Check out the Honda Insight section on Honda Japan’s website and you’ll be greeted by the teaser image above, which seems to indicate that an Insight with a larger 1.5 litre i-VTEC IMA engine will be available soon. So far, most Honda hybrids including the Honda Insight sold here in Malaysia use the 1.3 litre system, while the 1.5 litre system is reserved for the sporty Honda CR-Z.
A larger more powerful system in the Insight would certainly be welcome for those looking for a little more fun in their green motoring, but do not want to go for the 3-door body of the CR-Z. With the hybrid tax exemptions just recently extended by the Malaysian government, perhaps Honda Malaysia can introduce this 1.5 litre variant of the Honda Insight as well? I’m sure there’s a market!
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Just because i want a “green” car doesn’t mean that i need to settle for less. Am unhappy with my insight. It’s noisy, unrefined and I can’t sit upright in the back without my head touching the roofline. The boot has no light, the stop – start system is intrusive and allows the car to roll backwards on an incline. Inlike other climate control systems, the temperature settings are too wide, for example, mazda and toyota allows 0.5 degC temperature intervals. Avoid this car. Just because it carries a H badge, doesn’t mean it has to be good. Am waiting for the K5 Kia hybrid. I will be glad to get rid of this car.
That’s why it’s a flop elsewhere….
aprilcoco, u wrote a long essay just for the sake of promoting ur korean car Optima K5 which will not get tax & duties exemption as it more than 2 ltr, u too fail to understand that Insight is a B segment car while K5 is a D segment car, is like comparing Camry Hybrid with a Hyundai Accent.
What a waste of bandwidth.
K5 is 2 litre, and it is available as a hybrid, should qualify for exemptions.
According to the US Kia website and elsewhere, the only Kia Optima (K5) Hybrid presently sold has a 2.4 litre engine. Ditto the Hyundai Sonata there. Still, I guess we can hope and pray that they configure a 2 litre version, specially for us.
You did not properly test drive the car before buying?
We test drove the insight and found the niggles to out weigh the fuel consumption. For us, we can’t even fit the 2 yr old in the rear child seat without having a head concussion each time. As with all Honda’s nowadays, the NVH is quite poor and the ride a little brittle.
The start-stop is a great feature to save fuel, but given our long traffic lights and jams, don’t think many would be able to live with the a/c-compressor off for too long.
Its not just the Honda. Hybrids still have 1-2 generations to go before getting it right (not at least until they start using better Li-On batteries). For now at least, a good Diesel seem to be a more ecological choice. At least for it, you do get to live with a “normal” car.
Apparently we were to expect a Jazz hybrid to be out soon as told by the saleman. At least that one we can expect to be a proper hatchback with usable rear seats.
The technology will improve faster when more people buy them.
No, i have owned the toyota hybrid systems which are more refined. It is more complex, so honda is just cost cutting to give a cheap car.
As what I’ve posted before, I said the purpose Honda come with 1.3 engine with superb cheap hybrid car compared to Prius is because:
1) Lack of market confidence in the hybrid technology because he started late compared to his rival.
2) Cut down the size of engine to give cheaper selling price in order to gain the market share.
3) Branding – Prius had leads the hybrid car sells for years and established a strong branding. It’s a big challenge for Honda to bring the Prius down and establish his own brand.
Now, what I guess is right. Honda just tune a bit and change larger engine to flight with Prius. For me, no doubts, the Prius still the more well refined hybrid car compare to this. Still need a hard wok for Honda.
Totally agree with you. Why be nuts to try out technology that are expensive to maintain. Go back in time,promote diesel powered car afterall they are reliable & economical in fuel.
sell ur H and get T prius lol, settle. pay more only mar.. if its not because of money u wont get insight instead prius which cost extra rm40k for the accessories u wanted to have such as quite etc right? u will get the thing u wanted for the price u pay for coz there is NO such things as u pay less for more!
that bad? God..poor you darling!
I’m a bit confuse. Did u survey and did some research first before you bought your car? Or you only follow people buy buy and then complain without knowing the pro and cons of the cars.. Dont blame car manufacturer if you dont choose your car proper. Its you who the have the right to choose which car that suit your needs.
Finally another driver has ‘wake up’, by thinking T & H badge is the best car in the world. Anyway, to be fair with T&H, not that the car is not good, just that the local distributors rip off the rakyat Malaysia, we are getting low safety spec with very high price, compare to those 6 airbags T&H that others are getting in USA or Europe which were priced slightly more expensive than Korean made. In Malaysia, you get higher priced with less features, and yet still sell like hot cake, if I were them, why bother to give you guys more safety features which makes my profits lower?
Another driver? He is the same person that cursing Japs and bull about the korean, now and as usual with a different name
I don’t think it’s fair to blame the Malaysian public for accepting a lower spec Japanese car – but most of the blame should go to the Malaysian gov’t policy of creating Proton as a Bumi meal ticket and using it as a political tool – they made the Malaysian auto market uncompetitive and the Rakyat is ultimately the biggest losers. If the gov’t and Proton is stealing from the people, don’t you think Toyota or Honda will follow suit? Do you think they will settle for a lower profit margin compared to the one that Proton has?
Look at Thailand – not only these automotive giants are investing in plants and creating jobs – they are driving great cars! We need a liberalization of the market to make it more competitive and part of that requires Proton to stop their racist policies and become a true national carmaker. Is that too much to ask of 1Malaysia? I hope not. Proton parasites – go ahead dislike this all you want and hide my comments – Paul Tan was much better when he had the guts to air everyone’s comments.
Cause you Malaysians has all the while been PRICE FIXED ! STUPID
Please test drive the car before you make your purchase dude!
have u test the car before u buy it or online survey 1st..seriously this car not mean for u or u just talk nothing..can u feel the different 0.5 deg weii..
It’s the 0.5 degree really that significant? Can you actually feel the difference between 20.5 degree and 21 degree???
sure. the different is obvious in a scientific water bath but i doubt a car air cond can really circulate the air adequately. there might be more than 5 or 6 air temperature zones in a car that can differ in temperature. not to mention about wind chill effect…. 0.5 degree is not much really. and using it to say a cheap hybrid lousy is just irrelevant.
better get a turbodiesel instead…..power and insight like fc
bought + whining = aprilcoco
Then give it to me please because I want one quite bad LOL.
i hope Honda will add on something on 1.5 liter car like rear disc brake, or maybe more safety features like VSA.
I thought the current 1.3 in M’sia has VSA already??
insight already got VSAlah.
aiyaaa…..insight got VSA lahhh….
current Insight do equipped with VSA… here it goes the major equipment list:
http://www.honda.com.my/insight/detail/majorequipment/
The current version have VSA my friend.. but ya disc brakes would be nice, but the cost would be higher, the front wheels have regenerative braking. It’s just missing the side airbags.
I think adding disc brakes wouldn’t make much difference, the stopping power is already very strong when I was driving it. Regenerative braking feels very natural.
dude…insight got VSA equipt la…
no need rear disc brake la when already got EBD and BA…sigh..
clearly shows u dont know much about cars
the insight look nice here
Oooo… yummy!
Ini baru lagi power lagi best!
More powerful yes but possibly with a slightly lower fuel efficiency? Unless it’s using the new Lithium Ion battery like the new Civic hybrid :).
And do note that a bigger engine means more road tax and maintenance cost…
Wow!!! aprilcoco fren seem so hated Insight. Anyone own Insight having same problem? Coz I seriously getting one on the facelift but after reading our fren review I a bit hold pulak :( anyone mind sharing their experience? Thanks Bro!
Please refer to my post at top.
Just some petty excuse of straying from green tech. What they could do is mounting a force induction kit like the europeans or etc. Turbodiesel or a full electro motor is the way to go, not some pondan machine like hybrids.
this is one of the reason why prius selling at 139K, a diffrence of over 40K
7 airbags versus 2, stability control, bigger in size, bigger engine thus lower FC, and superior series-parallel hybrid system against insight’s series hybrid.
i am not saying insight is not a good car, but many people are comparing prius & insight like apple and apple just because they are both hybrids.
prius is a matured hybrid now in 3rd generations since 14 years ago while insight is more like entry level hybrid car.
still good for the environment though.
insight just use a “8 valve” 1.3L engine… can’t compare to 1.8L Prius…
if u look at the sole numbers from the engine output u realise that prius 1.8L engine outputs slightly better than the 1.3L insight due to its atkinson cycle nature…..so its not a huge advantage of power….the main reason is more on the hybrid system and bigger + stronger battery that makes prius alot more powerful and alot more expensive.
