FEATURES | 7 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
The HVAC controls are integrated into one huge rotary knob with easy-to-read icons.
Car and Driver
navigation system, which includes a touchscreen interface, voice controls...and a digital audio card reader.
Edmunds
Lighting in the digital speedometer glows green when you're driving most efficiently, blue when you're driving hard, blue-green in between.
USA Today
in ECON mode those little fuel-wasting dithers of your accelerator foot are smoothed out
Road & Track
Adding in delivery, the most basic model of the 2013 Honda Insight hybrid now starts at $19,290. That's less than $500 below the inclusive price of the new Toyota Prius C, which gets better fuel efficiency, has more load space, and offers full electric running under light loads at low speeds. On the other end of the scale, the remarkably good Honda Fit subcompact that sits next to the Insight on the showroom floor carries a price more than $3,000 lower.
That base model of the Insight was added in 2011, but most Insights are sold at the higher LX or EX trim levels. The base model carries a decent level of standard equipment for a subcompact, though it's missing some features--cruise control, for instance--found on larger $20,000 cars. Honda's least expensive hybrid also doesn't offer a long list of high-tech options--automated parking guidance, lane assist, and the like--unlike the larger hybrids represented by the Prius Liftback and Ford C-Max.
The base Insight model does include a tilting and telescoping steering wheel, power locks and windows, automatic climate control, remote entry, and a two-speaker 160-watt audio system that includes a single-disc CD player.
The mid-level trim is the Insight LX, which starts at just above $21,000 with delivery, and includes steering-wheel audio controls, cruise control, a security alarm, a center console that provides an armrest and includes a storage container inside, map lights, and a four-speaker audio system with USB jack. .
The top of the 2013 range is the Insight EX, which adds paddle shifters behind the steering wheel, heated side mirrors with turn signals integrated into them, automatic headlights, a six-speaker stereo system and Bluetooth link, leather wrapping on the steering wheel and shift knob, and alloy wheels. The only major option for the EX is a navigation system with a 6.5-inch display, voice recognition, a rearview camera, FM real-time traffic alerts, and maps are now stored on 16 GB of flash memory.
Conclusion
The 2013 Honda Insight is only average for equipment, and has fewer of the high-end electronic features of many hybrids.
