2009 Toyota Prius Vs 2010 Honda Insight - First Look
We compare specs and design features on the two latest and most interesting hybrid vehicles - the 2010 Honda Insight and the all-new 2009 Toyota Prius.
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:08 This is a comparison that many people have said shouldn't be taking place at all.
00:13 These are the two newest and most interesting hybrids on the market today.
00:16 This is the recently introduced Honda Insight, and
00:19 this is the very recently introduced Toyota Prius,
00:22 the third generation of their hybrid technology.
00:26 We still think that there is a compelling argument for comparing these cars.
00:30 In that, for one thing, they're very similar looking.
00:33 A lot of people will just assume they're comparable.
00:35 But also, these days, with the economic conditions we're in,
00:39 there'll be a lot of folks who will be considering the Prius, but
00:42 find its price maybe a little bit high and would like to consider a somewhat more
00:46 affordable alternative that gets nearly as good of mileage.
00:49 And that's what this car offers.
00:51 So how are these two cars similar and how are they different?
00:54 First of all, they look rather similar.
00:56 They both have a similar profile and appearance.
00:58 Both have very good drag coefficients, very low for
01:02 good efficiency moving through the air.
01:04 The Prius's profile has actually changed a little bit from its predecessor in that
01:07 the peak of its roof line has moved back a bit, it's shifted rearward,
01:12 which has allowed for more rear occupant space, better headroom,
01:15 better knee room, and so on.
01:17 So that's a big difference.
01:18 Aerodynamically, up front,
01:20 the Prius now has these rather blockish shapes on either side of the front bumper.
01:27 And what they do is aerodynamically buff the air around the front wheel well,
01:33 so the air doesn't get tangled up in the wheel well and stirred too much.
01:36 That reduces drag.
01:38 Underneath this car is also a very considerable belly pan that smooths
01:43 the airflow beneath it.
01:44 There's actually a couple of vertical fins placed back around that area,
01:49 which actually are said to help with the car's directional stability.
01:53 It's a remarkable detail.
01:55 So both of them are hybrids.
01:57 Well, the word hybrid doesn't mean the same thing in every application,
02:00 and this is a good example.
02:02 Honda's system has been around for several years.
02:04 This is the fifth generation of their integrated motor assist.
02:08 And what this is, is basically a 1.3 liter four cylinder engine
02:13 with an electric motor that's placed basically where the flywheel would
02:18 normally be.
02:19 They are always connected.
02:20 You can't disconnect the electric motor from the engine.
02:23 They're always connected.
02:25 That way, it makes it a bit difficult for this car to operate in pure EV mode.
02:30 The engine in the Prius, however, is now a 1.8 liter going from 1.5 in the past.
02:35 And it's connected to its electric motor through a planetary gear set,
02:39 so they can operate far more independently of each other compared
02:42 to how the two operate in this vehicle.
02:45 There's about a 450 pound difference between these two cars.
02:49 The inside is lighter by that amount.
02:51 It also has less overall power when you combine its gas engine
02:54 and electric motor.
02:56 They add up to about 98 horsepower, where in the case of the Prius,
03:00 they add up to about 134 horsepower.
03:03 This is the interior of the Prius.
03:05 It should look fairly familiar to people who have driven Priuses before
03:09 with the instruments all clustered up on the dash like that,
03:12 a rather simple design, a very fluid design.
03:15 But there's many differences here.
03:17 This is a notable one, a bit of a flying buttress
03:20 here that holds the shift lever.
03:23 The shift lever operates the same as the previous Prius,
03:26 but it's located a little bit farther from the steering
03:28 wheel on a more conventional location.
03:30 Here on the dashboard is an interesting new set of visual features
03:34 that are all operable from these buttons on the steering wheel.
03:38 It's an interesting design because when you touch any of these buttons,
03:43 an icon appears up there that's a duplicate of the button set.
03:47 What that does is it allows you to see what you're doing without having
03:50 to look down at this button.
03:52 You can keep your eye more on the road.
03:54 It works very well.
03:54 It's a very interesting system.
03:56 Here we are in the interior of the new Insight.
03:59 It's also very dramatically designed, very stylish, very futuristic looking.
04:04 It's a double-decker design to the instrument panel,
04:08 which we see now often in Hondas with the speed up here
04:11 and other information clustered below.
04:14 The interior is a very complicated design.
04:17 It's reminiscent of the Fit.
04:19 And the steering wheel appears to be directly off the Fit.
04:22 Now that we've had a chance to compare the two vehicles, technical
04:25 specifications, appearance, and design details,
04:28 we'll be taking them to the road and to the track
04:31 to learn how they drive and how they both perform.
04:33 So stick around.
04:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:38 [KNOCKING]
04:40 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:44 (upbeat music)
04:46 (whooshing)