2001 Honda Insight petrol electric hybrid 1.0
Summary:
Fun, economical
Faults:
Distorted driver window seal - (prospective buyers beware, it's a common fault) - replaced under warranty.
General Comments:
Performance
This car is extremely economical, and it performs as well as the 1.6 Toyota Corolla that it replaced. Mainly due to the torque generated by the electric motor at low rpm.
Ride and handling
The ride is not great because of the stiff suspension, but that means reasonably good handling from a car that's designed for economy.
Economy
I am getting 75mpg (imperial) at the moment, but am still learning to get even more.
Comfort
The cabin is minimalistic, but adequate, I would say similar to a corolla, but with lower seats. Overall, comfort is not bad for such a small car.
Costs
The initial outlay is higher than any other small cars, but becuase of the extraordinary economy and the fact that I drive into central london regularly, the insight is an unbeatable little car for me.
The car also has a 8 years warranty on the IMA (electric) part too. The only downside is that I will stick to the main dealer for servicing because it is such a rare and specilist car. $$$$
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 12th November, 2005
8th Sep 2005, 16:38
Oh, I think people asked the question. The problem is that the auto industry didn't have the answer and hybrids are simply an interim solution until someone figures it out.
What was the question? People want four things: big vehicles, horsepower, fuel efficiency, and low to 0 emissions. How do auto manufactures provide a solution?
If it's big, it's going to need and have lots of horsepower, but it's going to guzzle gas and exhale toxins by the boatload. ie - the SUV craze.
If it's fuel efficient and environmentally friendly, it's going to be small and anemic (even though power to weight will be acceptable). ie - Geo Metro (Swift, Firefly, Sprint) and various Hondas. Take the battery out of an Insight and what do you have? A Geo Metro. 1.0L, lightweight vehicle that gets 50-60+ mpg.
Look at any SUV and/or truck hybrids out there (and even the Civic and Accord hybrids) and you'll see that the fuel efficiency already drops significantly as the vehicle gets larger. Notice how city mileage is higher than highway mileage? The electric engine doesn't run at all at highway speeds, so small engines have to pull around heavy bodies relying on inertia to keep them going. Plus, the gas portion of the engine produces just as many hydrocarbons as any gas engine out there.
No, I'm sorry, but I don't believe that hybrids are around to stay (unless they're forced on us by government). They're simply a short-term solution to a problem nobody is quite certain how to solve. Basically someone needs to develop a powerplant that is small, lightweight, powerful, efficient, and can run on a multitude of fuels.
Until that happens we'll be stuck with the ever-faithful (if somewhat inefficient) internal combustion engine and a lot of trial-and-error methods.