Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Video highlights of this vehicle

Our features editor, Scott Mead, was back behind the wheel of the Insight in July, and found our long-term Insight to be a great commuter car and grocery getter, but loathed driving it on long trips.

Having previously driven the Insight to Phoenix and back in April, Mead decided to give the Insight another chance at a long-distance outing. This time he headed toward the Northern California city of San Jose for a photo shoot.

Picking up the Insight in the Edmunds.com parking garage, Mead noticed a decent amount of clutch chatter while backing the car out of its stall. "I can't believe a vehicle with under 5,000 miles on the clock would have a fried clutch," he noted. "Someone must have taught their kids to drive a manual transmission car with our Insight. Pass the kidney belt." We'll be sure to have the dealer check this concern at the next service interval.

One-third of the way to Mead's San Jose destination, he found his right foot to be falling asleep, due to the lack of cruise control. Mead noted that the lightweight Insight was still prone to tractor-trailer "blow by," which necessitated a healthy grip on the wheel when they blazed by the Insight at MACH 1.

Rut tracking wasn't as much of a problem with the high rolling resistance tires, as previously noted in Mead's journey to Arizona. But traversing road crowns consistently yanked the wheel from our editor's hands, leaving him with swollen wrists from fighting the car.

The six-disc CD changer was a welcome accessory, never skipping a beat on the 14-hour round trip and, thanks to the 50-plus miles-per-gallon fuel economy, our editor never had to stop while on the road.

Mead also had fun with the idle-stop feature, coasting up to stoplights sans the 1.0-liter engine running. This nearly always peaked unsuspecting passengers' curiosity when the traffic light turned to green and the Insight magically restarted after the gearshift lever was placed in gear.

Unlike his previous Phoenix adventure, Mead reported that the Insight did admirably well on the long haul, but wouldn't recommend the Insight for those who commute long distances or take road trips. "As an around-town, commuter car, the Insight is an excellent choice," noted Mead. "However, the seats don't provide enough lumbar support for extended periods behind the wheel and cruise control is a must-have for trips of 100 miles or more."

Fueling the Insight was also a challenge, in that it was difficult to get out of a gas station with the attendants and customers flocking to look over the gasoline-electric hybrid while asking a plethora of questions. "This is not a car for introverts," Mead commented in the logbook. "You can expect to be everyone's best friend when you fuel an Insight. Expect to spend about five extra minutes at the pump answering questions."

Total Odometer Reading: 5,380 miles
Best Fuel Economy: 57.3 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 51.1 mpg
Running Average Over Life of Vehicle: 48.7 mpg
Body Damage: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: Clutch Chatter