2019 Insight Touring vs. 2019 Civic Sport Touring

I am assuming the 2019 Civic hatches are getting the same updates as the sedans since the official announcement for hatches has not happened.

Insight Touring advantages:

• Better fuel economy
• Nicer interior
• Better infotainment performance (assuming Civic doesn't improve this)
• More upscale looking exterior

Civic Sport Touring advantages:

• Better performance
• More storage space
• Better sound system (at least more speakers, haven't heard them both)
• Sportier exterior
• Speed displayed as a number (this is something I want, not everyone would see this as better)

Anyway, help me build out the list more. I just discovered today how much I like the appearance of the Insight and was surprised I can get the touring trim for about the same price as the Civic.

What's your city/hwy driving ratio? If you're not interested in the extra grunt the 1.5L can give you I'd recommend the Insight. I have some regrets getting the sedan touring and wish I'd waited for the Insight. I can live with the extra 1.5 second 0-60 time as a trade for 10 extra combined MPG

civicdabest-foo said:

What's your city/hwy driving ratio? If you're not interested in the extra grunt the 1.5L can give you I'd recommend the Insight. I have some regrets getting the sedan touring and wish I'd waited for the Insight. I can live with the extra 1.5 second 0-60 time as a trade for 10 extra combined MPG

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It's hard to say because my commute to work is almost all freeway, however some days it's smooth and other days it's stop and go traffic.

I am thinking about a lot more than gas mileage though. It's not that MPG is not important, but I am actually more interested in getting something I will enjoy. That is why I am leaning towards the Civic Sport. I think the better audio system and better engine will make it more of a joy to drive. But I also love the looks of the Insight and I feel the overall interior trim level is higher than the Civic. For example it has the same steering wheel and displays as the Accord which is a more expensive car.

I am looking forward to seeing my speed as a numeric value and not as an analog gauge, so I am disappointed the Insight chose to use the dash screen to emulate an analog gauge. I wonder if you can configure it to display your speed digitally? It would be sad if you can't configure how it looks since it's a screen, but I haven't seen any pictures that deviate from the fake analog gauge.

I know I just need to test drive them both and I will, but I also value all of your opinions.

Mega said:

I know I just need to test drive them both and I will, but I also value all of your opinions.

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At the end of the day - this is what you'll have to do to be sure.

There are things to like about both. I don't care for the push button shifter but the Accord grade infotainment and fully separate climate controls with its own little display for temperature in the Insight is the right setup. The 2019 Civic models we've seen a bit of still lack the fully separate climate controls and it looks like all they did was add buttons and a volume knob for the infotainment. But the difference you need to really answer for yourself is how they feel and drive for you... the hatch will be faster and better driver's car but the difference you have to judge for yourself after the test drive.

Talk about a close poll, it's exactly 50/50 right now.

Here is my update:

I test drove a 2019 Insight Touring and 2018 Civic Sport Touring back-to-back. I did learn some things:

• The Insight speedometer is analog. I thought from the pics it was a screen, but it's a physical needle with a very cool back-lit gauge that looks very much like a screen. So it does integrate well with the the two screens to the left. But an analog speedometer is a negative to me, as I wanted to be able to display my speed as a number. +1 Civic
  
• The interior of the Insight was definitely nicer. Loved the steering wheel controls. It had a more luxury feel and the screens in front of the driver were cool. You could display the current speed limit on the left or in the middle (along with many other things). The Civic does show the speed limit on the Navi too. I'll be using Waze anyway via Car Play, so I guess that is moot, but it sure was neat. +1 Insight
• The Insight felt peppier than I expected. I think the electric motor's instant torque helps with the feel, but the Civic Sport still outclassed it on acceleration. +1 Civic
• Exterior looks, I'm gonna call it a draw. I love the way both cars look for totally different reasons.
• I didn't play with the audio system, but I expect the 540-Watt 12-Speaker system in the Civic Sport Touring to slightly beat the 450-Watt 10-Speaker system in the Insight Touring, but on the other hand, I know the Infotainment system in the Insight is better (unless the 2019 gets a better update than we expect). So I'll call this a draw.
• I don't have enough info about reliability and maintenance on the Insight, but the Civic has a good track record here, so I think Civic is the more trusted when it come to being reliable. +1 Civic
• Fuel economy has an obvious winner: +1 Insight
  
• Storage space has an obvious winner: +1 Civic

So all that to say, the Civic is winning based on my personal criteria. But it's close enough I may still change my mind as I mull this over and wait for the 2019 Civic Hatches to come out.

If anyone has more feedback or things to consider, by all means please reply.

If anyone cares, I pre-ordered the 2019 Civic Sport (hatchback). I could still change my mind, but I don't think I will. A close friend purchased the Insight and she loves it, but it's been in the shop a few times already for some warranty work, so that is a turn-off. There were no surprises with the 2019 hatchback announcements, so all assumptions about that above came true.

One more negative on the Civic (that I didn't realize until today) is that the Hatchback version of Touring is missing HomeLink. I didn't realize that since the Touring Sedan has it. I use HomeLink every day on my current car. But it's not a big deal to put my door remote in the car.

Honestly given your daily commute I would absolutely go with the Insight. I haven't noticed too many problems with Insights (I work at a Honda dealer).

So with the 2018 sport touring and the 2019 insight I bought the sport touring. Literally only for the extra stock power. Since then I've been heavily modifying. The Insight is a wonderful car and got the cell phone space correct and the infotainment. I've gotten 52mpg out of the civic. But that is NOT consistent. Just once. Usually doing the speed limit I get 35-40mpg or better. I personally believe the insight is the way the regular civics should be.

As much as I like the 2019 Insight, go with the more spacious and fun Sport Touring. To top it off, gas is less than $2/gallon in San Antonio. Good luck!

Sorry to bring up a slightly old thread, but I am excited to announce it's official... here is my new hatch: https://www.civicx.com/garage/megas-garage.1811/

Mega said:

Sorry to bring up a slightly old thread, but I am excited to announce it's official... here is my new hatch: https://www.civicx.com/garage/megas-garage.1811/

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Are those the HFP rims?

xbbnx said:

Are those the HFP rims?

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I'm not sure, if you choose "build and price" on a Sport Touring, they are an official option. They are called "18-Inch 15-spoke Black Alloy Wheel w/ Red Lip" and they even had a demo of them in the showroom where I purchased the car. I added the pinstripe to the underbody spoiler and side mirrors myself ($4 at Auto Zone).

Does it have a volume and fan knob?

Almostfast said:

Does it have a volume and fan knob?

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Yes! The volume knob was one of the reasons I waited for the 2019.
The fan control is up/down buttons.