Its not a lot more powerful.
0-100, Prius 10.4 seconds in power mode while Insight tested under D 10.6 seconds (econo on).
Insight under S mode and econo off can beat Prius flat 0-100. Try & see for yourself.
*both standard, tyre inflated according to manufacturers rec.
Totally agree with you! It’s two different stream size of car and people saying Insight cheap! Alamak! Compare Camry with Vios meh?
hybrid? meh
my kia forte can do anything this car can do with few times better fc…..so just avoid this car…..goodbye japanese car you are doom….
Korean??? Wish the all the best….LOL
Umm, excuse me, but i didn’t write the article on the Kia Forte. Kia also has a lot of old skeleton in the closet (Anyone experienced the horrible Kia Carnival ?). Kia has improved, I’d wait for the K5 hybrid which should come with the 2L engine. Also, I might consider the Toyota Corolla hybrid if Toyota brings it in. Worldwide, there are a lot of hybrids just under the 2L capacity. Just wait.
Yes, I reviewed the car, but my dad forced me to buy it because he has good relationship with Honda. Many years already, gets VIP service from his Honda service man. My dad owned all hondas since the 1st accord. But I am unhappy with the insight. I hope the new honda civic hybrid is better, should be launched in the US soon.
New Civic Hybrid with new Lithium Ion battery technology is already running in USA for a while now…!! Same MPG rating for city, highway and combined cycle of 44MPG.
Do you think using Lithium Ion Battery will be a green car? How do you dispose of the batteries later?
100% recyclable, Honda will recycle for you at the end of its life. What do we do with the 12V lead acid batteries when they’re dead? It’s extremely toxic, poisonous, bad for our health and the environment. So do we throw them away?? NO, 95%+ of them are recycled I believe. Just do the same for all rechargeable hybrid batteries.
Please see the documentary. The production of lithium battery creates more CO2 than the normal car without it. Most of the ore come from China and every transportation and refinery process counts.
What about mobile phones? Laptops? Cameras and so on? Most of them use Lithium Ion batteries, it will become big problem in the near future. Some people still just throw them away but please recycle them. What about household waste? What about electronic waste or E-waste? It is already a big problem in the world.
Is it true? Wah! The Forte let me feels like very good wo! But how come the sales still so low! I thought everyone choosing Koream car already mah! But the results always disappoint me! Why????????
I will rather wait for Mazda skyactive engine next year. Without the need of Hybrid, fuel consumption is even better and yet its even more powerful! Most importantly its far more handsome than this which, in my opinion is really weird and ugly.
Bring it! I say…
But make sure to tune in some sportiness as well. And make 6spd manual an option too!!!
I’ve plans to get a hybrid. if Honda priced it about RM105K, i believe this is a pretty good buy with 122 horses on tap.
I think Honda Malaysia should bring the CR-Z as soon as possible.
Dear Honda,
Fix your crappy NVH issues, improve your bloody build quality and quality of materials used, stop short changing Malaysians with paltry specs (especially with regards to safety kit) AND for God’s sake learn how to manufacture a hybrid that doesn’t switch off its bloody aircon when you stopped.
Sincerely
Long suffering soon to be EX City owner.
Don’t need la.. they’re too ignorant to listen to you. Just switch to conti like me.
Who said the auto stop cant be control??? If u dont owned a insight please dont simply guess the are stupid… simple step… just turn off the eco mode and shift to sport mode, when u reach a traffic light… step 1 naturally u brake then auto stop come into play, by simply released and re-step the brake then the auto stop will goes off. UNDERSTAND!!!
Insight owner enjoy your COOL air… Cheers
If you would to buy a battery, which brand will u choose?
I rather go for Energizer. If cost is an issue, lights on oil instead of battery.
That’s made my CT200h a better battery car.
H nowadays hv a lot of quality issues. No H for me.
U think only H has quality issues? T and N also have quality issues. Even Korean cars have quality issues. No brand is perfect. Even Mercedes and BMW is not perfect. Please be fair when you post your comments. Do not be biased against certain brands. If you really want to bash, please bash Potong and Beruktua!
Dude, u also did the same.. Sight.
beruktua! haha…..
p1 and p2 also not perfect. so do u. if u really want to bash the worse not perfect person, that should be u.
