 2011 Honda Insight with a friend who was shopping around for a replacement for her 2011 Toyota Corolla. She was looking for something that wasn’t too expensive, had good gas mileage, and of course, something stylish that she would feel good driving. We were led to the Honda Insight because the Prius was a little too expensive for what she was looking for, then she had heard good things about the Insight being a similar car.

Driving Capabilities
The Honda Insight is a small car that is lightweight and has a nice turn ratio. It accelerated with ease on highway on-ramps and stopped gradually. The Insight comes with an “environmentally friendly” option, that, when engaged, creates an almost stop-start motion when accelerating and decelerating. It was a little jarring and uncomfortable at first, but after a while it was unnoticeable. The pedals were easy to press and the steering wheel was comfortable. Using the rear window is a little hard at first; as it has the same rear design as the Prius and thus you must use the lower window for the rear view mirror.

Interior/Exterior Design

I must say, the Honda Insight looks almost identical to the Toyota Prius,with the sleek, streamlined shape and graduated boot. The inside is a nice modern design, with all the amenities that you would expect in a compact car. There was a surprising amount of room inside the car, with an extremely roomy trunk. My only critique would be that the tab, connected to the steering wheel, that controls head lights is a little confusing to figure out.

Mileage
The mileage for the Honda Insight is great. Only a little bit less than the Toyota Prius, but close enough to make up for the difference in price. It’s a smaller tank that takes less than 30 dollars to fill (on average with the price of gas at about $3.50) and can go for weeks at a time.

Overall Experience
I was extremely pleased with the Honda Insight. I am rather surprised that it hasn’t sold quite as well as the Prius; because it’s cheaper and has an extremely comparable MPG. The inside was comfortable, stylish, and could easily fit the driver and accompanying friends. There was a lot of storage in the back, and with it’s lower design, seemed helpful in the case of moving a lot of stuff at the same time (such as groceries etc). I would say that my one point of contention besides the head lights tab, is the fact that there is no way to open/unlock the trunk from the inside, and must use the remote controller. Otherwise, a great, reliable car.


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