2010 Prius PK 2010 Honda Insight

2 months ago I was thinking buying a Hybrid to save some gas money as I drive 70 miles a day. I tested both of them by renting them 2 weeks for daily commute, here is how I feel about it:

1. 2010 Prius

+ excellent MPG, I got 58 mixed local and highway
+ Quieter cabin
+ smooth exchange between the battery power and engine power i.e. you don't feel it.
+ very impressive rear leg room, almost like Audi A6
+ Good surround view
- Don't like the center panel seperating the front driving and passenger seat, you are constrained in a small area!!! The design in the previous is more comfortable
- rear view is so so
- no sense of road (probably that's common in most Toyota)
- side rear view mirror is too small
- Not a small SUV or crossover ( I have been driven CRV for quite long time, get used to a tall driving position already), every time I want to change lane I feel that I have to beg for it.
- I do feel that when I try to fully stop, the brake is lagging behind by 1/50 second (i.e. very little), which makes the car jitter just a little bit, not a problem to me though.


2. 2010 Insight

+ Not bad MPG, 48 MPG mixed
+ Cheaper price
+ bumpy road feel (I like the sense anyway)
- Road noise
- vibration during exchange of battery power and engine power (if Prius gets 9 out of 10 in this aspect, Insight gets 5)
- Cheap interior
- very tight rear leg room
- rear view is so so


Conclusion: If you have deeper pocket, just want a daily commute sedan, and don't mind the recent negative news report about Prius, go for it. Honda did a lousy job trying to make a competiting product - I was looking to buy a pre-owned Hybrid and I have noticed that quite a lot of Insight got dumped(traded in) within the first 3000 miles after it is sold to the owner, while it is almost impossible to find one Prius in this situation. I browsed Cars.com for almost 2 months, I have found 12 Honda Insight got traded in by the owner with
I ended up getting none of them as both are too boring to drive in a 70 miles daily commute. I still like cars with tall driving position so that I don't need to only stare at the car in front of me (my eyes were red every night after I came back home by only being able to see the car in front of me during the 2 weeks of rental). I gave up Lexus 350 and RAV4 as I do care the Toyota recall problem and believe the Brake Pedal and Floor Mat are only a decoy, the real problem got to be the electronic throttle control system - in which case the Brake Override System should be the realistic cure. I got the new version CR-V, and I got 37.6 MPG ( not a mistake - 37.6 )on purely highway - crusing at 65 mile, 87 gas and very light foot on gas pedal. Mixed I got 28.4 MPG in the first 1000 miles. So, I doubt it is really a hybrid SUV but $10000 cheaper than the Ford Escape Hybrid in any case ? :-D