2022 Honda Insight Review

LIKES

Handsome, upscale look and feel
Spacious enough for four adults
Top-tier mpg
Impressive safety scorecard
Robust list of safety features

DISLIKES

Not especially fast
Engine noise on hilly roads
No more base LX model
Thin seat bottoms in back

BUYING TIP

Since the original sticker price of the now-gone Insight LX was more than $2,000 cheaper than the 2022 model’s base price, you might find an especially good deal on a 2021 LX closeout.

With an impressive safety feature set and upscale cabin feel and mileage over 50 mpg, the 2022 Honda Insight is more than a commuter car.

What kind of car is the 2022 Honda Insight? What does it compare to?

The 2022 Honda Insight hybrid sedan hits the sort of sweet spot we’ve come to expect from Honda in its most refined versions of the Civic sedan—only with EPA combined ratings of up to 52 mpg, it’s far more frugal than any current offering in the Civic lineup. It most closely compares to the Toyota Corolla Hybrid and Hyundai Elantra Hybrid.

Is the 2022 Honda Insight a good car?

With 50-mpg fuel economy, a solid roster of safety features, excellent driving attributes, and an interior that feels like it should carry a higher price tag, the 2022 Insight earns a TCC Rating of 6.5 overall.

What’s new for the 2022 Honda Insight?

The 2022 Insight isn’t quite as tantalizingly affordable as it was last year. Honda’s dropped the base LX model from the lineup, leaving EX and Touring versions essentially as they were, with slight price increases; but effectively that means the Insight starts more than $2,000 higher than last year’s model for the budget-minded.

The Insight is based on the compact Civic, but it upstages the Civic sedan with a more grown-up, refined look inside and out. It borrows the look of the latest Accord sedans in front, and while it’s all Civic around the rear, the details are simply smoother and less cluttered. Uncluttered is the keyword inside, too, with an emphasis on well-coordinated materials.

Honda’s two-motor hybrid system in the 2022 Insight uses a 1.5-liter inline-4 gas engine making 107 horsepower. Most of the time it drives one of the motors as a generator, while the other bigger one, a 120-hp electric motor, powers the front wheels. In certain situations the gas engine can clutch in to drive the wheels.

The Insight isn’t quick, but it’s responsive enough for the task and very efficient. It earns EPA combined ratings of 52 mpg or 48 mpg, depending on the version you choose. That makes it one of the top-mpg new sedans, and one of the most efficient new cars if you want to forgo charge ports.

The Insight’s interior is officially a five-seater but comfortable for four adults, and its 15.1 cubic feet of trunk space is on the generous size among small sedans.

Federal and independent testers give the Insight a spotless scorecard: five stars from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick+ nod from the IIHS.

Last year, the Insight added blind-spot monitors with rear cross-traffic alerts to EX and Touring trims, so with the elimination of the LX those features are now standard on the lineup. Every Insight also gets automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and traffic sign recognition.

How much does the 2022 Honda Insight cost?

With the LX gone from the lineup, the 2022 Insight starts at $26,205, including the $995 destination fee. The fancier Touring trim level starts at $30,235 and includes a moonroof, navigation, and leather upholstery among its many upgrades.

Where is the 2022 Honda Insight made?

In Greensburg, Indiana.

Styling

The Insight has a sophistication and refinement you don’t find in most other cars with this price tag.

Is the Honda Insight a good-looking car?

Although the latest Civic, with its smoothed-over redesign for 2022 is no longer looking so rebellious and youthful, the Insight still looks a bit more sophisticated, borrowing a few of the broader, more mature themes from the Accord sedans and wearing it well.

With a refined, detail-driven cabin look that matches the maturity level of the exterior, the Insight is a 7 for style.

Squint a bit and you might see the same proportions as the Civic sedan in the Insight. That’s no coincidence, as it is based on the Civic (the version through 2021), but once you take a better look the Insight just looks better. With a design that borrows some of the look of the latest Accord front and rear and grafts them together with the Civic’s beltline, it all works remarkably well. Even the wheel arches have a dash more sophistication versus those in the Civic.

The low, wide dash borrows much of its look from the Accord, with controls angled slightly toward the driver and a simple, hooded gauge cluster. If you look around with enough determination you will find some budget materials, but overall this is a car for great first impressions.

Performance

Performance in the 2022 Honda Insight prioritizes efficiency, ride, and handling—not acceleration.

The 2022 Honda Insight clearly trades off acceleration for fuel economy, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dud in all areas of performance. With predictable, precise handling and a well-balanced ride, it’s actually a lot more fun to drive than the numbers suggest.

Is the Honda Insight 4WD?

The Insight is a front-wheel-drive sedan, and there’s no all-wheel drive or 4WD on offer.

How fast is the Honda Insight?

The Insight takes about nine seconds to reach 60 mph, which makes it at the slow end of most new vehicles but by no means sluggish. Its lackluster acceleration is compounded by a normal mode that tends to add delay to accelerator response. It’s a 4 here for that demerit.

The Insight is different from many other hybrids in that it doesn’t truly have a transmission. A 1.5-liter inline-4 makes 107 hp, and a 129-hp electric motor actually propels the Insight’s front wheels most of the time—assisted at times by a system that directly clutches in the engine for the best possible efficiency. Its combined output is 151 hp.

