Toyota Prius or Honda Insight?

Honda Insight is back, and hybrid buying consumers now have one of the toughest decisions to make. Toyota Prius has become the leader in clean energy vehicles, while Honda Insight has the right to call itself the pioneer in mass marketed hybrid vehicles. The perennial rivalry in the US between Honda Accord and Toyota Camry is heating up again – this time with two hybrid cars.

Here are some straightforward comparisons between the two. Side-by-side comparison of pure statistics makes it obviously clear: Prius is more expensive, but it offers more. Not only Prius has more standard features, Prius also has more power and better MPG (combined MPG of 9). Prius buyers would end up saving more money in less than two years of driving! (Assuming 12,000 miles per year and $2 per gallon.)

But Insight drives more like a Honda, and Prius feels more like a Toyota. Therein lies subjective and emotional a decision that the buyers would have to make.

	2010 Toyota Prius	2010 Honda Insight
MSRP	$21,000 - $27,270	$19,800 - $23,100
MPG (City/HWY/Combined)	51/48/50	40/43/41
Fuel Capacity	11.9 gal	10.6 gal
Required Fuel	Regular Unleaded	Regular Unleaded
Horsepower	134	98
Torque (Gas/Electric)	105 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm / 153 lb.-ft.	123 @ 1000 - 1500 / 123 @ 1000 - 1700
Emissions Rating	AT-PZEV / SULEV	AT-PZEV / ULEV
Battery	Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH)	Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH)
Transmission	Electronically Controlled Continuously Variable Transmission (ECVT)	Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
Front Suspension	MacPherson Strut	MacPherson Strut
Rear Suspension	Torsion-Beam	Torsion-Beam
Steering	Electric Power-Assisted Rack-and-Pinion	Electric Power-Assisted Rack-and-Pinion
Turning radius	17.1 ft. (15-inch tires) 18.0 ft (17-inch tires)	18.05 ft
ABS	Standard	Standard
Vehicle Stability Control	Standard	Option
Traction control	Standard	Option
Wheelbase	106.3 in	100.4 in
Length	175.6 in	172.3 in
Height	58.7 in	56.2 in
Width	68.7 in	66.7 in
Curb Weight	3,042 lbs	2,723-2,734 lbs
Headroom (Front/Rear)	38.6/37.6 in	38.4/35.9 in
Legroom (Front/Rear)	42.5/36.0 in	42.3/33.5 in
Shoulder Room (Front/Rear)	54.9/53.1 in	52.7/50.4 in
Passenger Volume	93.7 cu ft	85.0 cu ft
Cargo Volume	21.6 cu ft	15.9 cu ft
Engine Immobilizer	Standard	Standard

2009 Hybrid Cars

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