Each brand has it’s own pros and cons. But frankly speaking, my experience tell me H always come with the defeat in either engine or transmission which cost the consumer a lot. T and N always goes for the assembling problem which needs lesser repairing cost.
On quality worldwide…H&T actually have top reputation on reliability…. until the recent recalls saga!
In M’sia, we cannot use this as guide for the CKD cars!
However, if comparing CKD cars, I believe H&T still generally have better quality than the Germans la… esp the BMW :(
If you say H&T are overpriced…. so are all cars in M’sia…. Korean cars are generally cheaper than Jap in other countries anyway……… Compared to overseas, actually the Merc, BMW, Audi…. are priced even more overpriced in m’sia! Look at how much the CKD german cars cost….
This insight failed big time, you can’t see the eye and nose of the driver at the back. The car is under power and slow.
HEY BUDDY, TRY USING A 1.5 SEDAN AND MATCH UP WITH ME, SEE WHO IS THE LOOSER!!!!
But why would you want to see other drivers’ faces at your back? You want to see their expressions? Tailgating you?? If this is slow I don’t know what a torque-less Campro engine is.
Change to a modern door handles first. No more Avanza-type door handles.
For interior the two tier dashboard with the beautiful digital speedometer for Civic and Insight etc. fascinates me since few years ago. Who else have that? I’m still desperate for one of these. I would have a neck pain (or broken neck) after driving a Toyota, because I still don’t understand why in the world the dashboard in the centre….. for the rear passengers to see?? I like to check my speed and rpm constantly to make sure I’m driving at the most efficient way possible!!!
Didn’t you read the news a while ago? By next year 2012 Honda should up their game and get 1 up back from Toyota once again for hybrids. With their new upcoming first ever full hybrid + plug in at the same time with a 2 motor drive system + Lithium Ion battery. The EV mode can even go for around up to 25km. Possibly with the new Accord hybrid which should be a sedan (I like :]). Even if it can only come in 2013 the tax incentive is still active…!!
in the real world, most petrol hybrid struggle to match a turbodiesel for “real world” driving…..
the perferct hybrid, will be the pug diesel hybrid4 system…the diesel hybrid, with prius like fc + 200hp & 500nm which will run ring around the CRZ
Come on Honda, bring in CRZ, I am reserving my year-end bonus for it!!
Dear CR-Z fans… Good news, Honda defenitely will be launching the CR-Z 3 mode Hybrid on November but very limited stock available. Most likely the pricing will be… check my comment in future.
Its normal for manufacturers to up the power output as the model evolve.
But the increase in output will comes with higher FC. Thats why there are still followers of 1st gen Vios, City IDSI, and even Sunny.
aprilcoco bulls that Optima have a 2.0 ltr hybrid & get 20 thumb up, imagine the amount of ignorant korean craps fanboy here,
Honda have been vote as consumer most satisfied brand in Malaysia 2011 by JD Power, with Nissan 2nd, Suzuki 3rd, Toyota 4th, Perodua 5th .& guess what ? Hyundai along with Proton score below industry average :-)
First and foremost those who have not OWN a Honda Insight just keep quiet….
I own a Honda City before (2006 IDSI) and I have alot of friends who own a Civic as well… and currently I drive a Insight…
Here is my conclusion,
1. The power delivered by the 1.3 ivtec engine and electric motor is very powerfull way more power compare to my old city.
2. The rear head clearance may be an issue but for most asian should not
3. Airconditioning compressor stop during auto stop… but the more expensive civic hybrid have solve this issue but for cheaper insight Honda decided to sacrifice it for cheaper cost.
4. Ride is a bit stiff but I like the feedback the car give i felt more alive in term of quietness this car is very quiet expecially on highway I drove at 140kmh and the wind noise is very low.
To be fair, this is an opened forum. You have no rights to ask people seal their mouth. And what I want to say is, your’s is Honda, running at 140km/hr it couldn’t be “hybrid” anymore.
Hey! yh!! pls do a test drive on Honda Insight at high speed before u write this lousy comment.
I have two conti’s ,one malaysian car and the Insight. All i can tell you is that the Insight is by far the best purchase I have had . It fits my criteria and sadly the conti’s ( one a premium brand) disappoint me , so if you wanna know why i chose this car ,come talk to me ! (oh yes there is away of getting the aircond started if youre caught in a jam ,just because you dont know how to work it doesnt mean others dont know )
We made the RIGHT CHOICE :]…..!!!