The engine is mostly responsible for generating power for the battery, which can result in hurried noises from the hood when you suddenly need more power the hybrid system hadn’t been anticipating. There isn’t a direct relationship between engine speed and wheel speed, which some drivers will find disconcerting at first.

Pushing the Insight into Sport mode doesn’t make it quicker, but it erases the delay that accompanies some prods of the accelerator; it also primes the engine for passing and bursts of power—discouraged though by an accelerator detent—by running it nearly all the time. If you drive very gently you’ll find the Econ mode, which runs the engine the most sparingly and deadens responses a bit more, to be your most efficient bet.

The Insight gets a four-wheel independent suspension that filters out road imperfections well, and it steers easily with light, precise feel. It’s by no means a performance calibration yet it’s engaging and satisfying without ever feeling harsh.

Comfort & Quality

The Insight makes a lot of good inside this compact-sedan space, with plenty of adjustability in front and an adult-sized back seat.

The Honda Insight has a spacious interior, supportive front seats, and adjustability to a wide range of driver types. Those are all pluses in our book, though it’s the Insight’s generous trunk space that earns it an extra point—to a total of 6 on our scale.

There’s a lot to like inside this compact sedan. The front seats are supportive and comfortable, although overall the seating point is low and the Insight rides lower than some will expect. The tilt and telescoping steering wheel adjusts to a wide range of body types, and together with the adjustability of the seats and the way the controls are positioned, a wide range of body types are taken care of here.

Officially, there’s 37 inches of rear seat leg room in the Insight, and while the numbers rarely tell the whole story they confirm that there’s plenty of space for adults in back—although three across is a stretch. You can fit 6-footers in the back seat behind 6-footers in the front seats. We’ve tested it. Seat bottoms for all the backseat positions are on the thin side, though.

Trunk space in the Insight is more than 15 cubic feet officially, which is good for the class, although we applaud how Honda has packaged this, allowing a flat trunk floor and a battery pack that doesn’t eat into usability. The rear seats fold neatly forward so that you can easily bring that floor lamp back from Ikea without having to strap the trunk lid closed.

Safety

The 2022 Insight has one of the best sets of safety credentials of any compact sedan.

How safe is the Honda Insight?

There’s plenty of great news to report here, including top-notch ratings from both the federal government and IIHS, and it’s one of the few compact cars to have aced all of the tests.

That—including a bounty of active-safety features—add up to a 9 for safety. The only thing that keeps the Insight from being a perfect 10 is the lack of a surround-view camera system.

Every Insight gets the same set of safety features that earn a Top Safety Pick+ nod. The IIHS rated the Insight’s automatic emergency braking system as “Superior” at avoiding forward crashes at 12 and 25 mph. It also earns five stars overall (and five stars in all categories) from the NHTSA.

Every Insight gets blind-spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and traffic sign recognition. We’ve noticed that outward visibility is good here, too.

Features

The 2022 Insight remains a good deal in terms of features for the money.

The Insight looks and feels like a premium sedan, especially in its top Touring version. It’s a 6 for features here, allowing for two points above average for value and a strong list of standard features. The lack of options holds it back a point—although, admittedly, it does help keep the bottom-line price under control.

Which Honda Insight should I buy?

Even before the cancellation of the former base Insight LX, we recommended the mid-range Insight EX as the best value. With the EX as the new entry point to the Insight lineup, at $26,205, it’s still the one we recommend. For the money, the feature list is strong, including an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and two USB ports, a full list of active-safety features, fog lights, split-folding rear seats, and some tasteful cloth seats and interior trims.

How much is a fully loaded Honda Insight?

The top-of-the-line Insight Touring costs $30,235, and it adds navigation, leather upholstery, dual-zone climate controls, a moonroof, and 17-inch wheels. The moonroof does impact headroom, and we’re not big fans of the leather you get here.

Basically, what you see is what you get with the Insight. There’s no room for options, and while that means you won’t be hunting around for a car not built with unneeded extras, it also doesn’t allow for much potential personalization.

Fuel Economy

The 2022 Honda Insight is one of the most fuel-efficient compact sedans on the market—and your passengers might never know.

Is the Honda Insight good on gas?

If you don’t want a car that relies on charging, the 2022 Honda Insight is one of the most fuel-efficient sedans on the market. The base EX version that’s likely to remain the most popular earns 55 mpg city, 49 highway, 52 combined according to the EPA.

That’s good for an 8 on our fuel-economy scale. And we especially applaud that the Insight doesn’t feel at all like a high-mpg fuel miser.

Not all versions earn that, though. The Insight Touring, with its bigger, 17-inch wheels and slightly heavier curb weight, rates lower at 51 city, 45 highway, 48 combined.

For the EX, that’s the same as the Toyota Corolla Hybrid and sandwiched 2 mpg higher than the Hyundai Elantra Hybrid and 2 mpg lower than the somewhat decontented Elantra Hybrid Blue. The Prius also rates up to 56 mpg combined and the Hyundai Ioniq rates up to 58 mpg combined.

👇👇👇 Our android app(Click Image) 👇👇👇