2000 Honda Insight Review: Is The Original Hybrid Still The Best? [MIAMI]
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- Опубликовано: 11 окт 2024
- Today in beautiful Miami, FL I am driving this - the original Honda Insight. Powered by a tiny three cylinder engine boosted by Honda's first IMA (Integrated Motor Assist), the Insight was revolutionary. But a few months after release, the Prius arrived and the Insight has faded into the history books - but it deserves to be remembered. Here's why.
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If anyone is wondering what he’s referring to regarding air-fuel ratio and why they can’t do this today:
A high air-fuel ratio results in higher temperatures in the combustion chamber. This results in higher chamber pressures, so allows for more power for a given amount of fuel in the cylinder. This gives both better economy, and more power. The trouble is with emissions. At high temperatures, more nitrous oxide is produced, which means that these types of engines can no longer pass emissions tests.
Wouldn't running a leaner mixture sacrifice the longevity of the engine in long term? As in does the increased temp/pressure put more wear on the components and cylinder chamber?
@@MohamedAli965 that has proven not to be the case. There are running examples with the original engine having over 600,000 miles.
Makes sense
@@MohamedAli965 Actually the opposite because there is less unburned fuel. You can pull these apart and they are usually almost entirely free of carbon deposits. The temperature/pressure difference is still quite a bit lower than a typical diesel engine and easily manageable due to the inty engine itself. This is probably the second most efficient engine built after the one they put in the CNG powered Civics.
What you are writing is basically true, but mainly applies to diesels, the combustion temperature in the cylinder is a petrol car is far lower than than a diesel car, the petrol car needs a combustion spark, the diesel car self-combusts the injected fuel under extremes of pressure and temperature, a simple EGR valve will suffice to limit Nox emissions to very low levels for petrol cars, not so the diesel car which require a vast repertoire of bolt on treatment hardware , EGR, DPF, SCR , Adblue, and Ammonia filters, and even with such hardware, the diesel car will struggle to match the Nox figures for a petrol car. Why do you think VW etc installed defeat device software in diesel cars but not petrol, they had no problem with the petrol engines, only their diesels
I've got one of these little cars. It's got 347000 miles (558442 km) with the original engine, transmission, and clutch. I don't think I'll ever give it up
You still have the original battery pack? I researched they cost a lot.
@@rollzolo bypass chip and battery removal, still runs and drives pretty well. It's about to get a new motor and transmission.
@@rollzolo A new cells bumble bee battery pack will set you back about $2k. A small drop in the bucket compared to what a new car expenses will set you back.
@@thatdellguy bypass chip is a car diet pill. Fools the computer, removes 75 pounds. Actually drives pretty well without a battery. Battery is 2k, ecm fooler cost about 20.
I blew my 2002 Insight 5 speed clutch on the mean streets of San Fran. I have 141K miles here in So Cal. Still rides like a champ.
Fun fact: The first gen Insight was build in the same factory as the NSX and S2000. And it definitely ranks up there with them.
not the S2000, only the hood was made at that factory because it was made of Aluminum. NSX and Insight were in the same factory because they're both have an aluminum chassis.
Ur right I'd forgotten about that.
This car has no trouble on the highway. It can cruise easily in the 70 - 80 MPH range and the top speed is ~103 IIRC. The trouble with driving n the highways is that with such a low coefficient of drag there is no wind noise. As a result your speed will creep up without you noticing it and then you look down to see that you are doing 90+ MPH.
I have driven mine coast to coast abd back and it ran wonderfully with no failures. It's a good car. It's a fun car. It's a reliable car.
Hi. What about the battery pack, is it maintenance free? Is it still the original?
@@rollzolo The battery pack is a replacement from Bumble Bee Batteries in Portland, OR. I also have a grid charger/discharger from Prolong. The car is 19 years old.
I've daily driven one of these for the last 5 months. It's great for commuting. Best mpg I've achieved is 83.33 mpg over 208miles. I drove pretty slow and took advantage of downhill coasting. Mpg in the 60s is more common and not that difficult to achieve. Best mpg happens in the summer.
I own a 2002 Honda Insight. Bought it for $3500 back in 2018. Since owning it, I had to replace the IMA battery, the struts/shocks, spark plugs and change the oil. Besides that, the car has been fantastic. This car was very well engineered.
