Quietness: Very quiet while driving; engine is quieter than Insight, road noise is less than Insight.

Audio & nav systems: The JBL audio system sounds very nice. Still getting use to the Nav system. There is alot of menu choices.

Powertrain performance: You have power when you need it.

Fuel economy: Who doesn't like 50mpg?

Quietness: Too much road noise. Honda has alot of refinement in the Insight. I wanted to buy Honda over Toyota.

Ride smoothness: Felt too much of the road while driving.

Interior styling: The interior seemed very plastic and not put together well.

Dealership practices: Sales people tried to sell us car on lot. We wanted specific color and options. We wanted to know if they had our choice coming in. They wouldn't tell us. Folsom Lake Honda, Folsom, CA.

Available features: Nice range of options. You can go basic or go deluxe with the Prius 5 with the self parking, safety package, and radar cruise control. The Insight has limited options and 90% of the ones I was seeing on dealer lots seem to be the basic edition.

Materials & workmanship: The Prius feels more solid and like a real car, not a go cart.

Powertrain performance: Both the Prius and Insight will not win any sports car races, but the Prius has better power at any speed. The Insight feels slightly sportier, but that is not saying much.

Fuel economy: The Prius 50 MPG mixed driving is realistic. The worst MPG I have seen is 45 MPG and the best was 56 MPG. I can only compare that to tests results I have seen where the Insight is 38-42 MPG

Rear seat room & comfort: I have had people 6ft 2 inches in the back and they had head and leg room. The Insight is very tight and I, whom is 5 foot 10 inches tall had my head touching the roof, well the top the rear hatch actually.

Ride smoothness: The Insight has a stiff ride. It makes it seem more sporty, but being more sporty than a Prius is not saying much. If I want sporty, I will get a Boxster or S2000.

Materials & workmanship: I think the workmanship is the usual Honda top notch for the money, but the materials feel cheap. Both the Prius and Insight could use simple upgrades in their dashes.

Quietness: The engine noise is annoying in the Insight. Both the Prius and Insight have engine noise, so if you dead quite inside, you will need to get a Lexus.

Rear seat room & comfort: This is a glaring issue with the Insight. Leg room is for children and my head hits the roof and a little bit of the rear hatch. There is a warning sticker about making sure go watch the heads of your rear seat passengers when closing the hatch.

Available features: There are more safety and luxury options on the Prius. You can tell Honda think the Insight will only be for econo car buyers, while the Prius is trying to appeal to mainstream buyers.

Fuel economy: What is not to like?!

Audio & nav systems: Very modern, all the necessary types supported, CD, mp3, iPod, sat radio. Good sound. Controls on the wheel are very convenient.

Interior styling: it's serene, hi tech looking, practical.

Reliability & durability: what's not to like?!

Control design: I really like the design of the dashboard - far and high, so that looking at it does not take much effort. The controls on the steering wheel are very convenient. Touch screen is great.

Handling: Steering is way too sensitive, my wife totally hated it, it was a deal breaker for her.

Exterior styling: The grille is awful, which is a pity. The rest of the package is very nice looking.

Reliability & durability: Per Consumer Reports, it is a reliable, durable car especially compared to most other vehicles.

Handling: Feels easier to control than the Mini, which was a bit clunky feeling.

Price or payments: Cheaper than the Mini

Fuel economy: I actually think the fuel economy is very similar for the MINI Cooper and the Prius, because I drive mostly in the city.

Available features: I like the keyless entry and the fact that I can control some things (radio volume, for example) from the steering wheel.

Handling: Felt clunky, not as smooth as the Prius. And, I've heard it doesn't do as well in snow as the Prius.

Price or payments: More expensive than the Prius. I DO like the Cooper's appearance a lot more than the Prius'.

Reliability & durability: Toyota's Prius has an excellent track record so I know it won't be in the shop on a regular basis

Fuel economy: Averaging 42-45 mpg in first 45 days -

Brand reputation & image: Toyota quality

Discounts & incentives: Excellent pricing was offered on a new outgoing Gen. 2 fully loaded model.

Audio & nav systems: They are excellent!

Discounts & incentives: Dealer stuck to factory pricing

Reliability & durability: This is a new car in hyrbid that has no track record

Price or payments: At list price this car offered very little the Prius did not, at a much higher cost

Price or payments: I purchased the car for $15,200 (with some options and shipping). That is about half the cost of a Prius and less than other in-class cars. If the economy was better and my job more secure, I may have purchased the Prius.

Exterior styling: Very unique styling; I can turn heads without having to spending a fortune. I like boxy-curvy shape, wide stance, wrap-around rear window, side opening rear hatch, cool looking front end.

Interior styling: Very roomy, comfortable driver's seat, easy to get in and out, fold-down rear seats, and finally a dash that is truly unique and a break from all the other cars that have the same massive black plastic sloping dash with the same basic instrument panel.

Reliability & durability: I am hoping that reliability will be high because it is currently manufactured in Japan. My last car (1997 Camry) was the first car that was made outside Japan (North Carolina). Reliability was poor and ended my love affair with the Toyota brand.

Fuel economy: Approximately 30mpg is good and meets my personal "green" threshold.

Exterior styling: Too skinny. The car would be much more appealing to me if it had the wide stance of the Nissan Cube.

Price or payments: Price is too high in this uncertain economic time. Plus I tend to keep cars 10 to 12 years. I do not want to be faced with the cost of replacing the batteries (well over $1,500) eight to ten years from now.

Driving position & visibility: The Fit drives better than the Prius, although you probably feel the bumps more.

