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2004 Honda Insight
Date Published: 11/23/08

2004 Honda Insight
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MSRP:
$19,180 - 21,380

Invoice:
$17,917 - 19,969

Class:
Compact Car
2004 Honda Insight
Expert Rating Summary
Category Base w/air conditioning Rating (See All
Ratings)
Compact Car Average Rating
Acceleration 2 4
Fuel Economy 10 6.6
Ride Quality 2 4.4
Steering/Handling/Braking 4 5.3
Quietness 3 4
Controls 5 5.6
Room/Comfort/Driver Seating (front) 4 5.1
Room/Comfort (rear) 0 3.9
Cargo Room 2 3.9
Value within Class 2 5.6
Total Score: 34 48.4
Ratings: Maximum 10 points per category
2004 HONDA INSIGHT BUYING RESOURCES
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2004 Honda Insight Review
The first gasoline/electric hybrid on U.S. roads continues with only minor changes for 2004. Insight is a 2-seat hatchback coupe. It has a 3-cyl gasoline engine assisted by a battery-powered electric motor for a combined 73 hp. The car recharges the batteries when coasting or decelerating; there's no plug-in charging. Aerodynamic styling and aluminum-intensive construction contribute to industry-leading EPA fuel-economy ratings. Insight offers manual transmission and an optional continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). The CVT lacks conventional gears, using a belt-and-pulley system to vary drive ratios as needed, but has steering-wheel "D" and "S" buttons to select normal and higher-performance ranges. ABS is standard, but neither side nor curtain side airbags are offered. Air conditioning is optional on the base model, standard with CVT. The standard audio unit for '04 plays CDs rather than cassettes, and interiors are now beige rather than gray.
News
Despite falling sales and a limited market, Honda may offer a redesigned Insight for North America in the next year or two. We hear it would be patterned on the recent IMAS concept that features an aluminum inner structure and a sleek two-seat coupe body made largely of strong-but-light carbon fiber. Honda estimates an astounding 94-mpg average for the feathery 1540-pound IMAS with its wind-cheating 0.20 drag coefficient. However, such a high-tech design would be costly to produce and sell, so a showroom version, if it materializes, would be more conventional.
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