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all
revs. There is only a little transmission gear noise, and not much
of that. The dominant noise is from the tires because the light aluminum
body carries it well and little weight is devoted to sound dampening materials.
Tire noise is usually white noise and does not change pitch or volume with
speed. It does change a lot with road surface, but not with speed.
With these characteristics, there are none of the normal audio cues for
acceleration and speed. Only the speedometer gives feedback and no
one is going to drive with a stopwatch to convert speedometer readings
into acceleration numbers. The smooth acceleration is not neck-snapping,
but steady and ample. I can definitely feel the valve changes at
about 3500 rpm, with a good boost in acceleration at that point.
The 1-liter-powered car is definitely not under powered to the extent the
initial impression leads one to think. A simple cross-check shows
the weight to peak horsepower for the Insight to be 23.6, compared to 17.2
for the Elite.
Interior
noise has been another complaint from reviewers. BMW people would
consider the tire noise in the car too loud, but it is definitely no worse
than engine and road noises inside a Lotus. I don't think it is really
much worse than in other small cars.
There
is one significant issue with the car, at least for me. The tires
are 165/65R14s, running at 40 psi. With the light car, these tires
have a small contact patch. Cornering is not a real high acceleration
activity. The car has a tendency to side-slip in hard turns.
I find a definite need to go into highway interchanges and sharp turns
more cautiously than I used to. Other than this characteristic, driving
is precise and well connected to the road, as is expected of a Honda.
Since
the car is so light, the suspension, and the ride, are very stiff.
The car is well connected to the road, but we feel all the bumps.
Severe bumps can bottom out the rear suspension, but we have never bottomed
the front end. We do not bounce around on rough mountain roads -
the tracking is good. But, the ride shakes us enough.
Getting
the most out of the integrated power train takes a few changes in driving
habits. With the CRX and Lo |
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tus,
I coast down the mountain road and scrub off speed by hard turns (and lots
of tire wear.) The Insight wants me to just lightly touch the brake
pedal enough to turn on the brake lights and suggest to the computer that
now is a good time for regenerative battery recharging. If the batteries
are not already overheated from charging on the hill, I get good braking
this way. The computers monitor the electric motor/generator and
the batteries and will not allow either to be damaged. The brake
system allows a slight pedal touch without dragging the brakes, so the
regenerative braking can be used. Also, to get regenerative braking
as I approach a stoplight, I have to leave the car in gear as I coast up
to the light with the brakes just on a touch. I had to learn not
to shift into neutral to coast up to the light.
The
regenerative braking is also controlled by engine speed. For example,
in fifth gear, the braking operates until the car slows to about 30 mph.
Then, the regenerative braking rapidly drops off and the car coasts without
braking. I have to hit the brakes to finish the stop. This
gap in the braking is at first a little odd feeling. Like letting
up on the brakes for no reason and then finishing the stop. With
experience, I find I am making a better transition between the regenerative
braking and regular friction braking, but it takes time to learn to be
smooth in this transition.
Going
up hill with a 1 liter engine means keeping in a lower gear and reving
the engine. The battery pack is only sized for reasonable periods
of boost. It was not sized to carry the car up 5 miles of steep hill.
I tend to run the pack dry about 3 miles up the road and then only the
gas power carries on. Second gear is the main hill climb state, with
or without the batteries. I usually zero the batteries by the time
I get home and then fully recharge them going back down the hill.
Uphill usually shows around 25 mpg and downhill is over 150 mpg.
Cruising
at a steady 75 mph on highway 85 shows 50 to 90 mpg, depending on grade
and acceleration. I can definitely see the mpg effects and acceleration
differences caused by an extra passenger or cargo on even slight hills,
although they do not seem to affect |
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steady,
level travel noticeably. Unfortunately, with the small engine, I
can also feel the A/C compressor cut in and out. It does not impact
steady cruising, but is very noticeable during acceleration.
Speaking
of gears, first is really low to get going with the small engine.
There is a big gap to second, so I have to go up to above 5000 rpm in first
before shifting to second if I want to get moving quickly. Second
through fifth seem closely spaced, with fifth being an over-drive for good
gas mileage.
Since
the Insight carries so much new electronics, some of it carrying high power
loads, we bought the extended warranty for 100k miles. Given my past
experiences with Honda, I really do not expect to need the warranty, but
then at the cost of these things, better safe than sorry. I also
bought the shop manuals, especially the electric diagnostics guide manual,
and keep them in the car. That way, I can be sure that if it ends
up at a dealer for repairs, they have the guidance to do things correctly.
Overall,
the car drives like a Honda Civic. It has the same zip and handling
expected of the small Hondas. I actually have to do nothing special
to use the power train to good advantage. However, a little driver
retraining can optimize economy and performance. The Insight will
never keep up with the Lotus, but then the Lotus is just plain fast.
The Insight is fun, gets lots of attention and we are really enjoying driving
this little toy.
Many thanks to Allen for
taking the time to submit this driving report. Also included was a nice
picture of his Insight, unfortunatley the file was so large that it made
the CR too big to send to the printers as an attachment. Anyone submitting
pictures for publishing, please send black & white jpegs. Ed. |
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