Color choices: More youthful colors, especially in the blues.

Cargo capacity & towing: With the seats down, there's a lot of storage room. Also innovative design for the rear seat positions.

Control design: Speedometer is nicely laid out.

Front seat comfort: The seats are just more comfortable.

Driving position & visibility: Can't see out the rear window.

Color choices: Hard to coordinate the exterior with the interior colors.

Cargo capacity & towing: Cargo area is too high so you can't put tall items in.

Control design: Center mounted displays.

Front seat comfort: Only the leather seats come with lumbar support, and only for the driver's side.

Fuel economy: It's EPA rated at 41/43. That's around what I'm getting.

Brand reputation & image: Honda has a good reputation for dependable cars.

Safety & braking: It's bare-boned, but it has good safety features (assorted airbags, and VSA). You can turn off the VSA, which you can't in a Prius. The Insight depends on VSA less, which avoids problems Prii are having. Also, the Insight isn't silent, so walkers hear it

Price or payments: The 2010 Honda Insight is probably the cheapest new hybrid currently available.

Safety & braking: Numerous reports of over aggressive Traction Control shutting down Prius engines on slippery/snowy/icy conditions; e.g. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/01/prius_winter.html It didn't sound like Toyota was going to fix this in the new model.

Price or payments: Even the low end Prius was a few thousand more than the mid-range Insight EX.

Exterior styling: Front end look, tail lights and overall shape

Control design: ECO feedback is a great feature. High bright speedometer is easy to see. Easy to switch display modes. Tachometer, charge/disarge gauge. Over all colorful asthetic is well designed.

Interior styling: Seats are comfortable, head rests rear go down for better rear visability. Spilt seat folds flat for plenty or room. Storage bins under rear floor a useful. Placement of cup holders and storage are well layed out as well.

Handling: Feels like a responsive small car. Good feel of road, tight turning radius.

Price or payments: Lower price is a bonus on what is a nicer car

Control design: Dashboard in the middle is a no go, too high and far away, must look to the left, hard to read. Flying buttress console in the middle looks ridiculous and takes up to much room. Cup holder placement too far back.

Interior styling: Rear head rests obscure view. Bland looking color of dash display.

Handling: Sluggish on acceleration from stop. Feels heavy.

Exterior styling: It looks like an egg. Clear tail lights are too big. Front looks boxy.

Price or payments: Less expensive than the Prius

Fuel economy: Just about the same as the Prius. Look at Fuelly.com and see for yourself.

Brand reputation & image: Honda makes great cars

Exterior styling: A bit lower to the ground and smaller than the Prius = better handling

Handling: Honda's handle well. Toyota's generally do not. When pushed, this Insight responds well. The Insight's great reputation is all over the 'net.

Dealership practices: Big mark-up.

Reliability & durability: nothing except for Toyota's business practices.

Price or payments: Several thousand more than the Insight.

Handling: Softer, floaty ride. Not fun to drive.

Past personal experience: Reliable, low cost for maintenance. Comfort and interior space. Technological advances.

Fuel economy: The new Prius is even easier to drive in a responsible manner and has improve MPG from previous models.

Handling: The steering is so effortless, you can turn this car on a dime.

Safety & braking: VERY sensitive brakes! Side air bags and many other safety features. The rear view camera is awesome not only for backing out of spaces but also for parallel parking.

Control design: The control panel for AC in the 2010 was vastly improved. Everything is at your finger tips for things like the hybrid displays, trip info, audio. Voice commands were simple to learn. The Bluetooth synch was even more effortless in the 2010.

Cargo capacity & towing: Lots of room to put stuff and not feel cramped.

Rear seat room & comfort: Everyone has leg room

Reliability & durability: Its a Toyota!

Fuel economy: At over 50 mpg no other production vehicle can touch it.

Front seat room: It fits.

Quietness: Not real quite... hard to hear the stereo at highway speeds.

Ride smoothness: With tire pressure high, you feel the road very well.

Audio & nav systems: Base stereo was very lame.

Color choices: Would be nice to have a wider range of colors.

Insurance & depreciation: Insurance was kind of high for a safe car. Guess replacement parts must be high?

Exterior styling: It looks even more sharp than the Gen II Priuses. Body styling has more of an edge to it.

Fuel economy: it gives the highest mileage among all cars. Beats Honda Insight hands down.

Reliability & durability: Toyota cars have been the most reliable cars during the past quarter century.

Discounts & incentives: cash for clunkers made buying it possible.

Past personal experience: My daughter has a 2009 priusand she is very happy with it. She likes 2010 even more,

Fuel economy: It gets 40+ mpg no matter how badly you drive it.

Materials & workmanship: It's a Toyota

Past personal experience: I've owned three Toyotas and the Prius is a mature model.

Price or payments: Price was a good value

Safety & braking: It's a very safe car and has been rated tops in safety.

Reliability & durability: Consumer Reports reliability ratings and reading Prius owner's comments on the PriusChat online forum. Toyota's overall reliability reputation and specifically the Prius' reliability reputation.

Powertrain performance: Peppy response when needed yet very smooth and quite in normal driving. Powertrain reliability.

Brand reputation & image: The past reputation of the Prius as rated by such groups as Consumer Reports and the PriusChat online forum.

Available features: The Prius has available technology features not found on other cars today. Hands free navigation, Bluetooth phone and audio features with Voice command.

Fuel economy: 52 mile commute to work every day and averaging approximately 50 mpg. Reduces USA dependence on foreign oil and carbon footprint.