2012 Honda Insight Overview, Reviews, Ratings & Specs

Karen baltimore on January 4, 2021

Very good car for the milage and ageI would definitely recommend this car to anyone looking to purchase a good car with good gas milage

hound_hank on March 2, 2020

I bought the basic LX model new in 2012. Added after-market cruise control. The car gets incredible gas milage but it struggles on hills. The interior is comfortable, and when you lay down the rear seats, you cannot believe how much room you have to haul stuff! My only complaint on the car is that the gas engines on the 2012 Insight were faulty. They simply were built wrong, which resulted in a recall from Honda. It took me several months trying to convince Honda of the recall with my Insight until one of the 4 cylinders blew. Honda replace the engine even though the car had over a 100,000 miles. (Spring of 2018) Since the replacement, the car has performed better than ever! Only one full brake replacement and normal oil, filters and a starter battery replacement. Put some decent Michelin tires on the car. Had one alignment after bumping the curb hard while driving on snow and ice. Not a great snow performer, at all! If buying a used 2012 Insight - check to see the recall status of the engine!

Retired part time worker on August 22, 2019

Great hybrid vehicle.....first time owning a hybrid car.....first time not owning a Volkswagen since 1979.....54 miles a gallon.....driving into the sunset with a Honda Insight for the first time!!!

JackieP: on July 27, 2019

I went from a truck to two vans to the honda which I have always heard is an excellent car. But this one can only be described as a lemon. The oil leak is enormous..I had Walmart take a picture underneath and the leak is obvious going down the tranaxle and was told by a reputable mechanic to get rid of it because the fix will be in the thousands. Plus there is still a rattle under the dashboard that the service person where I bought it said "well, it would take a lot of work to find out what it is"..unbelievable..should have walked then. Now I just have to find someone to buy it. I am hopeful that a class action suit will finally become available and I will get on that. There are many comments on the internet involving this years insight.

charles21 on June 19, 2018

Great car for travel or for work. I wouldn't recommend it for a large family cause its like a Prius in size. But it great for gas and the hatchback option lets it store more then you would think

scotty2hoty on April 10, 2017

This car was a mistake. Piece of junk. Will never buy Honda again. Do not even think of this model -to buy or lease. Lemon. 102000 miles and the motor blew up. AND I WAS STUCK WITH THE BILL. I am very disappointed with vehicle and the good thing is-that it will paid off in about 22 months. Good bye Honda for good!

Commuter's wife on March 18, 2015

Fairly comfortable, not a bad size car. Will sometimes get more than estimated gas mileage in city driving. However, the blue tooth phone connectivity will sometimes drop randomly and the text message features are bothersome. The cup holders are too close to the dash so large cups tend to get the lids popped off and the straws touch the dash. The biggest issue I have with this car is that it consumes a lot of oil. It is worse in the hottest part of summer when it will go through about 2 qts in 1,000 miles. Even in the winter, at least a quart of oil needs to be added every 20% decrease oil life. What is also unpleasant was dealing with Honda, local and regional. Anyone I speak with is all "oh my, it shouldn't do that!" until they try to fix it and then it changes to "within spec, usually", "nothing wrong with it", and "are you sure you didn't do something to it?" After 1.5 years of commuting, it has been in the shop more times than our other 11 year old car. The error codes it throws (even when there is less than 1 qt oil missing) say continued driving of the car will void the warranty, so be ready to get it towed as the commuting driver can be stranded far from home.

Skyislander on June 29, 2013

If you want one car and all you do is level-terrain driving, commuter-driving, errand-driving, then this is it. Forget the videos, I have 15,000 miles on mine and I'm getting 44mpg in Tucson blasting A/C all the time. If, on the other hand, you need one-car-fits-all I'm not sure. Im not that overweight and on long drives it's not that comfortable. If you are into gadgets be prepared the Civic lets you stream music from your phone through bluetooth but the Insight does not. That annoyed me. My ipod/iphone has to be connected to the USB to make music happen. Using hands-free via bluetooth works great- really great actually. Just not streaming music and I don't think any bluetooth radio I've seen does a good job with iPod navigation. Let's get back to the part about how this is a car for driving/commuting. On one long drive through mountains coming out of San Diego my brother drove his top of the line Prius (with solar roof panels) and he had nothing on me in terms of speed and I beat him on gas mileage-- and I was using the paddle shifters to over-ride the automatic transmission. Let's talk transmission. I think CVT is the best things since sliced bread for transmissions and the Insight is very smooth. It's also silky quiet. The shuddering thing (in Econ mode the engine literally turns off at stoplights and then when you release the break pedal to go, it starts back up again instantly) I've read is not something I've experienced on mine- 2013 model. If you think its there and it bugs you then hit the econ button and the engine won't stop at traffic lights. I think the econ button mainly helps you if you want to modify your driving habits to maximize fuel economy by giving you excellent visual LCD indicators that give you instant feedback if you are driving. Now remember, if you turn off the Econ button then here's a tip: If you drive like your great grandma, you will get phenomenal gas mileage-- up to just under 50mpg in my case. If you drive like you're 16, open container, and you just stole something, you'll have to settle for 42-43mpg. I drive it like I really mean it and blast the A/C all the time and I get 44 mpg. The engine is quiet and I think very refined but obviously not powerful. If you need to romp, get a car with a more powerful engine. If driving the legal speed limit annoys you, get a different car. If you really need to drive through floods and rutted roads on a routine basis, don't get this car. If you drive with a lot of combined weight in the vehicle get a different car. If you go up and down mountains, get a different car. If you are the type of person who wants to feel wrapped in cast-iron and on-top-of-everybody-else when you drive I don't think you'll be happy with the Insight. On the other hand consider this. Let's start with those reviewer videos. If you look at the "professional" video-reviews and wonder if the reviewers are Toyota employees, trust your gut and buy this car, made by Honda-- I'm not a Honda employee and I don't work in (or on) "cars." If you want a vehicle meticulously engineered with state-of-the-art technology to provide comfort over short-medium distances, hi-tech features like Continuously Variable Transmission, traction and tire sensors, and oh by the way 44 mpg all at a very compelling price from a company renowned for quality, reliability, and longevity, then buy this car.

hins2012 on April 14, 2013

After driving for few weeks: Positives: Handles well, responsive, over 51mpg computed (dash says 54mpg) for 4 weeks of suburban driving. Negatives: seats are not comfortable and leaves you feeling tired if you have to drive long. Steering makes it hard to see speed gauge.

disappointed on April 4, 2013

uncomfortable, poor interior design, no place to hang a garbage sack, emergency brake takes up space that most cars use for a console area, cheap seat covers, just not satisfied...paid less for other makes and models that were fine