Where did you buy your strut and shocks ? I have an 03 model
Go with GAZ rear shocks and OEM front struts. You can still find OEM on many Honda parts sites
You hear hyper-high MPG claims when driving like a grandma, but the statistic I'm most proud of with my '01 Insight is the fact I can maintain 80mph while simultaneously getting 55-60 mpg.
There's one of these knocking about Aberystwyth, in bright green. I get so hyped whenever I see it and my girlfriend never understands why
"Bib wonders if his Peugeot 106 diesel will ever get the same attention"......
Like how I get excited when I see a Nissan S-Cargo!
Brandon, I’m selling mine☹️. I’m in Brum
Bought 1st Gen Insight for $600, reconditioned the battery and cleaned up the air intake. It has taken me another 12,000 miles on awful roads in about 5 months. The mpg is simply astonishing. Sitting at a cool 240,000 miles now with lots of life yet.
I've always thought these were cool little cars. I think Honda got a lot of inspiration for the Insight from the GM EV1. I really respect Honda for focusing on engineering and efficiency rather than marketing and profit margins with this car. Also, I just really love cars with fender skirts!
Many vehicles for different companies were designed by one guy.
The car was built as an experimental vehicle built in limited production numbers at the the Honda NSX Supercar factory. The Insight was manufactured with minimal regard for profit and loss, it is claimed Honda sold these cars at 50% of cost and the quality of these cars is witnessed by examples exceeding 500,000 miles on original engines, the car was a motivator for inspiring Honda engineers towards innovative thinking and produced a considerable number of potentially lucrative patents for Honda, the same applied to the Honda NR500 4-stroke GP racing motorcycle of the 1979, a technical marvel which advanced Honda into new thinking, oval pistons, two connecting rods per cylinder, 20,000 rpm engine rpm limits.,
@@MM-oq5bl not likely sold at a loss... they were sold for $18k in 2001 which is $30k adjusted for inflation (5k more than a base accord).... they could probably sell the same car today for 20-25k as cost of many of the components have also fallen or been improved (it would sell with a lithium battery today instead of NiMH).
I have had my 2002 Honda Insight since...2002. I bought it online- a rarity then- with a click of a button. 22K with a state of Cali huge incentive dropped it to 20. I also have the five-speed, and I find the clutch smooth sailing. I've gone over 100 mph on the 101, and gotten up to 74 mpg. I took a pic of the gauge and sent it to Honda, and they were floored. Originally a mandated electric hybrid, Honda and Toyota and GM had to produce some form of electric vehicle. A Honda exec told me with development costs and R & D factored in, each of the ten thousand Insights produced for only a few years cost about 60K in real dollars- a true loss leader. You can see one driven by John Travolta in Be Cool. It still looks futuristic and turns heads, particularly in it's lime green shade (only produced for two years) and shocking blue or lipstick red. I have the more common silver model. My Insight, on PCH heading to Malibu or Burning Man, is one of my true pleasures in life.
I was driving my first one on I-90 in eastern South Dakota ahead of an oncoming gust-front thunderstorm. Was at 108 mph and the MPG monitor topping out. That was awesome.
I've had one for 6 years, took a friend to the airport in it and averaged 80.4 mpg UK. It was crazy, people are always curious and asking questions about it. It gets so much attention!
I had a neighbor down the street from me who had a red one while I was growing up. They're such strange but fun shapes to look at
I'm glad there is a quality review of this little Honda. I haven't seen one in a while... I'm still easily impressed by the efficiency of these cars.
- But what about speed?
- If you’re important, people will wait.
John Travolta vibes with this car!
I sold Honda's in Ontario & in 2000 I had an Insight as my co. demo for 4-5 months. Insights cost $35K (Canadian$) to produce & the 2000 sold for $27K in Ontario. This video doesn't mention the top speed or MPG (**Imperial gallon is 20% larger than the US gallon). One night on Hwy. 401 I had my Insight up to 180 Km/ Hr (112 MPH) wide open for about 2 miles. It got 90 MPG at 50 MPH--it had a constant readout of gas mileage. The undercarriage was smooth + with it's teardrop shaped aluminum body & enclosed rear wheels it's drag coefficient was a remarkable 0.25. One night I hit a 2 ft high snowdrift on a quiet country rd. & the Insight slid like a toboggan side to side until I geared down to 3'rd & floored it & it straightened out. The man who bought it has a personalized licence plate--> '102 MPG' & it's still in Sarnia Ont. 20 years later with no rust due to it's aluminum body. Wayne Harris.
