Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new car! Realistically the only time you would really use EV mode, is for inner city commutes where your staying under 30km/h. And I think just naturally over time you'll find what driving characteristics are best to help you maximize the cars fuel economy. Some software tweaks may be required to make the ACC a bit more reliable.
New Insight owner
My wife and I bought the 2019 Insight (EX) on June 29 in Columbia, MO, the day it hit the dealer lots and started out 2 days later for a 3,000 mile trip from Columbia, MO to Houston, TX to Spokane, WA (our home). Here are some of my thoughts and impressions.
We've owned 2 new Honda Fits (2010 and 2015) and with the 2015 we regularly got 40 mpg on long road trips (to New York City last year from Spokane). Our driving speed is not super conservative as we fly through Montana and South Dakota at 83-84 mph (posted speed limit is 80 mph in most places on the Interstate). In the Midwest and East we drive just a few mph above the speed limit which is anywhere from 75 in the Midwest to 60 in many places on the East Coast.
The 2,800 miles we have driven so far on our trip (now in Montana) we have got 44.5 mpg in Econ mode. It has been fairly hot and we have had the A/C running always and on the way to Houston (800 miles from Missouri) we had a southerly headwind. There have been times with the "Current" mpg indicator when we get 50 or so mpg on the highway, but overall it has been 44.5. Often in the city with the Current indicator, we do get the 55 mpg or even higher. There have been some situations in the city that it gets up to 100 mpg on short trips of 5-6 miles. I imagine that if I were to drive 65-70 mph and there were no headwinds and the AC was off, I would actually get the EPA rating of 49 on the highway, but not yet.
The ride is smooth, like a heavier car which we both like. It's much quieter in most cases than the Fit of course. However, when accelerating up hill or when accelerating quickly to pass another car, the small internal combustion engine kicks in and it's fairly loud, about the same as the Fit.
We almost always drive in the Econ mode. I don't understand the EV mode and when to use it. I've only tested the Sport mode once. It's peppy and I may use that in the city in cases in which I need a lot of get up and go.
I can't seem to get the Adaptive Cruise Control to be consistent. I'll get behind a car and locked in and then the car speeds up or we go up a hill and it loses the connection to the car in front of me.
One weird thing we've noticed is the front hood bounces up and down at times at highway speeds especially when a semi truck on a 2-lane road comes at you and passes you and kicks up wind. My wife and I first thought the hood was lose and we stopped and opened it and checked it twice. It seems secure and we think it just has a natural bounce to it. We'll check with the dealer when we get back to Spokane (280 more miles).
Love the instrument control panel and all the features it tells you about performance, fuel, range, etc. and the Apple Car play, although can't use Google Maps yet with Apple Car play until IOS 12 comes out. That will happen soon though.
It's a great value for the $24,900 we paid.
We've owned 2 new Honda Fits (2010 and 2015) and with the 2015 we regularly got 40 mpg on long road trips (to New York City last year from Spokane). Our driving speed is not super conservative as we fly through Montana and South Dakota at 83-84 mph (posted speed limit is 80 mph in most places on the Interstate). In the Midwest and East we drive just a few mph above the speed limit which is anywhere from 75 in the Midwest to 60 in many places on the East Coast.
The 2,800 miles we have driven so far on our trip (now in Montana) we have got 44.5 mpg in Econ mode. It has been fairly hot and we have had the A/C running always and on the way to Houston (800 miles from Missouri) we had a southerly headwind. There have been times with the "Current" mpg indicator when we get 50 or so mpg on the highway, but overall it has been 44.5. Often in the city with the Current indicator, we do get the 55 mpg or even higher. There have been some situations in the city that it gets up to 100 mpg on short trips of 5-6 miles. I imagine that if I were to drive 65-70 mph and there were no headwinds and the AC was off, I would actually get the EPA rating of 49 on the highway, but not yet.
The ride is smooth, like a heavier car which we both like. It's much quieter in most cases than the Fit of course. However, when accelerating up hill or when accelerating quickly to pass another car, the small internal combustion engine kicks in and it's fairly loud, about the same as the Fit.
