Strangely enough, metallic green paintwork is not available for either the Insight or Prius.
This is a huge oversight on the part of their manufacturers.
It’s like not offering white as an iPod colour, or not having a favourite pair of jeans in blue.
Considering that the two cars here are the newest poster toys of motoring’s ongoing clean and green campaign, not having optional “greenery” on their bodywork is an automotive affront to the green movement.
In every other aspect, however, the second-generation Insight and third-generation Prius are as eco-friendly as they come.
Four-star generals only for the Prius’ command post and cabin.
Even in soot black as depicted here.
And they are red-hot in Japan, with the Insight even becoming its home market’s best-selling car in April, the first time a hybrid model has achieved this.
But the new Prius, launched a little later, promptly overtook the Insight on the sales charts in May and has been at the top since.
Buyers of either car benefit from green vehicle tax breaks and general cash subsidies introduced by the Japanese government earlier this year.
The Insight cockpit employs an intuitive derivative of the Civic’s “layered” dashboard, but the quality is a bit iffy here and there.
But the Prius, because of higher technology and production expenses, costs significantly more than the largely Jazz-based Insight, which is specifically designed to undercut the iconic Toyota and also Honda’s own Civic Hybrid.
In Singapore, there is a price difference of around $20,000 between the Insight (grey import only) and the Prius (official import from Borneo Motors or cheaper parallel import).
Like two green peas in a pod, both hybrid hatchbacks look similar from some angles.
Both have adopted a teardrop body shape, wheels that appear an inch too small and tucked well within the wheel arches, and a Kamm-type tail with a subtle spoiler.
Prius digital display looks cooler than the Insight’s instrument panel.
Evidently, engineers from both companies have reached more or less the same aerodynamic conclusions for their respective green machines.
But the Prius cuts through the air more cleanly than the Insight, with a claimed drag coefficient of 0.25 versus the Honda’s 0.28.
Interestingly, the Prius’ slippery figure is the same as that of the original Insight, Honda’s hardcore hybrid coupe that was retired in 2006 after seven years as a cult car.
With extreme features like a lightweight aluminium body, aero-optimised fairings and fittings, electric power steering from the NSX, and custom-cast 14-inch alloy wheels that weigh 40 per cent less than their conventional counterparts, that initial Insight is downright exotic compared to its latter-day namesake.
Insight’s instrument panel looks less advanced, but does have a tachometer.
The reborn Insight is more straightforward and more practical than its 2-door, 2-seat blast from the past.
More pertinently, how does it compare to the new Prius, today’s undisputed benchmark in hybrid driving?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s worth remembering that the Insight costs some 20 percent less than the Prius.
Put another way, if the Toyota is less than 20 percent better in our opinion, then Honda has done a good job here.
The Prius’ little joystick works well.
Looking at the twosome together for the first time, it’s obvious that the Prius is physically bigger and sits on a noticeably longer wheelbase.
Both vehicles are evenly matched on paint quality and panel gaps, but the Toyota’s doors close with a more solid thud and their grab-style handles feel more substantial than the Honda’s “lifters”.
The Insight’s body kit (standard on the S Package model tested) and racier alloy rims, coupled with the car’s 65mm lesser height, make it look a little sportier than the Prius.
Opening the driver’s door, the Insight – with its variation of the Civic’s multiplex dashboard – is immediately familiar.
Insight’s gear lever (above) looks decidedly low tech compared to the Prius’.
The gear lever and hand brake are exactly where you would expect them to be in a regular car.
Compared to the Insight, the Prius’ cockpit is out of this world.
Laid out like some spaceship flight deck, it is futuristic yet functional, with a nifty “video arcade joystick” controlling “Drive” and a foot-operated parking brake to allow that dramatic “floating” console with a large shelf underneath.
Most of the cabin plastics are economy class in both cars, but the Prius’ switchgear feels a little tighter and its power windows are faster and smoother in operation.
We also notice that the seatbelt anchorages are neatly integrated with the B-pillars in the Prius, but are tacky affairs in the Insight.
In keeping with Honda’s naturally sporty disposition, the Insight’s driving position is lower and more purposeful than the upright Prius’, and it comes complete with height adjustment for the seat squab, which the Prius lacks.
Visibility is excellent in either car, but the Toyota offers clearer corner views thanks to its front and rear quarter-windows.
Equipment-wise, the Prius provides more gadgets to play with than the Insight.
These include a “keyless” smart entry and start system (versus the Honda’s standard steel key), a head-up display (which is a tad indulgent), Bluetooth hands-free telephony and so-called Touch Tracer satellite switches on the steering wheel to control the audio, air-con and trip computer.
