[evers]

Hey all!

I just recently got a Black/Black EX around 2 weeks ago! My history involves a lot of Turbo vehicles, so this is quite a change lol. However, I'm loving the gas savings the 1 time I had to fill up :grin: Look forward to being part of the community!

 

[insightfully]

Congrats on your new car, and welcome to the forum!

I found the Insight because I was looking for non-turbo Honda engines. Opinions/experience may be mixed, but my preference is to sacrifice performance short term (non-turbo) in exchange for long term reliability (naturally aspirated). It was still felt like a leap of faith to move to a hybrid, which is new/different technology than I'm used to. But I'm trusting in Honda's reputation (and technology reapplication from the Accord Hybrid), and haven't been disappointed so far.

Glad you're enjoying the car so far as well! See you around the forum.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

Congrats on your new car, and welcome to the forum!

I found the Insight because I was looking for non-turbo Honda engines. Opinions/experience may be mixed, but my preference is to sacrifice performance short term (non-turbo) in exchange for long term reliability (naturally aspirated). It was still felt like a leap of faith to move to a hybrid, which is new/different technology than I'm used to. But I'm trusting in Honda's reputation (and technology reapplication from the Accord Hybrid), and haven't been disappointed so far.

Glad you're enjoying the car so far as well! See you around the forum.

Congratulations on the purchase, and welcome to the forum.

Which brings up an interesting thought, since the ICE runs less than a traditional car, what do we think the life expectancy would be. I'm still thinking ~250-300k before major issues. Due to the tighter tolerances and lower friction technologies used, rebuilding one of these engines would actually be harder than a traditional motor, at least from a machining standpoint.

I've had several 300k ICE cars on original motor, curious to see where the mechanical breakdowns start to outweigh the benefits.

 

[insightfully]

Congratulations on the purchase, and welcome to the forum.

Which brings up an interesting thought, since the ICE runs less than a traditional car, what do we think the life expectancy would be. I'm still thinking ~250-300k before major issues. Due to the tighter tolerances and lower friction technologies used, rebuilding one of these engines would actually be harder than a traditional motor, at least from a machining standpoint.

I've had several 300k ICE cars on original motor, curious to see where the mechanical breakdowns start to outweigh the benefits.

Interesting question on life expectancy in a hybrid. Even though the ICE (and electric motors) are used less-than-full-time, I've wondered how the frequent stop/start will reduce their life in the long run. Ultimately the high voltage battery will fail first since it loses capacity each time it cycles thru charge / discharge (100k miles = $4k battery replacement?).

The electric motor should have long life due to fewer working parts, maintenance, operating conditions, etc. But the ICE being used on the Insight for both battery-charging and to direct-drive the wheels means that it's exposed to a wide range of operating conditions (rpm/load), has more parts, and more on/off cycles during a drive. In my unscientific opinion, I think we'll see hybrid cars last to 250-300k miles without major engine issues; but I with the the heavier cycling on the ICE, I don't think we'll see them lasting longer than that. This is where conversations on picking the 'right oil' and maintenance will make a huge difference.

 

[PHILBERT]

Welcome @evers. Take some pictures and show us your new Insight. This incredible car has quite a growing fan base. Maybe we should have enthusiast rallies! Sort of a cult following thing. I could see that.

Enjoy!

Phil