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May 27, 2009
2010 Honda Insight EX Review (video)
by Justin Pritchard , Auto123.com

“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.

The rear seats now fold down, and ‘get-up-and-go’ is on par with most small four-cylinder cars.

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.

The rear seats now fold down, and ‘get-up-and-go’ is on par with most small four-cylinder cars.

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Excel Honda 5400, rue Paré, Mont-Royal Québec, H4P 1R3 Tel.: 514 342-6360 Fax: 514 342-4826	Encore Automobile Ltée 266, boul. Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Châteauguay Québec, J6K 3C2 Tel.: 450 698-1060 Fax: 450 698-2368	St-Constant Honda 270, Route 132, St-Constant Québec, J5A 2C9 Tel.: 450 632-7155 Fax: 450 632-8922	Excel Honda Moto 5480, rue Paré, Ville Mont-Royal Québec, H4P 2M1 Tel.: 514 342-6360 Fax: 514 342-7192