Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Video highlights of this vehicle

We passed around our Honda Lite again this month, as a busy summer menu of road tests required some shuffling of assignments. And with out-of-state RVs and boat trailers clogging SoCal's freeways, the Insight is not always editors' first choice for wading through heavy traffic. Fortunately, the most ecologically friendly member of our fleet finds other ways to gain support for the hybrid cause.

After spending another week in the Insight, Consumer Advice Editor Phil Reed reported that life with our silver hybrid was both easy and rewarding:

"I had last driven the Insight six months ago in the good old days of cheap gas -- only $1.50 per gallon. At that time, saving gas was more of an environmental thing than a matter of financial self-preservation. This time around, I enjoyed driving the car even more. Was it because I liked passing filling stations packed with thirsty SUVs gulping two-buck-plus fossil fuel? Or had the car just grown on me? It's impossible to separate these reactions. All I can say for sure is that I was impressed all over again with the great job Honda has done.

"Part of my time in the Insight was spent carpooling with a friend who had never been in a hybrid before and was, as they say, unclear on the concept. We passed the time in a lively question and answer session: Where do you plug it in? Why does the motor stop at red lights? What happens if a truck is coming at 60 mph and the car doesn't restart? All relevant questions, for sure.

"...My feeling is that Honda has delivered a car that you can feel good about driving -- not just because it's fun, but because you're doing the right thing for your wallet and the environment. Bottom line: Driving an Insight isn't a compromise; it's a great alternative."

Associate Editor Erin Riches rarely forgoes a chance to drive the Insight (and if you've read our previous updates, you know that she lavishes praise upon the vehicle with tiresome frequency). This month, she was rewarded for her pandering with two full weeks in the cockpit.

Because of the car's extremely light, aerodynamic structure and responsive steering, Erin rarely finds herself irritated by the 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine. Instead, she concentrates on how much good she's doing for the planet, as well as how little she's contributing to the multinational oil companies' profits. You're free to dismiss it as delusional self-importance, but she does find a great deal of pleasure behind the wheel of this Honda, with the continuing reminders about the fragility of life as other motorists tread in her lane. Of course, the Insight earned "good" ratings in the driver, passenger and side impact front categories during government crash testing. But how likely is it that an auto accident will involve another car equal in size and weight to the lightweight Insight?

Erin tried to focus on fuel economy in June. Previously, she had driven the Honda as she would any other car, doing whatever downshifting was necessary to scale the hills (her commute includes two small mountain ranges) and averaging 75 to 80 mph. But this kind of driving generally resulted in less than 50 mpg.

"When I had time to spare on my way to and from work," she wrote, "I eased up on the throttle on the freeway and was still easily able to keep pace with the flow of traffic (just not in the left lane). This more deliberate approach immediately resulted in improved gas mileage.

"Further, by watching the meter in the gauge cluster, I've learned that it's best to stay in fifth gear as long as possible when climbing hills on the freeway. The engine gets a little bogged down, but as soon as you downshift to fourth (or third), gas mileage plummets. I've also started upshifting a lot earlier. Yes, sometimes it would be suicide to upshift according to the shift lights, lest you get taken out while entering the freeway, but when I was cruising suburban streets, I tried shifting into fifth gear when I reached 35 to 45 mph. It increased the mpg and didn't foul up forward progress. It's certainly a change in habits but worth doing for ultimate frugality."

She felt great when she refueled the Insight after more than 500 miles of driving, as the onboard computer showed 57 mpg. However, when she plugged the numbers into our spreadsheet, she came up with only 54.9 mpg for the entire tank. While the variation was not unexpected (see our March 2001 update), our associate editor was quite disappointed. So she backed off the throttle even more and averaged 60.6 mpg over the last 176 miles of the month. Erin expects that she could raise this number with more time behind the wheel but admits that her increasingly conservative driving approach had its price: "While I was trying to float the Insight down the freeway, I had to spend most of my time in the right lanes. But there's a lot of truck traffic on Interstate 5, and often, I had to decide whether to wedge myself amongst the trucks or put my foot into the inline three in order to get around these giants (at the expense of fuel economy)."

