Compare the2022 Toyota PriusVS 2022 Honda Insight

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Prius are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Insight doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Toyota Prius has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Insight doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Prius has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Insight doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Prius LE/XLE/Limited has standard Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Insight doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Prius offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Insight doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Both the Prius and the Insight have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Prius is safer than the Honda Insight:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Prius for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Honda doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Insight.

There are over 16 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Honda dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Prius’ warranty.

The Insight’s redline is at 6600 RPM, which causes more engine wear, and a greater chance of a catastrophic engine failure. The Prius has a 4000 RPM redline.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 47 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 27th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in reliability. Honda is ranked fifth.

The Prius’ standard 1.8 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 105 lbs.-ft. more torque (105 vs. ) than the Insight’s 1.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the Prius gets better mileage than the Insight:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies the Toyota Prius as a “Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle” (PZEV). The Honda Insight is only certified to “Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (SULEV) standards.

The Prius stops shorter than the Insight:

The Prius XLE FWD/Limited’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Insight Touring’s 50 series tires.

The Prius LE FWD has a standard space-saver spare (not available on L Eco/XLE/Limited/e-AWD) so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Insight; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

The Prius has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Insight doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Prius Limited handles at .90 G’s, while the Insight Touring pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Prius Limited executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the Insight Touring (26.3 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Prius’ turning circle is 2.2 feet tighter than the Insight’s (33.5 feet vs. 35.7 feet). The Prius Limited/XLE FWD’s turning circle is .3 feet tighter than the Insight’s (35.4 feet vs. 35.7 feet).

The Prius is 3.6 inches shorter than the Insight, making the Prius easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Prius uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Insight doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Prius has .1 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more rear headroom and 4.6 inches more rear hip room than the Insight.

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Prius’ hatch uses gas strut supported hinges that don’t intrude into the cargo area. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the Insight’s useful trunk space.

The Prius (except L/LE) offers an available heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Insight doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Prius’ front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Insight’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Prius has a standard rear wiper. The Insight doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Prius (except L/LE) offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Insight doesn’t offer cornering lights.

On extremely cold winter days, the Prius XLE/Limited’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The Insight doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Toyota Prius XLE/Limited has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Insight doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Prius LE/XLE/Limited’s Intelligent Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Insight doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Prius will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Prius will retain 49.09% to 50.62% of its original price after five years, while the Insight only retains 41.67% to 42.04%.

The Toyota Prius has won recognition from these important consumer publications: