yah, climate controls belong in bigger more luxury cars that
come with a larger capacity a/c unit that can actually handle
the heat and cold well... to the point you're freezing cold in
the summer time inside the car, or frying hot in the winter.

 

Being that the Insight is a hybrid, it probably has a battery pack that would have to be replaced every now and then.

That could cost well over a thousand dollars I think.

Fit FTW!

 

Interesting point! I wasn't aware there was a difference between AC units but some cars never seem to cool off with AC on, others do. So It must be a difference in the AC setup.

I think I'm sold on the Fit. Does the Fit's AC work effectively? Summers here can get HOT

 

How long do you own your cars?

If less than 5, probably go with the insight. If longer, i would go with the fit.

 

Compare specs:

FIT:
2009 Honda Fit - Specifications - Official Honda Web site

Insight:
2010 Honda Insight Hybrid - Specifications - Official Honda Web Site

Insight LOOKS bigger, and it does weigh in 300 pounds more. BUT, look at the shoulder room and hip room, front and back. The FIT has more room, with the exception of the front hip room, in which the Insight has 0.1 more inches in space.

FIT:
Shoulder Room (in, front/rear) 52.7 / 51.3
Hiproom (in, front/rear) 51.5 / 51.3

Insight:
Shoulder Room (in, front/rear) 52.7 / 50.4
Hiproom (in, front/rear) 51.6 / 48.7

Legs, what about legs? And head room. This might be enough to sway you one way or another, depending on the passengers you carry.

FIT:
Legroom (in, front/rear) 41.3 / 34.5
Headroom (in, front/rear) 40.4 / 39.0

Insight:
Legroom (in, front/rear) 42.3 / 33.5
Headroom (in, front/rear) 38.4 / 35.9

Cargo Volume:
FIT: Cargo Volume (cu ft, seat up/down) 20.6 / 57.3
Insight: Cargo Volume (cu ft, seat up/down) 15.9 / 31.5

Passenger Volume:
FIT: Passenger Volume (cu ft) 90.8
Insight: Passenger Volume (cu ft) 85.0

Fuel Economy:
FIT:
5-Speed Manual (City/Highway/Combined) 27/33/29
5-Speed Automatic (City/Highway/Combined) 28/35/31
Insight:
CVT (City/Highway/Combined) 40/43/41

Here's what you need to do, regarding the Fuel Economy. Go to the Fuel Economy site, pull up the two vehicles you are considering. The Insight and whatever transmission and trim you want. Use the Compare cars, and personalize the information to YOUR information, YOUR gas price and YOUR yearly miles and the percentage of city/highway driving you do.

Here is the Side by Side comparison page:
Side-by-Side Comparison

Since they do NOT have the Insight listed there, I will use the 2009 Prius, which gets BETTER mileage. I don't drive much. For ME, I would save a whopping $109.00 per year on fuel, with the Prius. So it would be less with the Insight.

I used the 4,000 miles estimate, although it would be much less for me, with 80% city. With the base automatic FIT.

If I drove 80% highway, the results change...now the difference is only $70.00, because the Prius doesn't get to shine in that city traffic.

How many YEARS would it take to make up the difference in price?

THIRTY FOUR YEARS. With me driving 80 percent city, saving $107 dollars in gas prices, but paying at least $19,800 for the new Insight vs. paying around $16,000 for the base FIT auto.

19800 - 16000 = 3800 dollars cost difference
3800 divided by 107 = 34.86 (cost difference divided by yearly dollar difference in savings driving the Prius (as the Insight mpg isn't on the other site, but using the Insight base price) 80% city 4,000 mile per year)

You have to consider YOUR driving habits. YOUR needs.

If you drive 20,000 miles, all city, THEN you really have to consider the Insight. Because then you start to see some substantial savings, using again the Prius on the FE site, it's over $600.00 savings a year. The savings is only $200.00 if it's all highway.

In addition, driving that much in the city, in a big, bustling city where everyone drives a lot, it also makes a substantial difference in the air quality. Every little bit helps, in those cases, when you HAVE to drive to get around. And HAVE to drive frequently.

All of that stuff matters. Where you drive, how you drive, and how many miles you have to put on your vehicle.

 

AC in the fit works very well if your the only one in the car. Still good for the passanger seat too, but struggles to cool down the whole car for those who sit in the back seat. May be because my family is use to having AC in the back as well but i dunno.

The best thing i got going right now for my back seat is pointing the far left and right vents to blow across the doors to the back. That eleiminates use of those two cup holders, but theres 8 more so not a big deal.

I would test drive both during a hot day with a person in the back to see how they feel back there if that may be a concern for you.

 

the inside of the INSIGHT is not bigger. trunk space is smaller and seat room is semi decent. we have one on the show room floor and its ugly, i would rather get an old insight. Also to get better fuel economy you have to earn points which is stupid, and the more points you earn the better your mpg. its almost like a video game and the tree gets leaves on it...........wack

 

A few more things to consider.

There's always talk when hybrids come up about payback periods and whether their extra cost is worth the gas savings. That's fine, but this analysis is almost never applied to other vehicle choices. What is the payback period on upgrading to the Sport trim on the Fit instead of the Base version. Or how much money would leather seats save you over the life of a vehicle? It's not always about a monetary return. Sometimes people choose to spend more for performance, or luxury, or features, regardless of whether there's a monetary payback. Efficiency is just another option some may be willing to pay for. I, for one, think there's value in using less gas/oil, even if it costs a bit more and never pays you back as far as gas savings go.

And in part since the Insight uses less gas, it also gets a better emissions rating of AT-PZEV vs the Fit's ULEV rating.

The fact the Insight is a hybrid may get you HOV, toll road, or parking privileges as well.

We love our '09 Fit, and are considering an Insight or a Prius as a replacement for our other car. I did, and would again, choose the Fit over most anything for its combination of low price, good gas mileage, a bit or sportiness, and great cargo flexibility. If we didn't use the cargo space as much as we do for camping and such, I'd probably go for the Insight.