Honda "Prius"? Not At All
Let's take a break from the Land Barge Love Fest to look at something a little smaller, a little lighter, a little more packed with hazardous materials in the form of batteries:
Mickey Kaus says the new Honda Insight looks like a Prius.
I beg to differ. Take a look at the pictures (From the Honda Website):
If you ask me, the nose of the new Insight looks like the more recent Civic front ends. And the back end looks like the Accord rear. There are other cues that are similar to the Prius, like the overall shape ...but I'm sure that the aerodynamics involved dictate that silhouette.
In fact, if you squint your eyes right, it looks quite a bit like a 4-door/stretched CRX.
If only the Insight was as much fun to drive as the old CRXs! Size/weight realities make that impossible, of course. But it is a family sedan that gets excellent gas mileage (40/43), and Honda usually ensures their cars are at least somewhat zippy.
On the other hand, it was the CRX that established the viability of two engines in an economy-import car.
--Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame
That Car Guy on February 02, 2009 at 01:09 PM
Sadly, I see a Prius outline with Honda design elements. The latest monthly Car and Driver pamphlet (My god, are they getting small!), March 09, says the Insight is a cheaper Prius ($2,000 less) that gets less mileage. The trade is a cheaper entry price for less mileage. At least the inside photos make the Honda look like a real car.
I guess I'm gonna have to see one in person to really tell. Gas here in Nashville is back up to $1.80 for Regular and rising, and the dealers have a first-time-ever $1,000 rebate on Priuseses. Better get your small car order in now!
Cookie the Dog's Owner on February 02, 2009 at 01:24 PM
It looks more like an 8th-gen Civic than a Prius--and yes, Nathan, I agree with you that the wind tunnel is dictating the overall shape on both cars.
Steaming Pile on February 02, 2009 at 01:27 PM
So? The Insight sort of looks like a Prius in profile. Big whoop. You go with what works. It's unlikely, but for all we know, the Honda design people started from more or less scratch and came up with the same conclusion Toyota did about body shape.
I think you're right about the CRX, though. It sort of looks like a stretched version of one, more than it looks like a Prius.
Anthony Cagle on February 02, 2009 at 01:46 PM
I think they intentionally went with a Prius-like look. Prius mostly sells on its looks anyway rather than any economic considerations. It screams "I'm environmentally correct" and sells based on that.
Big Chris on February 02, 2009 at 01:49 PM
To keep this related to big cars:
I could park this car in the back seat of my 75 Chevy Impala (see previous post) with room for a Honda Fit in the trunk!
--Big Chris
Gannet on February 02, 2009 at 01:56 PM
Big Chris, now that's my idea of a hybrid.
That Car Guy on February 02, 2009 at 02:01 PM
I can't help but wonder why a Hybrid profile works better than an all-gasoline-powered profile. I agree with Anthony... they are looking to make a statement here.
The interior of the Insight is nice and, perhaps, cutting edge. The Prius' cabin looks like a bunch of leftover parts thrown together; the clock is from the 80s. I have to ride in a Prius about once a week and listen to how good it is. Oh, the smug stories I could tell LOL.
Anthony Cagle on February 02, 2009 at 02:32 PM
"Oh, the smug stories I could tell LOL."
Cue South Park.
I drove one once. Eh. Horrid rear view. Lousy use of space.
That Car Guy on February 02, 2009 at 03:26 PM
I see some previous-generation Accord cues on the side character lines and taillights of the Insight, especially in the first photo... very nice! Whatever you think about these cars, they will draw emotion!
Collin on February 02, 2009 at 03:39 PM
Looks like a Prius with current Honda front and rear styling treatments.
Rob the SVX guy on February 02, 2009 at 03:54 PM
In regards to the profile of hybrids being like this, in comparison to the profile of a typical gasoline powered car, the truth is this profile is better. It does offer lower drag, and in a game where the main selling point is MPG, the aerodynamics play a larger role than 'how traditional' or 'how normal' a car looks. Basically, if you are shopping for a normal car, and it gets 25-30mpg, you are probably going to the car with the best looks/performance or something. If you're shopping for a hybrid, you are going to want the one with the greatest MPG. Also, keep in mind the people who shop for hybrids are looking for 'change'. They want to be part of the change, and they don't want the same old same old. But really, this shape has been used in cars of the past with traditional gasoline engine, with excellent results. See the CRX, for example. 52mpg. 1986.
Mochi Mochi on February 02, 2009 at 04:24 PM
The point is that the CRX (HF or not) was way ahead of its time. The 1st gen CRX picked up that wonderful shape and then refined it for even lower drag. The HF was in the range of hybrids when it came to fuel efficiency. The Insight Gen 1 beat everything for maximum fuel economy.
We can all agree on at least this, the shape is about low drag coefficient, and is dictated by a combination of space use, utility, and aerodynamics. What we may not all agree on is that Both honda and Toyota have realized that having a vehicle that really looks like a "hybrid" will get you points with hybrid buyers who want everyone to know that they are driving a hybrid. It's like wearing the right logo on your gear. If you need to appeal to smugness you need to make the car call attention to itself and announce itself.
I'm a big honda fan. I don't like to talk ill of the mother-ship. But I'm not a shill for them either. I've got problems with some of the more recent cars. The thing i will note about this hybrid is that it overall appears to have a lower center of gravity and profile. I can only see this working to the advantage of this car from handling and fuel efficiency perspectives.