But aside from the tricky fuel economy game and limited spunk for passing, the Insight makes a pleasant runabout for the commuter. "I love this manual transmission," Erin said. "The clutch and shifter are easy to work, as easy as any Honda's are. The clutch pedal offers progressive, glitch-free gear engagement, which is exactly what I need in a car with a small engine."

Phil also liked our long-termer's smooth shift-work: "The shifter...provides a sports car-like thrill even though the motors don't exactly deliver the high performance of a roadster."

Another of the Insight's virtues is its generally smooth highway ride. "I like the fact that you don't feel that you've been pummeled by the road after racking up 30 to 40 miles," our associate editor wrote. "The Insight, of course, feels extremely lightweight and the chassis is very flexible, such that you get a pretty good jolt when the car encounters freeway expansion joints. But these occasional indiscretions don't bother me."

Phil found the car's handling characteristics to his liking, as well. "Even though it feels light and is buffeted by winds, it corners nicely."

Erin has often remarked upon the Insight's excellent cabin ergonomics and its comfortable, supportive seats that are bound in a sporty fabric that wicks away sweat. However, this month she found something worthy of a complaint:

"While I love the Indiglo-type gauge cluster and find all of the gauges and meters easy to read, I wish that the LCD was slightly less sensitive to light levels. During the summer, it's usually twilight when I leave the office. It's that time of day when I want a little light for my own ease of viewing, but more importantly, I want the lights on so that other people don't overlook a small, silver car that blends in with the road and sky. But when I turn on the headlights, at this time of day, it's still not dark enough outside to create enough contrast -- even when the display is on its brightest setting. The result is that I can't see the gauges clearly enough and I end up turning off the lights when I get tired of straining to see the gauges -- even though I'd much rather have the lights on."

But the Insight lover quickly abandoned this visibility issue and fussed over the car's sound system: "The stereo controls are small, but they're easy to use, mainly because the driver sits very near the center stack in this car. Although I'm sure that radio listeners would prefer a tuning knob, the protruding seek lever makes it easy to change CD tracks without taking your eyes from the road. Even though the two rear speakers and six-disc changer were costly dealer add-ons, I'm really happy that we have them. They're a nice bonus in an otherwise stripped little car, and they go a long way in making it pleasant for commutes. It's not the greatest system, but sound pretty much fills up the tiny cabin."

And although a car like the Insight probably shouldn't have an automatic climate control system, our associate editor is still fond of its design. "I would delete this option if I lived in a northern state, but in the inland parts of Southern California, I wouldn't want to do without it (especially when there's a lot of smog and I prefer not to open the windows). The 'econ' setting is my favorite, because you get real air conditioning, and then, the system turns off when the car stops -- very useful in stop-and-go traffic."

Phil noted the innovative design of the sun visors. You see, the visors aren't just flat rectangles -- they're molded to the curve of the Insight's body so as to provide more complete protection from the sun. Phil observed that this sort of thoughtful feature is "not available in many other cars in this price range." And like Erin, he is fond of the hybrid's seats. "The seats are comfortable, and the shiny fabric make it easy to slide in and out," he wrote.

Last month we reported that the Insight's left wheel skirt had been wrenched off by someone or something and that the new "spat" (acquired at the low, low cost of $205.53) could not be reinstalled until a bent bracket was repaired by a body shop. Well, Holmes Body Shop in Santa Monica, Calif., had difficulty ordering the part needed to fix the bracket from Honda. We actually had to take the Insight back to their shop so that our service writer could take a digital photo of the affected area to e-mail to his contact at Honda. A few days later, the body shop called to tell us that they and the Honda rep were trading photos in an effort to identify the part needed. About a week later, we called to get an update, and the shop informed us that the correct part had been ordered and that they would let us know when it was in.

In spite of this progress, the Insight has still been without its skirt for a month, and the exposed innards break up its stunning, space-age profile. Such are the costs of owning an obscure vehicle, we suppose. We noted one other minor problem toward the end of the month. When you pull back the wiper stalk to activate the washer function, the wipers don't swipe the fluid off the windshield. We consulted the owner's manual and confirmed that the wipers are definitely supposed to do something in this instance. We'll have this checked out when the Insight gets its 22,500-mile service.

Current Odometer: 20,337
Best Fuel Economy: 60.6 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 53.1 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 50.7 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: Windshield wipers don't swipe when washer function is activated.