2002 Honda Insight Review
Price Estimate: $1,180 - $1,966





+8
Edmunds' Expert Review
by the Edmunds Experts
Pros
- Amazing fuel economy, astounding technology, lots of standard equipment.
Cons
- Batteries drain fast under continual electric motor assist, highly susceptible to crosswinds, not much point-and-shoot power on tap.
What’s new
No changes are in store for Honda's clever gas-electric hybrid vehicle.
Edmunds says
Some cars make you feel like a champion. This one makes you feel like a hero.
For sale nearby
Vehicle overview
With its ultra-low-drag styling, aluminum body structure and innovative Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) powertrain, the two-passenger Insight can travel as far as 68 miles on a gallon of gas. Taking into account the car's 10.6-gallon fuel tank, one could theoretically drive from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City and still have a bit of gas in reserve.
The heart of the system is a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine coupled with an electric motor that assists the gasoline engine under acceleration. The package features an idle-stop feature, which shuts off the engine when the driver places the shift lever in neutral and releases the clutch pedal.
Unlike GM's all-electric EV1, the Insight requires no external power supply to recharge the 144-volt nickel metal hydride batteries. Regenerative braking via the ABS-assisted disc/drum brakes provides juice to the system. With a full charge and the electric motor providing full assist, the Insight accelerates swiftly, but passing power is lacking.
The five-speed manual transmission has relatively short first, second and third gears for good city driving performance, with tall overdrive gearing in fourth and fifth to maximize fuel economy. New this year is a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that requires no gear swapping.
Like the Acura NSX's, the Insight's unitized body is made of aluminum (except for the front fenders, which are made from plastic) and boasts a drag coefficient of only 0.25. Thanks to its aerodynamic bodywork, flat underbody, low rolling-resistance tires and extensive use of lightweight materials, the Insight requires 30 percent less power to operate at highway speeds than the previous-generation Honda Civic.
But the effort to save weight pays a price in the handling department. The Insight is highly susceptible to crosswinds, and the narrow tires easily track any groove in the pavement, causing the driver to adjust the steering continually to compensate.
The Insight's interior is just as futuristic as the exterior, with a sweeping dash and a high-tech LCD analog/digital instrument display. Divided into three sections, the cluster displays engine rpm, coolant temperature and the engine's idiot lights on the left bank; a large digital speedometer, odometer, lifetime fuel economy bar graph and instant fuel economy in the middle; and fuel level, battery level indicator and the electric motor charge and assist indicator on the right bank.
Dual high-back bucket seats feature good lateral and lumbar support. Controls for power windows, mirrors, AM/FM cassette stereo, ventilation and available climate controls are all within easy reach, but two large adults might find themselves knocking elbows in the tight cockpit. Built fully equipped (the only option is an automatic air conditioning system) with power windows, door locks, exterior mirrors, an AM/FM cassette stereo, dual airbags, rear window defroster and a whole lot more, the Insight is an incredible value -- for a hybrid vehicle.
There are currently just two hybrids for sale: the Insight and the Toyota Prius. The Prius is the more versatile of the two thanks to its backseat. If you're interested in purchasing a hybrid, you might want to wait until early 2002 for what could be the best one yet: the hybrid-powered Civic.
Cost to Drive
Monthly estimates based on costs in Ohio
$70/mo for Insight Base
Insight Base
vs
$162/mo
Avg. Compact Car
See Edmunds pricing data
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Honda Insight Owner Reviews
Most Helpful Owner Reviews
Trending topics
Free Car?
5 out of 5 starsKris, 03/16/2008
2001 Honda Insight 2dr Hatchback (1.0L 3cyl gas/electric hybrid 5M)
I have a 75 mile daily commute to work (San Diego to Irvine). I was driving a Nissan Xterra (paid off) getting 16 mpg and paying $680 a month in gas. I bought my Honda Insight for $11,000 and have a monthly payment of $225 a month. The Insight gets 50 mpg (+-2 mpg) even with all the SoCal hills and traffic. I am now paying $210 a month in gas. This is a total cost (both car … payment and gas) of $435 a month, a savings of $245 a month in just the gas for my Xterra. It feels like I'm saving money and I got a free car in the process. Pretty wild! I still own the Xterra but I only use it for Home Depot runs. All this and it's a blast to drive around town. My advice...Buy one!
