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Car Forum / Honda Cars / December 2006Any Honda Insight owners here?
Been thinking about buying an Insight. I drive about 300 miles a day and would sure love to get 60mpg out of a car. Will these actually do that? I'd like to get some opinions and experiences from past and existing owners of these hybrids. I want to hear the good, bad and ugly. Thanks, Rick > Been thinking about buying an Insight. I drive about 300 miles a day and > would sure love to get 60mpg out of a car. Will these actually do that? [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Thanks, > Rick I'm a Toyota hybrid owner, but I can provide some light. Yes, they can actually give 60 mpg or more. What you should be prepared for is that the efficiency edge that allows such numbers is easily compromised. Short trips and cold weather - especially in combination - really take their toll (maybe less in the Honda IMA system as opposed to the Toyota THS or SHS system) and can knock the numbers down 30%. In the same way, higher freeway speeds will cost you. The good news is that 30% less than 60 mpg is a very respectable 40+ mpg. My Toyota normally delivers 46 - 50 mpg around town in good weather, but now that the temperatures are below freezing and the engine isn't warming up until I get to work 3 miles away it is not giving quite 40 mpg. When I consider any other car suffers the same sort of degradation and that very few could even offer 40 mpg real-world in such service it doesn't bother me. Most important is that I no longer pay much attention to gas cost; it just isn't an important part of my budget. I'm spending about a third what I was when I was driving the Volvo. At 300 miles per day you should reasonably expect 50 mpg or better. Pay close attention to tire inflation, though. More specific to the Insight: Insight drivers have written it is responsive and fun to drive, but at least one mentioned he parks as far from the crowd as possible to be merciful to the aluminum body. Mike > Yes, they can actually give 60 mpg or more. What you should be prepared for > is that the efficiency edge that allows such numbers is easily compromised. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > The good news is that 30% less than 60 mpg is a very respectable 40+ mpg. I had a 2000 Honda Accord, a 4 cylinder with manual trans, that got me 35mpg in the summer (A/C on) going through the mountains. Frankly, I'm not impressed with 40mpg out of a fancy-shmancy hybrid. >> Yes, they can actually give 60 mpg or more. What you should be prepared >> for [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Frankly, I'm not impressed with 40mpg out of a fancy-shmancy hybrid. That describes the 60 mile round trip from here to Sedona and back - 2500 ft elevation change, winding highway. The worst I've done on that is just under 50 mpg (four passengers), and the best was just over 60 mpg. If I got only 35 I would be looking to see what was so messed up... maybe parking brake dragging. What is really impressive is the in-town mileage, where I do most of my driving. Have you ever been anywhere near 50 mpg in-town - mostly 3 mile trips - over a full tank? Mike > Been thinking about buying an Insight. I drive about 300 miles a day and > would sure love to get 60mpg out of a car. Get an older Corolla or Civic. Or CRX if you can find it. The Insight, like any hybrid, is designed for stop and go city driving. That's where the fuel efficiency comes in. Not on the road. Unless you're driving 300 miles/day in stop and go traffic? >> Been thinking about buying an Insight. I drive about 300 miles a day and >> would sure love to get 60mpg out of a car. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Unless you're driving 300 miles/day in stop and go traffic? The fuel efficiency on the highway comes from downsizing the engine (efficiency in an internal combustion engine improves with increasing manifold pressure). The Insight uses a 1 liter engine augmented by electrics for responsiveness. That improves highway efficiency to give the EPA rated 65 mpg on the highway. The numbers are for comparison only, but that compares with the 2005 Civic 1.7L at 38 mpg. That can cut fuel costs 35%, and that is significant with that many miles per day. Mike > >> Been thinking about buying an Insight. I drive about 300 miles a day and > >> would sure love to get 60mpg out of a car. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Mike That's what I'm figuring. With what I would save in fuel cost, I could almost make the car payment. Had at one time considered the VW diesel, but with the difference in cost between diesel and gas, almost 50 cents a gallon around here, I thought a hybrid might be something to think about. There's somebody that passes me in the morning on I44 with an Insight and that's what has gotten me to thinking about one of them and of course the fuel mileage too:) I'm a contract courier so all auto cost are on my responsibility, including gas. There's no way around it. I'm in the market for a new, well to me, vehicle. the one I had been driving was getting about 30mpg and I could live with that since I didn't have a payment on it, but the trannie went out and the car just isn't worth putting a 1000 bucks in it. Besides the trannie, it was going to need some other odds and ends too. I've got my moneys worth out of the car, but I'm ready for something different anyway. Been driving my S10 pickup temporarily, but the fuel costs is killing me!!!!! I do appreciate all the input and info, thanks!!!! Rick Before you even consider an Insight, make sure you drive one, under all your normal conditions. > Been thinking about buying an Insight. I drive about 300 miles a day and > would sure love to get 60mpg out of a car. Will these actually do that? I'd [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Thanks, > Rick -- Tp, -------- __o ----- -\<. -------- __o --- ( )/ ( ) ---- -\<. -------------------- ( )/ ( ) ----------------------------------------- No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron... |
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