RE: Honda Insight: You Know You Want To

[IN51GHT]

sunsurfer said:

Why is the price so high? A Honda Civic of a similar age would presumably cost about £500-£1200.
I know it's a specialist car but three times as special?

Yes, it really is. My Blue one (2000 m/y) with over 120,000m I sold earlier this year was advertised at £5k, sold for that price to the first person who viewed.

Makes me wonder what my current one is worth given the fact it's 3 years newer & has such low mileage.

[Richie C]

Blackpuddin said:

Hmm, that's debatable, the one I ran for six months had very little grip, but that was part of its appeal. I loved the car. From an ergonomic point of view it was fabulous, everything you needed was within a handspan, even the seat material felt special. Bugger all luggage space but the nearest thing yet to a roadgoing concept car.

Grip != handling

[LongLiveTazio]

IN51GHT said:

Yes, it really is. My Blue one (2000 m/y) with over 120,000m I sold earlier this year was advertised at £5k, sold for that price to the first person who viewed.

Makes me wonder what my current one is worth given the fact it's 3 years newer & has such low mileage.

I take it it has the nice alcantara inserts etc.?

[456lbft]

The Jolly Todger said:

Didn't Harrison Metcalfe run one of these and return some pretty impressive real world figures?

He did own one until I bought it last year. I've done 8000miles in it since and I get over 70mpg (real world) regularly, have once got over 80mpg on a tankful (500miles + )and nil car tax. I love it.

[M@1975]

You can clearly see the styling of the new CRZ in the old Insight adn that is very much a good thing (I'd have a CRZ like a shot as a second car if the wife ever sold the ever excellent Panda).

As mentioned this is more like a road going concept than anything else adn it's built in one of the best engineering facilities Japan has to offer!

[IN51GHT]

Here's an example of how well they hold there value.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111088812050?ssPageName=...

That car likely needs a £2000ish battery replacement & has an airbag fault.

[marshall100]

WTF happened to Honda? and why wouldn't you? A great option for a daily mule as long as you have some obscene weekend noise slag on hand as a compliment.

[NickGibbs]

Bet these'll come down in price now that the trigger for congestion charge freebiness in London has gone from sub 100g/km to 75g/km of CO2.

[IN51GHT]

LongLiveTazio said:

I take it it has the nice alcantara inserts etc.?

nope, just nice, lightweight "space fabric"

Mine are horrific, orange affairs

Edited by IN51GHT on Tuesday 18th June 13:13

[Blackpuddin]

LongLiveTazio said:

IN51GHT said:

Yes, it really is. My Blue one (2000 m/y) with over 120,000m I sold earlier this year was advertised at £5k, sold for that price to the first person who viewed.

Makes me wonder what my current one is worth given the fact it's 3 years newer & has such low mileage.

I take it it has the nice alcantara inserts etc.?

The seats in the blue one I had were covered in a greeny-gold flecked material, sounds utterly minging but just added to the wonderful otherness of the car.

[TobesH]

Doesn't Harry Metcalfe have one in his collection?

[Blackpuddin]

Wonder if it's possible to circumvent the battery pack when it's finished, ie just run on the 1.0-litre triple engine?

[rob.e]

Really like these.

IIRC Harry M had a CRZ on test and couldn't believe how it had NOT moved the game on at all over his 10 (?) yr old Insight.

[Blackpuddin]

There's a very nice looking 83k '00 manual on ebay at the minute.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Insight-Mk1-manual...

[IN51GHT]

Blackpuddin said:

There's a very nice looking 83k '00 manual on ebay at the minute.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Insight-Mk1-manual...

You bugger, I was keeping that quiet in the hope I'd scoop a bargain.

[jp455]

Those have always been on "the list". One thing Ive wondered, and yes its sacrilege etc etc, but how cool would one of these be with a Type R engine!? I know its been done so its possible...

Maybe a stock one for daily driving and a Type R for the weekends??

[sad61t]

rob.e said:

Really like these.

IIRC Harry M had a CRZ on test and couldn't believe how it had NOT moved the game on at all over his 10 (?) yr old Insight.

Agree the CRZ was a missed opportunity, whereas the Honda Insight and Audi A2 were genuinely of engineering interest although too far ahead of the eco curve to be a commercial success.

Will be interesting to compare the Insight with the upcoming VW XL1.

[marshall100]

but the XL1 is going to be like unicorn poo isn't it?

[kambites]

One of my favourite cars ever - it just has a clarity of purpose and engineering integrity that so few cars can match. If I had to commute a significant distance, I'd own one in a heartbeat.

[Blackpuddin]

sad61t said:

Agree the CRZ was a missed opportunity, whereas the Honda Insight and Audi A2 were genuinely of engineering interest although too far ahead of the eco curve to be a commercial success.

Will be interesting to compare the Insight with the upcoming VW XL1.

The fact that VW is using basically the same tapering body shape as the Insight underlines how the Honda was designed for function rather than form. IMO it achieves an appealing form as a result of that pure design.