I just picked one of these up as a mechanics special. It overheated (bad radiator) and blew a head gasket. Its now back on the road after lots of new parts and extensive detailing. I have been taking it to car shows and it gets it's fair share of looks from spectators and car guys/gals alike. I am extremely impressed with this car. Honda threw everything they had at it, and then some. Well, it shows! I love this car!
3:50 Similar price at the time as a Integra Type R at the time. I have had mine since 2006.
Fantastic vehicle & brings back the feel fo 2000. Can't believe it's 20 yrs already! & still 100% valid concept!
When you asked about Dream cars, this is what I thought of...
Rhian Taylor Lol 😂
I actually think these look pretty cool
Personally I'd turbo it because it's not supposed to be quick or loud
I own two of these. One has a K24A2 (from an Acura TSX) and has been my daily driver for around 7 years. My best tank with the K24 has been around 65mpg (US), whereas with the stock engine I was able to squeeze 87mpg out of a full tank. Granted we're talking 67HP vs 225+.
Be warned: all engine mounts for K series swaps are solid mounts. If you thought the 3 cylinder was "coarse", try bolting an engine that's 3x as heavy up front and mounting it with solid poly.
Holy fuck that k24 must be so fun, I've always wanted to do that but also love the efficiency of the first one.
Must pull pretty hard 50-150kmh.
@@N4CR look up lhtperformance insite :)
Hi Austin how is the car handling high speed ? from what I understand the rear end is more narrow then the front ? Cheers
@@yy6094 Depends on how fast we're talking. I replaced all of the bushings in the car when I did the swap, including solid poly to replace the trailing axle bushings, and I can saw the handling is quite confident at 100mph - I haven't been any faster in it. When it gets a bit squirrely is when the LSD engages, and the car changes from wanting to pull to the left, to wanting to go straight.
Its always the best. Never lose it’s spot. I feel like its a “renewed stock crx” It made my memories i love the car. My brother has a green one.
I am happy to admit I have quite the soft spot for true, uncompromised economy cars.
The Honda Legend Coupe (and related Rovers) are gorgeous cars, I think.
Understandable since they are on the brink of extinction. The Micra, Mirage and most dacias come to mind and not much else.
@@urbanoman7689
We rather drive 2,5 ton electric SUVs, I guess.
Agreed, I'm in love with my 91 Legend coupe. I'll never leave her side.
Are you HubNut in disguise?
I have a 2000 insight, the first year it was sold in the states. I think what is most impressive about the car is how many things Honda got right. And to do it all in the first year is quite amazing.
I have a 2002 Insight CVT (automatic) in the U.S. It’s had a couple of IMA battery replacements and some typical maintenance since I’ve owned it, but the little car is still solid, passes inspections, and routinely gets 50 MPG. And no rust because it’s made of aluminum! Impressive indeed. Honda put a whole lot of engineering into the Insight. They’re becoming more rare every year, and those of us who have them are hanging on. Some people have converted to a lithium battery, an improvement over NiMH.
Im so glad you like these. Its so strange these cars get pretty unanimous hate
The engine is a 3 cylinder, the IMA motor/generator acts as a sophisticated electro-mechancal balancer, it balances engine torque fluctuations by rapidly and instantaneously switching between generator mode and motor mode at a multiple of engine rpm, basically the IMA motor gives a reverse torque to the engine crankshaft during power cycles of the pistons then switching to a forward torque during compression cycles of the pistons. this happens at a mul.tilpe of engine rpm ie thousands of times per minute. At steady cruising speeds the system works very well, the 3cylinder engine is as good as a 4- cylinder, hard acceleration reveals the fact that it is a 3. Still a very good system and an example of the superior thinking of the Japanese over the German car engineers.
Great video JayEmm! I have a 2012 Toyota Auris Hybrid and in this cold weather, I average 58 to 65 mpg and a range of 530 to 544 miles. I get even more diesel beating mpg in the summer, of around 68 to 83 mpg UK. I get an even better range in the summer of around 558 to 566 miles. Very cheap and reliable car to run. It only costs about €48 to 50, which is only every month! I'd never ever go back to a normal gas car ever. The only thing is I wish it was a plug-in hybrid, but the fact that it's so fuel-efficient keeps me happy.
