[RcLab1]

I've had my Insight Touring trim for 3months now. I drive 71miles one-way to work on a Inter-state toll high way. I put on cruise-control for about 45min going 75mph. I'm getting 41mpg?!?!?!?. Pic down below.

Is there a better car for highway mpg?
ie...Toyota Corolla Hybrid? Regular EX Civic hatch back?.... ie...Chevy Volt or Bolt?

 

[gerryzub]

The short answer is the Insight is terrible at that speed. I drove to Florida and back in the Insight and averaged 42mpg for the 2500 mile round trip. Look at a Prius maybe?

 

[Diversion]

I tested many speeds last night in the middle of the night and 41mpg at 75-80 is about exactly what i was getting.. At these speeds the engine is always running and no longer cycling EV mode.

Car and Driver or was it Motortrend.. claimed 47 mpg at 75 mph and i'm not sure that's accurate.. Maybe on the LX/EX models? Definitely not happening on my Touring.

Anyways, if you want a highway MPG beast the Ioniq crushes the competition:

55 mph averages around 62.4 mpg.
60 mph averages around 57.6 mpg.
65 mph averages around 53.8 mpg.
70 mph averages around 52 mpg.
75 mpg averages around 51 mpg.
80 mph averages around 47 mpg.
85 mph averages around 44 mpg.

The stats above were from a thread I made on the Ioniq forums and a member replied with his tests.. 44 mpg at 85 mph!?!? Insane.

I almost bought a Ioniq but I saved so much money getting a Touring Insight vs a Limited /w Ultimate package Ioniq at $32000 otd..

In the grand scheme of things, 41 mpg vs 51 mpg.. a 10 mpg delta won't exactly save you enough money if you saved a decent amount over buying the Ioniq (which is arguably a less favorable looking car)

The Insight gets roughly the same exact mpg figures in city/traffic situations as a Ioniq and or Corolla Hybrid/Prius.. . etc. That's good enough for me. I regularly see 60+ mpg on my Touring in city/traffic situations and this is where we save a TON of money long term compared to "regular" cars.

 

[andrew28]

I managed 50mpg going 60 miles down to the cape from boston driving(no cruise control) 65-80mph during early September. On my way back I used adaptive cruise control set at 70mph and got 61mpg. I was following other cars so I wasn't going the full 70mph majority of the time.

The Touring does 45mpg on the highway so 41mpg at 75mph doesn't sound that bad. Maybe try cruise control at 70mph?
EPA Honda Insight Touring = 51 city / 45 highway
EPA Honda Insight LX/EX = 55 city / 49 highway

The Prius/Corolla Hybrid and the 2 lower trims of the Ioniq use 15" inch wheels btw.

 

[Verdier]

The Prius and Corolla will probably get better mpg at those speeds due to a different type of hybrid system. Currently I now drive at 65 in 70mph zones and I'm able to keep my mpg up far better than when I hit the 70mph mark. Right now I'm getting about 49.2mpg in the touring with the colder weather in Maine. I recommend 65mph on the highway for insights to maximize mileage versus time.

 

[andrew28]

41mpg at 75mph.


Is there a car in the next year that will out-do the INSIGHT at those highways speeds (75mpg)?

Like @Diversion mentioned the iOniq is probably the car for highway speeds.
EPA 2019 Hyundai iOniq (Blue trim) 57 city / 59 highway

 

[insightfully]

MPG in the 40s is about par for 70+ mph. The Insight gets stated EPA highway mpg up to ~65 mph (which Honda 'coincidentally' matched to EPA test conditions) but fuel efficiency starts to decline at speeds of 70+ mph.

https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/15114-post12.html | https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/2398-post9.html
https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/8940-post22.html | https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/15388-post19.html
https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/2430-post14.html | https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/266-2019-honda-insight-range-mpge-economy/474-bad-gas-mileage-low-mpg.html​

If you have the time to spare on your commute for a day, for grins, you could compare your round trip mpg at slower speeds on cruise control for the ~56 mile portion of your highway drive. I think you'd gain 5-10 mpg if you can spare 3-7 minutes (each way) to travel at lower speed.
- current drive = 45 minute drive @ 75 mph = 56 miles traveled (41 mpg result)
- test #1 drive = 48 minute drive @ 70 mph
- test #2 drive = 52 minute drive @ 65 mph

The EPA lists the most and least efficient cars here and suggests the Ioniq has the 'best' highway rating, as already mentioned in thread. There are also other EPA resources that could help you:
- One-page summary of all EPA tested cars, by selected grouped segment (e.g. all hybrids, all electric cars, all compact cars, model year, etc). - https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byfuel/2020atvList.shtml.
- PDF result summary of ALL car tested by model year - https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/printGuides.shtml
- Other additional EPA comparison resources - https://www.fueleconomy.gov/

These EPA tools might help you decide review/decide options that are a better fit... maybe an electric car is in your future, if you want to maintain high speed and fuel efficiency?

