2019 Honda Insight Hybrid: Your ‘Bobs’ will be singing

48 miles per gallon on average. Standard advanced safety features, as fully listed on the Edmunds.com website, include adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and mitigation, lane-keeping assist, automatic high beams, a traffic sign reader, and a driver-attention monitor. All for a starting price of $22,930 US.

What’s not to love about that?!

Standard listed features further include automatic LED headlights, heated mirrors, keyless ignition, automatic climate control, active noise cancellation, Bluetooth, a multi-angle rearview camera, a 5-inch touchscreen, and a six-speaker audio system with a USB port and Pandora internet streaming radio. And to boot, the 2019 Honda Insight no longer looks like a ‘hybrid’.

The Insight is all new for 2019.  Whereas in the past it was more of a hatchback and looked rather hippy-dippy (my words), this year it looks rather urban and sleek.  It blends well into any setting, and for those of you who like to stand out, maybe it blends in a little too well.

Hybrids now are as common as a gluten-free menu and no one bats an eye at them anymore.  The big selling points to this year’s Insight are its mileage and standard safety features, to be sure.  Every safety advantage you can have is a benefit IMHO, and when you have to pay extra, I really do see that as wage discrimination. From the start, you know your insights and your Insight will be protecting you and those you love, all included in the asking price.

Full disclosure: I tested the 4DR Touring trim, the top trim which they loan to princesses like me. Of course I enjoyed its leather accents, power moonroof and snazzier exterior appointments, like alloy wheels.  You don’t really need those, unlike housing and healthcare. Those extra appointments cost extra and they are nice.  Just sayin’…..

What you do need, however, is a reliable car that can handle your urban and suburban needs with ease. With 15.1 cubic feet of space in the rear, the 2019 Honda Insight has a generous trunk that can handle a lot of your purchases.  If you really do want an SUV, you should get an SUV, but if you want a very fuel-efficient hybrid sedan, this is worth your consideration.

You aren’t going to win any races with the 2019 Honda Insight.  I say this because anymore, the expectation is that a new car is going to take you to faraway places by going from zero to 60 in 3.2 seconds and all your friends will be impressed. Yeah, well, even if you didn’t marry well, that still doesn’t happen often.

You do get a 1.5-liter engine and you even get a Sport mode feature when you do feel like being a bit racy. I will admit, the Sport mode was a mixed bag for me.  I felt the response of the ‘power’ was a bit ‘off’, but maybe that was due to my driving. Keep in mind, however, that you should (again) buy this car if you want practicality and not a testosterone rush…..

….because the long and short of it is that the Honda Insight is a practical car. It’s not a race car.  It’s not a luxury car.  It’s not a ‘wow’ car, and for many buyers, that’s a turnoff. But it shouldn’t be.

Remember the last time you got married in a fever to the man who really did sweep you off your feet, only for him to drop you flat on your back once he had to do something ‘adult’, like spend wisely?

I rest my case.