The Insight’s audio system is an aftermarket set fitted by the dealer that lent us the vehicle, as is the striking red leather upholstery, which is more marketable but frankly not much more comfortable than the Prius’ plush fabric from the factory.
Space-wise, there is a lot more room to stretch in the Prius, especially for occupants’ heads and shoulders.
Its head rests are also better in size and shape, although the Insight’s seats are more supportive of your bum and lower torso.
State-of-the-art hybrid technology is found in the parsimonious Prius, which packs enough “Popular Science” to rival a small nuclear plant.
The Prius has a larger boot, supplying 445 litres of lit cargo capacity compared to the Insight’s unlit 408 litres.
Fold down the rear seat backs and it’s 584 litres of expanded boot space in the Honda and a commodious 1120 litres in the Toyota.
Both have a “hidden” storage compartment beneath the boot floor, but the Prius’ is again more useful than the Insight’s.
Popping open the tailgate is via a convenient electric button in the Toyota and a less convenient manual lever in the Honda.
This unremarkable hybrid unit is like Windows compared to the cutting-edge Mac OS X of the Prius.
Driving-wise, the Insight handles more confidently but the Prius rides more comfortably.
The Honda’s steering is electric like the Toyota’s, but it feels less detached from proceedings, which admittedly is not the same as saying it feels connected to the tarmac.
The Insight’s brake pedal is firmer and more natural in its action than the Prius’, which is soft like tofu and hard to feather smoothly, but there is no discernible difference in outright stopping strength.
Both cars have anti-lock brakes, but the Prius gives the added reassurance of stability control.
Three different driving modes are at your disposal in the Prius – just press and progress ahead.
Refinement is the Prius’ strong suit.
Its suspension is even more supple than the Insight’s, interior insulation is superior and the 1.8-litre engine is always discreet, even when called upon to accelerate hard.
The Insight’s tinny 1.5-litre is busier, and not just in terms of noise, because it is permanently engaged as part of Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist system.
Compared to the Civic Hybrid, the Insight’s set-up is more compact and efficient, but it’s ultimately less clever than the Hybrid Synergy Drive in the Prius, which has more patents (over a thousand were filed) and also more tricks up its green sleeve.
Insight’s cute “plant” switch tells the car to go greener and tread even more lightly on Mother Nature.
The best trick of all is how the Prius coordinates the interconnected yet independent components of its hybrid drivetrain for optimum green performance; seamlessly and silently, on the fly and on the ball.
From start-up and at speeds below 70km/h, the Prius’ engine is “dead” and just the electric motor supplies motive power.
Only when the accelerator pedal is pressed harder does the engine kick in, contributing quietly to the car’s high-tech creation of energy.
Depending on the level of juice in its Ni-MH battery bank, the Prius can even run as a pure electric vehicle for up to 2km in town, moving along on battery power alone and emitting nothing more than the sound of rolling tyres.
The Insight cannot do this, but it has an “Econ” button (in green, of course) that, like the Prius’ “Eco Mode” toggle switch, orders the car’s electronic brain to emphasise fuel economy over everything else, including throttle response and air-conditioning output.
However, the Prius’ digital climate control continues to work even in this fuel-saving guise, because it has its own electric motor – unlike the Insight’s compressor, which is conventionally driven by the engine and temporarily shuts down at standstill in conjunction with the car’s idle-stop mode.
At the end of the day, there is no doubt that the latest Toyota Prius is more complex and competent than the reinvented Honda Insight.
Most importantly, the Prius is the more complete hybrid package that boasts a sweeter blend of technology and practicality, efficacy and efficiency, aesthetics and ergonomics – all after you factor in the higher asking price.
And the Toyota has an aura of sophistication that simply eludes the Insight.
The Honda is modern enough for a hybrid, whereas the Prius is ultra-modern.
Aerodynamicists at
both Toyota and Honda specified a Kamm tail and a “teardropped” body.
Toyota Prius 1.8 (A)
ENGINE 1798cc, 16-valves, inline-4, hybrid
MAX POWER 100bhp at 5200rpm
MAX TORQUE 142Nm at 4000rpm
GEARBOX CVT
0-100KM/H 10.2 seconds
TOP SPEED 180km/h
CONSUMPTION 25.6km/L (combined)
PRICE INCL. COE $99,888
Honda Insight 1.3 (A)
ENGINE 1339cc, 8-valves, inline-4
MAX POWER. 88bhp at 5800rpm
MAX TORQUE 120Nm at 4500rpm
GEARBOX CVT
0-100KM/H 12.6 seconds
TOP SPEED 180km/h
CONSUMPTION 22.7km/L
PRICE INCL. COE $79,988