I do find it funny that whilst I am still a huge car enthusiast I’m about to pick up my first hybrid in a 2.0 Corolla GR Sport. Yet even before I turned my attention to focusing on green motoring I knew of the one legendary Honda that truly started the whole Hybrid era. Granted the Prius took things to another level in popularity and bringing to the masses but the Insight was for me at least, where it really started and was legit.
Another super video Jay, probably only seen a handful of these around ever
There's a person on RUclips as who has taken this car. Got it out all the stuff and put a lawn mower in general. And it's getting pretty good mileage and obviously less maintenance. Less worrying about batteries, there are also people putting lithium batteries instead of the nightcad batteries, and there's also a charging routine which will recover the nighttime. I would like to get one of those and modify it
Jay, saw John Banks Honda's one of these at Hondafest in the summer (near you in Ipswich).
So very cool and it had been a Barn find. Surprised you didn't ask them about theirs.
You’ve done this and the CR-Z, can we see a CR-X next? I love seeing them about!
not the Vtec one though do the 1.6 16v none vtec everyone does the vtec one the D16 was much better .... well I would say that I had a race one and on track days it was notorious for embarrassing Italian exotica.
well, the old CR-X is almost non existent in the UK today but there are Del-sol's still.
Another vote for a crx vid
I also own a 1st Gen Insight in South Florida, I live very close to where you filmed. If the owner of this insight ever needs help have him reach out.
I also own one and live in South Broward, so pretty close as well. I seem them so infrequently around here it's nice to see others with them.
I have one in Tampa Bay, looking for someone to help restore it, few bits missing broken but it is my daily driver.
Exactly. I drive a 2000 insight and it is great!
Mine's 2002. How many batteries are you on? I'm on number 4. Honda doesn't produce the battery any longer, so I got a reconditioned one from Bumblebee.
You better start finding more cars out there as you'll not be coming home any time soon.....
Bet he won't find a Peugeot 106 diesel out there lol
@@BibtheBoulder lol...my Pug is getting rarer by the day...!!!
😂
@@BibtheBoulder thank the Lord... Lol
ayyo I just took my 2002 insight on a little road trip today. 400 mile round trip. averaged 52mpg. And my IMA battery is completely deleted and removed, and I have a automatic transmission. not bad. would recommend :D
Hi! Is possible to drive you'r Insight without Ima battery?
I own the 2'nd gen of Insight from 2010 and i know this is not possible because the little battery of 12V don't charge without IMA and now i am curious if the system is similar between thesse two.
Sorry for my english :)
@@danielpopescu130 it's absolutely possible to do in a first generation insight, I've personally put on 100k miles with my entire hybrid I'ma battery removed.
As for the 2nd generation insights I'm sorry but I don't know really anything about them. It might be possible, try reading the forums on insightCentral.net
Have the same car. The aftermarket will soon have parts for mounting the L15B7 from the latest civic. That should be the the best combination of performance and economy.
?
Love my Gen1 Insight.
All the reviews on this car now I'm starting to think I should have kept mine it's a guaranteed future collectors vehicle. Didn't have space for a Volt a MK1 Elise and an Insight. Needed four seats so bought the Volt and sold the Insight.
I love this little car
Good info and video. Too bad it was not Miami but rather just driving around the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise/Ft Lauderdale
Remember seeing one of these on clarksons car years about 20 years ago lol
The CR-X gave insight for the development of the 1999 Insight. The 1999 insight created the vision for the CR-Z which came out over a decade later!!!!
I've had my 02 insight for 5.5 years. I'm outgrowing it in terms of space needed, but I have no complaints other than road noise since Honda apparently
skipped sound proofing in the floor, and the fact that parts can be alot. The oil pan is all aluminum so that cost me 700 when I cracked it on a curb years ago.
I put in new kenwood speakers, custom black floor mats custom wet okole neoprene black seat covers, switched out the old receiver for a kenwood with a USB and aux plug, and I feel I've got the perfect mix of old and new.
I also own a pair of Thule chains for my tiny 15 in tires and itll drive alright in 6-8in of snow.
Honda changed the entire hybrid battery system (IMA and all related parts) on my car in dec '14 to the tune of 6.5k usd,
so I figure itll keep humming along another few years at very least. It was worth the rebuild in retrospect.
Oh, and my friend calls it "the space pod" ;p
Oil pan is magnesium.
Thanks Sandy, a magnesium alloy is what I see online. I remembered the dealership telling me it was aluminium for some reason.
@@lanirisamarie4860 Don't expect too much help from the dealers. This car was not a big seller and is 20 years old now. Go to Insight Central in the internet for help.