 

[insightfully]

Car and Driver or was it Motortrend.. claimed 47 mpg at 75 mph and i'm not sure that's accurate.. Maybe on the LX/EX models? Definitely not happening on my Touring.

Are you maybe thinking of Consumer Reports' 62 mpg highway, 44 mpg city test result (versus reverse and lower EPA results for EX/LX at 49 mpg highway, 55 mpg city) - https://www.gen3insight.com/forum/137-2019-honda-insight-reviews/2994-consumer-reports-mpg-insight-62-hwy-44-city.html

 

[spiderpig]

Also, which lane are you driving in? I usually stay in the right lane at set cruise to 65. The speed limit is 70 and there are always plenty of cops who like to occasionally jump at anyone doing over 70 for fun. So while cruise is set to 65, there are lots of hills and valleys on this drive so trucks have to slow down. So sometimes were doing 55...sometimes were doing 65. Lane keep assist keep the car in the lane and all is good. I've gotten around 55 mpg with this method, but I also have the EX version.

IT's all about learning what works best for your car.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

There is also a magical cut-off for ev mode triggered, I can't remember now from practice if it was 68, or 69mph. But the gas mileage difference is substantial.

 

[safedad]

We routinely got well above EPA numbers doing 70mph highway in our Prius without any sort of fuel efficient driving techniques. Limited driving at that speed in our Insight Touring has been at or slightly below EPA numbers. On the plus side, the Insight is just about always more fuel efficient than our Prius was around town, which so far has been most of our driving. For driving that is mostly above 60 mph, I'd be thinking Prius or Ioniq as well.

 

[andrew28]

There is also a magical cut-off for ev mode triggered, I can't remember now from practice if it was 68, or 69mph. But the gas mileage difference is substantial.

It's somewhere around there and why I set ACC at 70mph when on the highway.

 

[insightfully]

There is also a magical cut-off for ev mode triggered, I can't remember now from practice if it was 68, or 69mph. But the gas mileage difference is substantial.

It's somewhere around there and why I set ACC at 70mph when on the highway.

^^ Yes, third this! Anything over 70 mph seems to be the tipping point for efficiency decline.

 

[Mobilcams]

I wonder though, in an uphill race - do you think the Prius or the Insight would win

 

[Alex]

at speeds above 65-70 MPH, you are basically driving a civic. so that;s the MPG you'd expect. No surprise.

 

[andrew28]

at speeds above 65-70 MPH, you are basically driving a civic. so that;s the MPG you'd expect. No surprise.

@RcLab1 might even be better off with the Civic EX or EX-L if he drives mostly highway. https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=40845&id=40352
2019 Honda Civic EX/EX-L EPA 32 city/42 highway
2019 Honda Insight Touring EPA 51 city/45 highway

 

[insightfully]

@RcLab1 might even be better off with the Civic EX or EX-L if he drives mostly highway. https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=40845&id=40352
2019 Honda Civic EX/EX-L EPA 32 city/42 highway
2019 Honda Insight Touring EPA 51 city/45 highway

From the description of daily drive (71 mi total, 45 min at 75 mph), it sounds like the daily drive is 80% highway / 20% city. #mathisfun

 

[RcLab1]

So a normal EX civic hatch is better highway mpg driving?

 

[andrew28]

So a normal EX civic hatch is better highway mpg driving?

I wouldn't say better but more like similar. I would had recommended the Civic EX/EX-L instead of the Touring Insight if highway MPG was the main factor. It would've saved you a few grand but you already purchased the Insight Touring.

 

[insightfully]

So a normal EX civic hatch is better highway mpg driving?

As mentioned, at highway speeds >70 mph, the gas engine drives the Insight's wheels so it's almost like driving a Civic... and the highway results are about the same (41-42 mpg)

Insight Touring at 75 mph = 41 mpg highway (per your mention)
Civic EX Sedan at 60+ mph = 42 mpg highway (per EPA rating)
Civic EX Hatch at 60+ mph = 40 mpg highway (per EPA rating)​

The Insight can give you better highway mpg, but you'll need to try slower speeds (65-70 mph). It's a choice you'll need to make between speed/time and fuel efficiency on the Insight.

Insight Touring at 65-70 mph = 45 mpg highway (per EPA rating)​