The 2021 Honda Insight might be one of the more underrated cars of the year. For a modest base-model price, you can enjoy modern styling, responsible fuel economy, and plenty of safety features and tech to enjoy your daily drive. But, chances are, if you’re looking to buy a brand new car, you expect the vehicle to be safe and reliable, so it concerns buyers to see new models with recalls and other concerns. Well, the 2021 Honda Insight already has one annoying recall, but is it worth passing over the car for?

A compact hybrid option

If you’re looking to get into compact hybrid or electric vehicle but don’t want to blow your budget out of the water there aren’t a ton of appealing options. Sure, you can always go with the Toyota Prius, but that comes with annoying qualities of it’s own — like people making fun of you for owning a Prius. For many people, buying a hybrid can be intimidating, mostly because it is so unfamiliar, so drivers want to know they can rely on, and seeing a recall on a new model doesn’t do much to instill confidence.

What is the recall?

Vehicle recalls are intimidating because no matter what they are, we know that they will pertain to driver or passenger safety. For the 2021 Honda Insight, there is one active recall regarding the hybrid drivetrain. In some affected vehicles, the DC-DC converter may unexpectedly shut off, preventing the 12-volt battery from charging. In severe cases, this could result in loss of power to the drivetrain, potentially causing a car accident.

We’d still buy the 2021 Honda Insight

The manufacturer is working swiftly to ensure that all vehicles affected by the recall are handled so that customers can continue driving their Insights without stress. The recall work is completely covered by the manufacturer, which means it doesn’t cost the drivers anything except a bit of time. So, if the worse thing we have to worry about with the Insight is one pesky recall, we aren’t all that concerned.

There are still a lot of qualities to love about the spunky compact hybrid. According to Consumer Reports, you can expect an average of 54 mpg, and minus the small recall hiccup they should prove to be as reliable as previous model years. For a base model price of just $23,130 it’s one of the most affordable cars that you can buy brand new.