We almost always drive in the Econ mode. I don't understand the EV mode and when to use it. I've only tested the Sport mode once. It's peppy and I may use that in the city in cases in which I need a lot of get up and go.
I can't seem to get the Adaptive Cruise Control to be consistent. I'll get behind a car and locked in and then the car speeds up or we go up a hill and it loses the connection to the car in front of me.
One weird thing we've noticed is the front hood bounces up and down at times at highway speeds especially when a semi truck on a 2-lane road comes at you and passes you and kicks up wind. My wife and I first thought the hood was lose and we stopped and opened it and checked it twice. It seems secure and we think it just has a natural bounce to it. We'll check with the dealer when we get back to Spokane (280 more miles).
Love the instrument control panel and all the features it tells you about performance, fuel, range, etc. and the Apple Car play, although can't use Google Maps yet with Apple Car play until IOS 12 comes out. That will happen soon though.
It's a great value for the $24,900 we paid.
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Will they be able to update over the air like in Tesla models, or would it probably be done in a recall style?Some software tweaks may be required to make the ACC a bit more reliable.
Like you said those are some high speeds for a hybrid. I'm about to do a 300 mile drive in a couple days. Will update here with my overall mpg. Overall I love the car so far!
I noticed a couple of days ago in the Insight settings on the touch screen that it can connect to wifi. I connected it to my local wifi. Not sure of the purpose of this, but will find out eventually.
It can be used for software update. I tried to do a system software update, because I'm having Bluetooth connection troubles (might be the phone). First thing update asked for was a connection - wifi was one option. Since I was in my garage, that's what I connected to. But my car is up to date.I noticed a couple of days ago in the Insight settings on the touch screen that it can connect to wifi. I connected it to my local wifi. Not sure of the purpose of this, but will find out eventually.
I connected mine to my home wifi. Hopefully updates will come via this avenue. If you live in a hi-rise, there's always Starbucks.Will they be able to update over the air like in Tesla models, or would it probably be done in a recall style?
"There have been some situations in the city that it gets up to 100 mpg on short trips of 5-6 miles. I imagine that if I were to drive 65-70 mph and there were no headwinds and the AC was off, I would actually get the EPA rating of 49 on the highway, but not yet."
Hey Ronnie, I would LOVE to know how you even got close to 100 mpg on short trips of 5-6 miles??? Even when driving carefully (watching the blue line mpg meter), relatively slowly, on flat suburban stretches with little need for acceleration, I have only been able to get my EX up to about 70 mpg (temporarily).
Hey Ronnie, I would LOVE to know how you even got close to 100 mpg on short trips of 5-6 miles??? Even when driving carefully (watching the blue line mpg meter), relatively slowly, on flat suburban stretches with little need for acceleration, I have only been able to get my EX up to about 70 mpg (temporarily).
Hey Ronnie, I would LOVE to know how you even got close to 100 mpg on short trips of 5-6 miles??? Even when driving carefully (watching the blue line mpg meter), relatively slowly, on flat suburban stretches with little need for acceleration, I have only been able to get my EX up to about 70 mpg (temporarily).[/QUOTE]
Not sure exactly, but I know that some of it is related to elevation. We have hills and some of the 5-6 mile routes I speak of are perhaps up to 20-30% downhill at 2-3% grade and the remaining flat roads. This along with using the paddle shifters a lot for regenerative braking, smooth roads with new asphalt, and very conservative driving has got me those numbers a few times.
Not sure exactly, but I know that some of it is related to elevation. We have hills and some of the 5-6 mile routes I speak of are perhaps up to 20-30% downhill at 2-3% grade and the remaining flat roads. This along with using the paddle shifters a lot for regenerative braking, smooth roads with new asphalt, and very conservative driving has got me those numbers a few times.
That being the case its probably better to compare mileage to those that live in your area. That would be a much more accurate benchmark IMO
Good point, highmiler. Good idea to compare mileage to those who live in the area. Though the Insight community will be relatively small for at least a number of months til enough people around the country purchase the car.
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