Oh and I'm just going to point out one really important thing. This is a Hatchback! It gets points right there.
But I'll go a little farther. I've been looking at the images on the honda site. This is a nice looking car. The concept vehicles are nice too - the CRZ especially. The lines are cleaner and more aggressive than the Prius. Whether in reality it is fast or slow the overall styling makes it look like it's going somewhere.
Thanks Nate.
...m... on February 02, 2009 at 08:14 PM
...40/43 is a pitiful joke compared to what they were producing twenty years ago...
...m... on February 02, 2009 at 08:27 PM
...there's nothing paricularly magical about the new profile, either: the first-generation insight had the same coefficient of drag, and the EV-1 beat both of them by over twenty percent...make no mistake, this insight is purely a marketing exercise...
Rob the SVX guy on February 02, 2009 at 09:09 PM
I don't think so M. The first generation insight, while cool and all, was very very VERY small. It had a load capacity of two people and about 150-200lbs max, which made it an impossible choice as most people's daily driver. This new one, while getting fewer MPG, will be able to reach a much broader audience.
Rawja on February 03, 2009 at 04:45 AM
I dunno, I like it.
Nicely modern inside and out and carrying current familial Honda styling cues as well as references to the last-gen Insight. Though with gas prices at their current levels Hybrids make less economic sense than they did just 6 months ago which will necessarily limit its appeal to the mass market.
Steaming Pile on February 03, 2009 at 07:07 AM
@...m... - you mean like the Dodge Aries? I doubt any of those broke 30 MPG, at least not without considerable sacrifices. Ditto for the other high MPG cars of the 80s. Geo Metro - Yes, it had a back seat, but did anyone ever sit back there? Original CRX - no back seat at all. I don't even think they're allowed to make cars that weigh less than 2200 lbs. anymore.
The Prius, new Insight, etc., as far as I can tell, are decent-sized sedans. If adults can sit in back, 40/42 is doing pretty good.
V8Dan on February 03, 2009 at 07:55 AM
I agree, it's very Pruis looking. Maybe it falls into the; you say toe-maw-toe; I say toe-may-toe classification.
If you were to show a black silhouette of both cars to most consumers I doubt most would be able to tell you which was which?
Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame on February 03, 2009 at 09:32 AM
V8Dan,
I don't think anyone is insisting there *isn't* a similarity.
The question is: was it a deliberate copying by Honda to say, "This is a Hybrid, just like Prius! It even looks like it!", or is it an unavoidable artifact of design, i.e., to change the silhouette to *not* look like a Prius would negatively impact gas mileage?
The point of the article is I think it is the latter. The question can't be proven, of course, unless Honda makes a press statement admitting they copycatted the Prius...but I think we've made a strong argument for the unavoidable similarity argument.
Mochi Mochi on February 03, 2009 at 01:52 PM
What I see is that there's huge similarity in styling for most cars of the same class. I walk through the parking lot to get into work and I see toyotas, hondas, mazdas, lexuses, bmws, and volvos. All lined up. All looking so alike. It's appalling to me that cars have converged on such similar styling right down to the details. To fault a new Insight for looking like a Prius is to completely overlook the larger problem... the majority of new cars actually all look alike. There's practically an Orwellian sameness that pervades new car design. Very few cars actually have distinctively different profiles these days, at least in terms of total sales.
...m... on February 03, 2009 at 05:24 PM
...not at all, SP - my '90 geo prizm managed the same fuel economy while being every bit and perhaps even a touch more accomodating than the prius/insight 2...heck, just about any common european market car of the past two decades makes 40 miles per gallon without even trying, and their direct-injection diesels put 40 MPG fuel economy to shame...
...you're correct that lightweight cars are very rare in north america, but that again is more due to marketing-driven design than regulations...i'll admit that my elise is a bit of an extreme example, but it's a current federal car which tops the scales at all of 1984 pounds...
The Original Ian on February 03, 2009 at 07:09 PM
...m...: The same fuel economy as what? According to fueleconomy.gov, a '90 Prizm gets 24/31 by the 2008 standards.
...m... on February 04, 2009 at 05:51 AM
...the same fuel economy by personal experience, nothing more - i hadn't reviewed the 2008 testing standards, so it's entirely possible when driven in the same way that the new insight may comparably exceed its published 40/43 fuel economy...
That Car GuyThat Car Guy on February 04, 2009 at 10:47 AM
"Your mileage may vary" LOL!
meccano on February 09, 2009 at 06:22 PM
There really is no denying the Insight looks like a Prius. It is not a horrible looking car, but you can't help compare the two. Was it on purpose or subconsciously - who knows? In the end, I think it is a mistake. If you want a Hybrid that is all about the best gas mileage you are going to look at the Prius and maybe take a look at the Insight as well. I suspect most people are going to go with the Prius. The Honda just isn't different enough - not in price, not in mileage and not in styling. The Prius is the proven leader in this segment and Honda's inability to distinguish itself in direct comparisons with the Toyota is going to make the Insight that much harder to sell. Of Course if gas prices skyrocket to new heights anytime in the near future and Toyota can't keep a Prius on the lot, well then, the Insight looks a sure fire hit.