Honda Insight: The Most Frugal Hybrid?
After spending a week test-driving the 2010 Honda Insight, I’ve come to a conclusion. If saving money is as (or more) important than saving gasoline, the Honda Insight shines when it comes to overall cost of ownership. While there’s no question that the Toyota Prius gets better mileage, the impact of a five mile per gallon difference isn’t huge when both cars are remarkably fuel efficient.
A five mile per gallon advantage will save $140 per year when running the numbers with regular unleaded gasoline at $3.00 per gallon and 20,000 miles driven annually.
With an estimated 51/48 MPG, the Prius II starts at $22,000, while the 40/43 MPG Insight LX starts at $19,800. If the bulk of your commute is highway driving, it could take roughly fourteen years for the Prius to win a pure numbers game (assuming that gas stays at $3.00 per gallon, which it won’t). If the majority of your driving is in city traffic, the mileage gap widens as the Prius excels in-town; the numbers begin to even out with regard to long term ownership.
The cost of fuel, of course, is the wild card …
Resource: 2010 Honda Insight Review
One Comment
Fort
September 8th, 2009
at 12:39pm
Would like to see more of your driving impressions. I’ve only driven a friend’s Prius Mk II, and it was okay. Not like driving my Aurora by any means. Watching the little display was fun. I sort of want something hatchback like and this might be just what I want, not for the hybrid stuffs, but the body style.