An exceptional car
5 out of 5 starsRicky C. Savage, 11/22/2015
2001 Honda Insight 2dr Hatchback w/Air Conditioning (1.0L 3cyl gas/electric hybrid 5M)
This car produces exceptionally good fuel economy. I average about 50-54 mpg regardless of how I drive and I drive it most of the time in the 60-75 mph. My Insight is a 2001 that I bought in March 2012 when it had 16,095 miles on it. I bought it from a dealer who told me the older lady who owned it got ill shortly after she bought it and it sat in the garage for most of the time … between 2001 and 2012. My mileage now (Nov 2015) was 75,926 at my last fill-up so I have put almost 60,000 on the car in the last 3 years and 8 months. I needed to replace the main battery shortly after I bought the car probably because it sat around for much of the 11 years the lady owned it. When I first bought it, the gas mileage ranged from a low of 47.7 to a high of 60.3 mpg. I would guess the average mileage was about 53-54 mpg. I calculated the gas mileage by keeping meticulous records of when I filled the gas tank and I compared the Insight's mpg with that calculated by hand. The results were within 1 to 2 mpg of what I manually calculated so the readout gives a pretty honest record of the mpg actually achieved. The largest discrepancy was about 3 mpg but it did not happen very often (it happened about 3 times). The gas mileage was as low as 42.4 mpg on a hot day in July (when I use my a/c a lot) and the average gas mileage now after all those miles is around 51 mpg. I do drive pretty fast now so that could be a factor because I generally drive 70-75 mph on the highways and I spend a lot of time on the highway. I have not had too much problem with my Insight and I really love this car. I take the Insight on long trips because I prefer better gas mileage with my Insight as compared to my Lincoln Town Car (although the Town Car is much more comfortable!).
This is an update on 30 Nov 2016. I still love the car and it has a dent on the passenger side door when a person at Home Depo tossed a shopping cart at it and put a big dent in it. Also it has a scratch on the driver's side where it looks like my wife must of scraped something. I still love the car and it still gets great gas mileage with over 86,500 miles on it. Gas mileage averaging 50 mpg in the cooler winters here in Las Vegas and it drops to the low 40s during the months of Jun, Jul and August when I use the A/C during the hot days. It has returned to the low 50s in September.
Update 3 June 2017 -- I still love this car and wished more cars were being made that get between 42 and 54 mpg (and that is with me manually calculating the mileage)!
Update 5 December 2017 -- I still love this car and nothing has made me change my mind about it!!
Favorite Car to Drive
5 out of 5 starsEdmond, 11/07/2007
2002 Honda Insight 2dr Hatchback (1.0L 3cyl gas/electric hybrid 5M)
I purchased the CVT and have not regretted the purchase at all. I get an average of 52 mpg in LA with stop/go/AC. The car had 80,000 existing miles but Honda's extended warranty (150K) for the battery as well as the Honda Care extended warranty (7yr/100K) has taken care of any concerns. I enjoy the car so much that I will be selling my other car because I no longer drive it. Looking … forward to the release of the 2009 Insight.
Best Car I've Ever Owned
5 out of 5 starsSemperJoe, 03/22/2009
2001 Honda Insight 2dr Hatchback (1.0L 3cyl gas/electric hybrid 5M)
This is the coolest and best car I have ever own. I have saved thousands of dollars on gas driving this - not to mention helping the environment. I highly recommend this car to anyone considering one!!!
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2002 Honda Insight, so we've included reviews for other years of the Insight since its last redesign.
2002 Insight Highlights
Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee | $19,080 |
---|---|
Engine Type | Mild hybrid |
Combined MPG | 53 MPG |
Cost to Drive | $70/month |
Seating | 2 seats |
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place | 16.3 cu.ft. |
Drivetrain | front wheel drive |
Warranty | 3 years / 36,000 miles |
Safety
NHTSA Overall Rating
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration offers independent analysis.
- Frontal Barrier Crash RatingOverallNot RatedDriver4 / 5Passenger4 / 5
- Side Crash RatingOverallNot Rated
- Side Barrier RatingOverallNot RatedDriver4 / 5PassengerNot Rated
- Combined Side Barrier & Pole RatingsFront SeatNot RatedBack SeatNot Rated
- RolloverRolloverNot RatedDynamic Test ResultNo TipRisk Of RolloverNot Rated
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