I have a
2001 Insight CVT. It averages 48 mpg around
town and 55 on the highway (unless I let the engine
speed get above 4000 rpm, in which case it drops). My
overall average for a little over 42,000 miles is 50.0
mpg. I have two acquaintances with
manual-drive Insights who get about 10 mpg
better; the CVT really is smooth, however.
My Honda Insight has
over 180,000 miles. It only broke down once,
and that was a pulley on the fan
belt came loose. I am disappointed in the mileage,
however, I drive the car as a courier in an aggressive
metropolitan environment. But this is a testimony to the
reliability of the hybrid system.
I want Honda to keep the Insight but make it better.
E.E.
I have some very
important information to share with other Insight
owners. I recently added a bike rack to my Insight (that
was an adventure!) and then loaded the car with camping
gear and two bikes for a week-long trip. It wasn’t
long before I realized that the result of overloading
the vehicle is that your Insight batteries quickly drain
down to one blip! Ahhh!! And only 1,490 miles to go! I
tried drafting behind a semi for the first time and that
helped me to recharge my battery halfway in twenty
minutes, and then I discovered something wonderful. If
you drive a manual Honda Insight and you are dumb enough
to ignore the manufacturer’s weight limit of 400
pounds, there is one solution…drive it in fourth gear.
By downshifting and having the RPMs at close to 3k, I
was able to recharge my battery and safely make it
through the entire trip without further worries.
Spreading this information to other Insight owner’s
may help save other family vacations, and I’m sure
they will be glad that they learned this useful trick!
K.W.
Are
you the owner of a Honda Insight hybrid? Tell us about
your experiences with the Insight hybrid. What kind of
gas mileage do you get in your hybrid Insight and in what
kind of driving?
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