Being in my late 30s i remember this car and always liked its lines but just never could afford one👍
They are quite affordable. I got a clean 2001 for $2,000.
I got my 2002 lipstick red one automatic transmission for $2,000 with 120k miles on the odometer runs perfect. Love it.
I had one for 11 years. 63 mpg over its life. Loved it, but it has a design flaw in that its catalytic converter was connected to the engine by a very small flange. At the end, I was replacing the converter every year, which was impractical. I loved it, and was sad I couldn't buy another. The successor Civic hybrid was much heavier, with economy of 40 mpg.
In two years and 38,000 miles I have had no problems with any part of the exhaust system.
There is a ball and socket joint in the engine exhaust downpipe, it allows controlled movement between engine and exhaust to relieve stress on the exhaust system. I suspect the ball and socket joint on your car exhaust had either seized or was too tight for movement, this would cause fatigue and failure of the flange of the catalytic convertor, your mechanic should have checked the joint on changing the catalytic convertor, especially when there is a history of serial failure.
Jaymem, you really do have the most original content videos of all youtubers. 👍
If the 1st Generation was more readily available I could see me swapping with the 2nd Gen smart fortwos I've been driving since 2008. It would probably seem huge at first, and in the two seater smart, I've already got one more seat than I need most of the time. Prices are pretty steep for a car with decades and a few hundred thousand miles on the clock. And, from what I've seen what is out there is a thousand miles or more (transcontinental) from me.
Cool car. I wish I'd known about it when it was available new.
In 1977 ford tried to " improve" the fuel economy of a mk2 escort they did this by reducing drag and friction so they removed a piston ring on each piston valve seals most of the gears in the box, half of the break shoes the blew the tyres to 100 PSL and machined the tread too a 1 inch strip straight threw exhaust and drove it up to 19 miles per hour then let it cost down to 3 and off again. They got an extra 5 MPG but needed 3 engine/ gearboxes. Then along came electronics
I have this car..I love this car.
The Honda insight was a very nice car, but was never sale in Europe , otherwise I bought one! I did see one in France, but was a American immigrant who brought it here...
Definitely, you can still modify this by adding a high quality turbo. Also, give it a nice big racing exhaust and a K&N Air filter
i own a gen 1 insight. that car was made for the freeway. if 5th gear going 65mph, the car is amazing. 65mpg +, smooth ride. in the city the car is bad. with low power at low revs, and that gearbox that it has where the gears are so far appart, it just does not drive well. the car is also stupidly reliable.
Economy suffers but they do cruise well at 75 plus.
I have a Toyota Carina e with a "lean burn" engine. Gets great economy.
You should try to review the Lexus gs450h. It's the first and only hybrid I've driven and I like. 340bhp and 30mpg around town in a car which started off in 2005
I've never been terrified to drive any of my G1 Insights on the freeway (over 500,000 miles and counting) unless they were broken somehow.
they were 17200 ish and the same price as an EP3 civic type R so in today's money 30K+ but I had friends who said they did over 100mpg in them and were great if you did London to manchester every day. I nearly bought one at the time it was a choice between an NSX, Insight or Accord Tourer but as I had a CRX race car at the time I thought the accord would be the best option. in retrospect, I wish id got either the NSX or the insight, not that the accord wasn't super reliable but sexy or cool it was not.
These are the most under rated car plaforms. There is no other car completed car, that is as light
So im late to comment, but clearly he is not in Miami, this is Sawgrass Mall in Sunrise, Florida, in Broward County, not Miami-Dade. Thanks for visiting my home county James!
I still have my 2006 manual. It was about USD20,500
A green one of these kicking about in Leeds West Yorkshire. It's cool!
There is a shop in the Tampa area thats done turbo's on these and its pretty much pluses everywhere.. they also have done K Swaps. @Lhtperformance
Dis my favorite car
I wouldn't turbo it and screw up the fuel ratios that I'm not technically capable of correcting. Besides, the entire IMA system is essentially an electric to turbo. The computer senses the need for additional torque and sends stored battery power to the electric motor between the gas engine and the transmission which provides direct assistance to the powertrain.
Why not k20 then turbo it? I only took interest in these when I saw a k20 swapped one on RUclips
its funny how he said he wouldnt go on the freeway even though this car can do 105mph stock. it has no problems doing 80mph on the highway all the time.
