Car and Driver: 2010 Honda Insight - Long-Term Road Test Intro

Not quite the engineering marvel its predecessor was, Honda’s Insight hybrid starts its 40,000-mile journey with us.
BY AARON ROBINSON, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARC URBANO AND THE MANUFACTURER March 2010
Date: March 2010
Current Mileage/Months in Fleet: 2075/2 monthsAverage Fuel Economy/Range: 37 mpg/392 miles
Service: $0
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0

A decade ago, Honda’s skunkworks released both the original aluminum-bodied Insight hybrid and the Honda S2000, at about the same time. Honda’s engineers were heard to comment that compared to the Insight, the S2000 was “the easy one.” We put 40,000 miles on that original two-door, hand-built Insight and got 48 mpg, a figure that, while fabulous by itself, was slightly disappointing given the EPA window-sticker numbers of 61 city, 70 highway.

Down to Basics
Since that original Insight, the EPA has changed the way it computes mileage to lessen the advantage for gas-electric vehicles, and the Toyota Prius has made hybrids mainstream. It’s no surprise that Honda seems to be mimicking the Prius’s successful formula right down to its hatchback DustBuster styling. Gone is the rocket-age aluminum construction with its exotic thixotropic castings. The new Insight is all steel, to hold down costs.

The 1.0-liter three-cylinder is now a 1.3-liter four-cylinder, and the optional five-speed manual that helped the original Insight supply decent entertainment value is gone. A continuously variable automatic does the transmitting, with paddle shifters on the steering wheel in case you want ratio control.

The hybrid system works pretty much the same, however. A 13-hp, 58-lb-ft brushless DC electric motor is parked between the engine (88 hp, 88 lb-ft) and CVT transmission. Total combined output is 98 hp and 123 lb-ft. The motor boosts the engine’s output when the driver summons its services with the gas pedal, and replenishes the nickel-metal-hydride battery as a generator during coasting and braking. Unlike the Prius’s, however, the Insight’s electric motor cannot move the vehicle on its own.

The Insight’s window-sticker numbers are now 40 mpg in the city and 43 mpg on the highway, reflecting the new car’s higher weight (about 850 pounds more than its featherweight predecessor, though a still-modest 2730 pounds), its larger engine, and the changes to the EPA test procedure. Thus far we’re seeing about 37 mpg on average, which, while not the advertised mileage, probably reflects typical Car and Driver driving patterns.

With even the thirstiest fill-ups of the 10.6-gallon fuel tank usually being no more than nine gallons, fuel stops are NASCAR-quick, and 400-mile transits of California’s nether regions seem to go by at an agreeably rapid rate. It’s a good idea to carry an empty bottle in the car if you’re really trying to make time, for the Insight usually needs a fill-up less often than you need a draining.

Our no-options, $23,810 Insight is an EX with Navigation model, or the top-of-the-line Insight with navigation, Bluetooth capability, stability control, 15-inch alloy wheels, and a stereo upgrade that includes XM satellite radio among the amenities installed above the base $20,510 LX.

A Good Start
We embarked from Honda’s Torrance, California, headquarters in late January, the car showing fewer than 60 miles on the clock. Within a month we had already piled on more than 2000 miles. Three road trips to northern California have given us lots of exposure to the Insight’s highly comfortable front chairs. The Insight is happy with 75 mph on the long, flat, ruler-straight I-5 through California’s Great Central Valley, so we find it best to just set the cruise, sit back and, for once, not be in a hurry. Amazingly, we still have managed to get pulled over by the CHiPs, though in this case the officer just wanted to double-check the car’s registration against its distributor license plate. Sometimes, it feels like we’re just big magnets to the iron filings of the Highway Patrol.

We’re still getting used to the hybrid system. It offers two modes, a normal and an Econ mode, the latter activated by a large green button to the left of the steering column. We’ve run the miles about half in Econ, half not, and noticed about a six-percent improvement with the former.

However, the Econ mode limits acceleration and cycles off the air conditioner more frequently.

The idle-stop function kills the engine when the car is running but stationary. However, it seems to operate by inscrutable rules. It sometimes restarts for no apparent reason, or doesn’t stop for the same mysterious reason. Pull into your driveway and stop and it’ll shut down—until you put the car in park, at which point it fires up again . . . for a few seconds until you switch it off with the key. This is a hybrid system that prefers to stay busy.

With another 38,000 miles left to go, we’re looking forward to learning the Insight’s as-yet-unrevealed secrets.

Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q1/2010_honda_insight-long-term_road_test_intro