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2010 Honda Insight EX Review (video) by Justin Pritchard / Auto123.com |
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“Is that one of those hybrids?” asked the guy next to me at the gas station as I topped off the Honda Insight’s tank. “Yes, it is” I replied.
He inspected the little eco-pod’s awkwardly-shaped body for a moment, one lip half curled up. After a moment’s pause, he commented “I’d never buy one of those”. “Why’s that?” I asked. “They’re just….all weird” was his response. He was referring to the relative unfamiliarity that hybrid cars pose for the majority of the car-buying public. Hybrids are popular in their own small circles-- but a relatively tough sell to the majority of shoppers who don't know what they do, how they work, or what they'll be like ten years down the road. Despite all the good intentions, hybrids haven’t exactly been flying off dealer lots. Compromise free greenness? Somewhere beneath Insight’s odd shape and promise of eco-minded driving is an attempt to change that. Insight seeks to do away with many of the stigmas surrounding hybrid cars—and accordingly, it’s clever, largely un-compromised and relatively affordable. Priced from under $24,000, rumor has it that the Insight’s pricetag made a few folks at Toyota scratch their heads. For its second iteration, Insight’s mileage and performance are up, and the compromise factor is way down. The rear seats now fold down, and ‘get-up-and-go’ is on par with most small four-cylinder cars. The interior is accommodating and offers more than adequate space-- though it does tighten up quickly with 5 people on board. Like goodies? The loaded $27,500 Insight EX tester included navigation, automatic climate control, Bluetooth, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, voice-command and more. That’s enough to satisfy the atmospherically-minded techie any day of the week.
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