The car has a 3D geodesic cage structure underneath the body panels, it is strong and safe, the car will reach 70 mph in second gear, this is not a collapsible drink can on wheels, examples in collisions have protected the occupants, there is no need to worry about driving an Insight at speed
see my May 2-20 post--> I had an Insight up to 180 Km/Hr or 112 MPH. One day on Hwy 401 in Ont. two tuned Civics pulled alongside me & signaled me to 'gun it' & I did so. I was cruising at 160 Km or 100 MPH for approx. 1 mile & they were barely gaining on me until I slowed to let them catch up. They were laughing in disbelief & giving me thumbs up as they'd know it was a 3 cyl.
They reach 70 mph in second gear, they have a good power to weight ratio due to the lightweight of the whole car, the combined power of the 1 - litre Vtec engine and the IMA electric motor gives an output equal to a typical 1.5 litre car engine
The later ones which came out after 2000 had the CVT ( automatic )
In a bet with my wife I told her I could turn this Honda into a Mercedes-Benz and she laughed so I changed the badge on the steering wheel all four wheels I put the upright star on the dash up front and on the rear and I still get people when I come out of stores taking pictures of it and asking me what your Mercedes it is which is hilarious
I want to get one of these and modify it to make a little more power (engine swap? Better motor? Supercharge?) while keeping efficiency and get better batteries
Are you taking the piss??😂
Check out LHT performance videos. They have put a turbo K20 w 6 speed box and awd in these. They are simply blisteringly fast.
ruclips.net/video/vOBL62GTR_I/видео.html
Wez Ross will do ma man
There is a big aftermarket community for these cars. Check out Insight Central and the K Swapped Insight Facebook page. You can find examples which have been turbocharged, K swapped, and still others which have become lithium PHEVs
I worked for a Honda dealer when these were launched. Despite a generous government subsidy available at the time they were an extremely hard sell in the Uk. I remember driving our demo model quite extensively in mixed driving conditions and could never achieve anywhere close to Honda’s theoretical economy figures. I remember high 40’s mpg being about typical. They were quirky, reasonable to drive and as this one shows, with decent care have clearly lasted quite well. Sadly when you think about the poor environment credentials of the batteries coupled with average economy, only 2 seats and not much boot capacity, it was all just a bit pointless and for too much money. Admirable but not Honda’s finest hour.
I'm thinking it must have been the roads in the UK. Here in the US with our large open highways, it's actually very unusual to get less than 55mpg or so out of the 5MT. I've had trips of 100 miles or more at 100mpg US, and am aware of others who can wring 125-150mpg out of them with technical driving and the right conditions.
@@AustinPerdue This was also the very first car with an entire underbody cover to reduce drag. Properly driven with the AC off, they can get absurd mileage figures. Basically it's a 3 wheel motorcycle type "car" with 4 wheels and a bit more storage space.
I do not know how you dragged mpg down to high 40s , even when "having fun" I get upper 80s , you must have driving all the time in first and second gears, overusing the throttle which prevents the ECU activating the fuelling map for lean burn high fuel economy
@@MM-oq5bl lots of B-roads in the UK almost require you to be in 2nd or 3rd gear, all those tight corners, many reductions to 20-30 mph even in a 60 zone just to corner properly, and so forth - so it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of time was spent in 2nd gear. Of course some B-roads are less twisty than others and you can settle into 4th or 5th gear for most of those. Still at least SOME downshifting for a tight corner or two even on the less winding ones though.
Obviously motorways exist here but they actually don't go much further north than Edinburgh, there are dual carriageway A-roads beyond that point that are still very smooth roads, but can have tighter bends than a proper motorway and also, obviously, 2 lanes instead of 3 or 4. if you're going almost anywhere residential outside cities in Britain; in Wales, Northern Scotland, and many more rural parts of England, you're going to have exclusively B-roads, with a few A-roads linking the bigger towns. 4 of the Scottish cities just have dualled A-road, and some of that isn't dualled all the way along yet even. Plus of course there's stop-and-start traffic which is naturally done in first gear, and most auto stop/start systems in the UK are almost useless because of our preference for manual gearboxes, as they only kick in when you shift into neutral! When keeping the brake and clutch held down in stop and go traffic, you don't want the extra delay of also having to shift into first when the car in front of you moves. So the car idles even when you haven't deactivated the auto start/stop.
