Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Video highlights of this vehicle

Eager as he was to get his first crack at the Honda hybrid, Road Test Editor John DiPietro only had limited seat time due to back-to-back road tests of other vehicles, essentially robbing him of two (out of four) weeks of quality time with the Insight. He did, however, take the car on a day trip from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, Calif., encompassing around 250 miles which involved some slight grades that would be a good test of the little commuter's freeway cruising ability, or lack thereof.

As with other Edmunds.com staffers, John is impressed by the Insight's around-town performance and feels that this is the car's forte. He enthused: "The small size, fairly quick steering and good off-the-line snap make this an ideal mode of transport for battling greater L.A. traffic." Though he enjoyed the manual gearbox's precise shifter, he did note that at times it was reluctant to engage reverse, requiring a blip of the gas to coax it into that gear.

One thing that didn't impress John was the lack of Honda refinement in the engine. The 1.0-liter three-cylinder reminded him of a Subaru Justy he used to own (which also had an inline three) in terms of its gruff nature — quite a departure for Honda, whose motors typically run with the smoothness of a sewing machine. He joked that he half expected to see a Briggs & Stratton sticker adorning the engine when he lifted the Insight's hood, but he also acknowledged Honda's maximum fuel-economy mission, which necessitated the use of this engine design. In a more serious tone, he remarked that the upshift light in the instrument cluster was ridiculous: "If you shifted up when the light comes on, you'd be lugging the engine big-time."

Heading out to Palm Springs, the Insight happily cruised at 70 to 75 mph. When the grade increased, John noticed the Insight's electric motor (that jumps in to assist the gas engine when quicker acceleration or more speed is called for) kicking in in an attempt to maintain vehicle speed. It was at this time that he noticed the Insight's combination of lightness and skinny tires made the car sensitive to side winds (such as those caused by a semi blasting by a car moving way too slowly). This taxing drive over hill and dale quickly depleted the batteries and stopped the help from the electric motor. At this point, the Insight motored along at a feeble (around 50 mph) pace. Eventually, the terrain leveled off, the Insight recharged its battery pack and the graph indicating the state of the battery pack showed 75 percent capacity. The Insight got its second wind and was once again running along at a rapid clip. John claims he neither babied nor thrashed the Insight on this voyage and averaged 59 mpg for the mostly highway trek.

Managing Editor Bryn MacKinnon, who initially hated the Insight, offered this colorful prose after a couple of nights with the Honda: "Here was a vehicle that I had supported (in theory) 100 percent from the moment I heard about it...and I couldn't stand the thing...but then I was given another opportunity to drive the Insight and I decided to really try to like it. After reading several of the Long-Term Updates on the Insight, I recognized that mine was an often-experienced first reaction to the car; a few of our staffers eventually warmed up to the little teardrop after some time. I gave it another shot. And you know what? It worked. I eased up on the throttle, demanded less pep than I had previously and forced myself to ignore the green and red blips in the gauge cluster. And I managed to charge the battery to half power (from a starting level of a little less than a third) and raise the gas mileage by several miles per gallon. I was so proud. The car and I had worked together successfully; the hate was gone. I still don't love the way the Insight drives, but I definitely feel warmer toward it than I did when I started."

Appealing to the environmentalist consciences of both Bryn and John, the Insight brightened their opinions of it the more they drove it. John was moved to state: "The Insight has a way of creeping up on you, turning your initial disdain into affection. When you stop and think of what this car is achieving, getting better fuel economy than my motorcycle, for example, it's amazing."

Current Odometer: 17,291
Best Fuel Economy: 59.2 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 39.3 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 51.2 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None