OK. As an AP story released today points out: It's true the base price for the 2010 Honda Insight is about $2K less than the price for the 2010 Toyota Prius. But, when you consider what you're getting for the $2K, I'd say "war" is a strong word. In fact, I'd go so far as to say there's no comparison.
Now, I do have to admit that Honda has not given me the opportunity to drive the all-new Insight yet. But, I have driven the Prius, and I can read a press release. So, with what I've experienced in the new Prius and what I can see on paper regarding the Insight, I think that the price difference is simply a misdirection.
What you should be thinking about is that the Prius is a full hybrid that can drive in electric-only mode. It's more midsize and less compact than the Insight. It gets up to 50 mpg in combined driving, and I witnessed a guy who tried to get poor fuel economy and only managed to get as low as 25 mpg in city driving. Plus, the ride and handling in the new Prius is awesome. Fit and finish is well done. Standard features are nice. Optional features like a solar panel are really cool.
While I can't speak to any of these characteristics in the Insight, I can say that it only gets 40 mpg in city driving and 43 mpg on the highway. Since it's not a full hybrid and the motor only turns off when at a complete stop, I have to imagine it wouldn't hold up nearly as well as the Prius in slow, stop-go-traffic.
So, while $2K seems like a lot of money in the hybrid wars, all I have to say is think about it. From what I've seen so far, the Prius is the better hybrid,and a couple grand is a small price for true fuel economy and forward-thinking features.
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