Therefore, even on the major roads, you can get really bad mpg if there's traffic, and there almost always is. The B-roads can have traffic, though are often empty, but even when they're empty you're shifting gears a lot and reducing your speed a lot for the terrain instead (even hooning it you're probably going to want to drop from 60 to 40, but many would do 30 or even 20 on many of our B-road corners, as I said).
A modern petrol or mild-hybrid small car (like the Ford Focus, which is still small and light and aerodynamic) that gets 60-odd UKmpg (which I think is 50ish in American?) in tests and on motorways still will be lucky to get 30, 35 (25 American?) if you mostly drive on B-roads. And 40ish driving around slow residential areas (often 20 limit, sometimes 30). Obviously there isn't much turning or stop-start traffic in those places, but still lots of 2nd and 3rd gear running.
So... yeah. In the UK you're often in 2nd and 3rd, except when on an expressway (motorway or dualled A-road), when you finally unlock 4th and 5th. I can't remember a time I actually used my 6th gear in regular driving, as it's very rare to actually achieve the top speed of 60 on these roads except in the dead of night and so forth. The best to expect is going around 50, and I was taught to roughly increase gear every 10mph, 2nd gear for 10-20, 3rd for 20-30, etc, though obviously actually based on the rev counter than just the speed. But within that range, obviously, 50mph is often at 5th gear. Still pretty low revs there for me so I wouldn't want to push it into 6th just because 50mph can be borderline, it might go too low and stall?
So only with clear traffic have I risen to the 60mph limit, or 70 on proper motorways (with their smaller maximum curves and so forth).
Basically the OP's numbers aren't all that surprising to me, given the UK's road infrastructure. Even if it could get dramatically higher efficiency at 75-85mph in its tallest gear, you're just not likely to ever find yourself in that situation in the UK. For one, the national maximum speed limit tops out at the aforementioned 70 (it was unlimited on motorways until the late 60s, but that's just academic nowadays, and old men telling tales of driving to London at 100, 120mph), so even people speeding on a clear uncongested motorway are only just beginning to enter the 75-85 range. And there just aren't all that many journeys in the UK that take you on a motorway in the first place; entrances into cities aren't often via the motorway directly like so many more modern American cities are (LA, for example). Usually you go between major cities on a motorway in the UK, but exit the motorway just prior to the city, and enter on an A-road. A few of the biggest cities do have motorways running through their middle, but there still isn't a million on and off ramps into the city, and it's rarely used for intra-city travel even in such cases. I know in America it can be fairly common to go on the freeway just to go to the next neighbourhood over in a residential area, but that's just not a thing here.
I just got a gift from my step son of his 2005 Insight that he bought new. He paid over $30,000 for it.
You need to put out feelers if you’re in the States as to what kind of cars we could loan you to review. Let me know if you’re near Charlotte NC, and I can see what I can come up with.
There is no engine counterbalance shaft fitted because Honda pulses the IMA system instead, so not needed ✅
Ive got 2 one with 150k and the other with 260k and both run like a top and dont burn any oil.
So you're saying they might not pass MOT because of the NOx emissions? I know USA doesn't have regular inspections in the same way, but do emissions standards apply at all to older cars there? Or is it only when built new? I guess new cars are much more common than second hand cars in the USA...
Took my UK Gen 1 insight to it's first MOT in my ownership,the MOT inspector said the emissions test isn't done on a hybrid which surprised me.
Renault Kangoo 1.5 dci I get 60mpg and had 71 mpg for £1000. I paid £100 for mine.
What Camera holder / suction cup do you use here???
It's a shame these are so rare nowadays. Closest thing you can get nowadays is a CRZ
I had a CR-Z from 2011-2014 and it was a great car. It had the 6MT and I got a best of 43 mpg on the freeway and had larger, wider tires and wheels on it, muffler delete and K&N Typhoon intake. You can see my stats on www.fuely.com You had to name your car there so I gave it the name of Jaws (2011 CR-Z)
The CR-Z should have been the second-gen Insight. It may not have been as good with MPG but it was like an overall better-done version.
@@klasseact6663 before I bought my bike I was dead set on getting a crz, and I assumed that by the time I saved up a decent amount of money prices would come down. Unfortunately for me they hold their value really well and insurance for hybrids is high in London (I'm blaming uber drivers) so getting a bike was a more affordable option. Maybe after a few years of building my no claims I'll have another look.
@@CheapskateMotorsports it really doesn't get the great mileage you'd expect, maybe the CVT is better for MPGS, wasn't an option for me...no way, no how!
@Patrick Hostler my misses loves her CR-Z. She has a 12 plate & runs like a dream.🤩🤩
I own a uk car in oxygen blue . Its on the original battery which is tired partly because I dont use it enough but also it is twenty years old . I can still get 70 mpg on a run . I think they were about 17,000 pounds in 2000 but Honda made a loss on every one .
You said you'd take it 3040 or 50 mph but wouldn't take it anywhere near a freeway will I drive from LA to San Francisco off times and I lay it down at 100 mi an hour leaving La on I-5 and I leave it there all the way. And I still get over 40 miles per gallon however if you drive it the way you're supposed to drive it I've gotten up to 67 miles per gallon and some of the guys in the club claimed to have gotten up to 100 although I'm unsure
Once you own one of these you begin to realize just how little car you actually need on a day to day basis.
This car has two cats. A normal one, and a NOX one. The NOX one collects the NOX for five mins, then burns a richer mixture for 30 seconds to change the collected NOX into something less noxious.
You can watch it drop out of lean burn using either an obd2 reader or the seat of your pants!!
Another 3 for me.....Thank you
I look every few years less then 12? was sold in AUS , no one knows exact numbers but the last pair sold a few months apart in AUS went for 50K (AUD) as a functionally a salvage car (i saw that it was written off but somehow still registered, illegal in AUS ) a few months latter another went for 60K (AUD), late last year though someone had imported a Audi A2.... wanted 70K!!! (AUD) for it! based on mkI insight prices quite reasonable.....
Have they gone up that much? Last I read, there was 17 sold in total but over the years including write offs, there's about 14 left. They were being sold around 10k mark maybe a year or two ago
@@FC1032 yep was looking into prices of odd, niche cars prices especially in Aus seems to be based on a collective derangement.
Good example citroen C6 niche car here and UK.... in UK a 5th of the local used price!!!
@@f.b.productions8103 I have the last black one in Aus :>
@@FC1032 lucky sodd!
How are you going to get home?
I am home
So cool
Look up robot cantina hes put adiesel in one does about 90mpg its insane and thats without the hybrid working.
Aren’t this and the CRZ the only manual hybrids ever made?
Really annoys me as I’d love a super economical non-diesel daily but I need a manual in everything no question, and all the little eco boxes are way too tall and pathetic. I just wish the CRZ was actually properly economical
A few years of the Civic could also be manual hybrids. Mine is...
The reason the CR-Z isn't properly economical is mainly that it doesn't have a properly tall gearbox. That's where most of the fuel economy comes from.
I can understand your objection to "slushbox" automatics with torque convertors, but try the Prius, the Prius has a variable power splitter system transmission, no belts, no torque convertor, no fixed ratios, the car simply glides without jerks or hesitation from the transmission, the Toyota Synergy system is probably the only real innovation in motor cars for the last 20 years
@@MM-oq5bl no fixed ratio? is it a beltless CVT?
There's a like metallic lime green one of these effigies in my delivering area 🤢
NOx emissions are not a problem. It's such a shame people decided that the LA Basin's uniquely awful air gets to dictate the entire world's accepting lower fuel economy.
I would love to see american affordable muscle cars to compare to the crappy french sardine cans we get here for the same money
Drive this to the grocery in my neighborhood and you run the risk of being crushed by a soccar mommy mobile as she obliviously backs out of compact stall she crammed her behemoth into so as to avoid an extra few steps to the door.
Perhaps but it hasn't happened to me in the two years I have owned mine and I drive it a lot.
@@zoltankaparthy9095 I will keep your continued safety in my prayers. :)
@@vincevassallo5385 Thanks. But careful parking is my secret.
The things is with cars like this now its competing with small diesel and minute petrols like the ecoboost. My mrs has an ecoboost and it happily sits in the 50s for mpg and is top spec so has all the mods cons. Same with my smax on a run that will quite happily get into the 60s and even with a small trailer and 6 up itll get into thev50s. The only reason youd buy one of these is because its quirky.
An older 1.5 Vetec from the late 90's.
Do a crx
Not enough clips under the hook, internal layouts, battery in the back.
My c180 1995 get around 25-32 mpg UK but ist LPG so cost ist like 70mpg petrol
I own a very similar car made by VW , is a tiny hybrid diesel with a real wheel faring. Can you guess. Oh you did. You included it. Lol.
What was/is it?