[Wifey'sInsight]

So yesterday we carpooled to a work convention in Long Island. I was vehicle #2, lead vehicle was a Honda Pilot.

It's a ~3 hour drive from Albany to Nassau County. Well it should have been a 3 hour drive. It ended up being a 2.5 hour drive due to the lead driver and his radar detector.

So we set off on the Thruway, 65mph speed limit, my ACC was set to 85 to keep up (He was going ~80). We did the drive non-stop, and hit no major traffic on the way down. 38.6mpg average for the trip. Twice the insight had to break the 100mph barrier (that cherry is finally popped), to catch the lead vehicle because of cars trying to get around semi's.

Unfortunately for us, the ambient temperature was high 90's-100. Did the entire trip with windows rolled up. Tire cold air pressure, 38lbs. My car had just one passenger (maybe 150lbs). Air set to 68, auto and recirculate. What can I say, terrain was a killer and that tank of gas, was the worst one recorded with the car 43.2 mpg average.

On the way back, thoroughly disappointed with my gas mileage on the trip thus far. I resorted to setting ACC to 75 and finding semi's to follow back. I managed to just squeak out 45mpg. I was honestly hopeful that our trip next month we could get to Virginia Beach on one tank of gas, I honestly think that will be absolutely impossible. Maybe it's just me and my competitive nature, but I honestly haven't been happy at all with the Insight with AC running, and I never turn it below 68. I miss my 55+mpg average tanks, and summer can go away.

I do believe some of my issue was with the relatively high humidity, terrain and ambient temperature that the battery pack wasn't operating anywhere near peak efficiency. I do believe that to be the Achilles heel of this particular journey. Also elevation change was ~ even. Started at 200' above sea level. Middle of the trip was ~1100 feet above sea level. End of trip was ~25 feet above sea level. What did shock me was that the trip topography is basically a parabolic curve, and I didn't regain any mileage on the descent section.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

Short Version, Sustained high speed travel and great fuel mileage.

Absolutely love the car, just highlighting a limitation.

 

[insightfully]

I do believe some of my issue was with the relatively high humidity, terrain and ambient temperature that the battery pack wasn't operating anywhere near peak efficiency. I do believe that to be the Achilles heel of this particular journey. Also elevation change was ~ even. Started at 200' above sea level. Middle of the trip was ~1100 feet above sea level. End of trip was ~25 feet above sea level. What did shock me was that the trip topography is basically a parabolic curve, and I didn't regain any mileage on the descent section.

I have a couple thoughts/questions, and am interested in your perspective on the following:
- With the battery pack being cooled with cabin air and your running at 68*/Auto/Recirc, would that prevent humidity and temperature effects on the battery, OR were you still feeling those effects in the cabin air as well?
- On topography/descent, could the run have been too long or too much for the battery to store? Did the ICE turn on to bleed off extra charge that you otherwise would have gained in battery storage?

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

I have a couple thoughts/questions, and am interested in your perspective on the following:
- With the battery pack being cooled with cabin air and your running at 68*/Auto/Recirc, would that prevent humidity and temperature effects on the battery, OR were you still feeling those effects in the cabin air as well?
- On topography/descent, could the run have been too long or too much for the battery to store? Did the ICE turn on to bleed off extra charge that you otherwise would have gained in battery storage?

-Battery pack on the trip down seemed to be working fine, at 80+mph the IPU very rarely selects EV only, so the ICE was running almost non-stop.

-There wasn't a long enough descent to ever have a bleed off. Don't think I ever saw the battery get above 50% (assuming continuous 80+ mph was the reasoning).

During the middle of the day (driving Long Island to Manhattan, and then around Manhattan) in 97-100* heat. That's when I noticed gas mileage being much worse than I expected, barely breaking 40mpg. Considering it's a city car and we were stuck in multiple traffic jams, then 25mph Manhattan streets, I'd expect to at the very least be closer to 50mpg.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

And the return trip, I never went over 75mph, and the car wouldn't break 45mpg. Which is the only reason I feel the battery wasn't happy with the weather.

Got into Albany that night, the 4 mile drive home, 136 mpg average, work commute this morning 56mpg.

Maybe something reset with the electronics going nuts on Friday and the car is learning again, who knows.

 

[andrew28]

Maybe try the AC at auto 72F? I use to have it at 65F or even lower until I noticed others reporting better fuel economy than me had AC temperature set way higher. I feel 72F is comfortable enough for me since I just want to get rid of the humidity and I think remote start defaults to 72F, too.


EPA Highway is 49mpg so 43-45mpg with AC on at those speeds/terrain don't seem too bad...

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

Maybe try the AC at auto 72F? I use to have it at 65F or even lower until I noticed others reporting better fuel economy than me had AC temperature set way higher. I feel 72F is comfortable enough for me since I just want to get rid of the humidity and I think remote start defaults to 72F, too.


EPA Highway is 49mpg so 43-45mpg with AC on at those speeds/terrain don't seem too bad...

I'm just nitpicking. I love the car, and that trip was at least 60$ cheaper than if I still had the truck. The car rode beautifully, LKAS did its job flawlessly. ACC was impervious as usual. I would have never driven the car that fast for that length of time, had I not been tasked with following.

 

[andrew28]

I didn't buy this car for the fuel economy yet I find myself disappointed when the Insight goes below 50mpg during a trip now. Even though I was happy getting 40-42mpg in the winter.

 

[insightfully]

I'm just nitpicking. I love the car, and that trip was at least 60$ cheaper than if I still had the truck. The car rode beautifully, LKAS did its job flawlessly. ACC was impervious as usual. I would have never driven the car that fast for that length of time, had I not been tasked with following.

...also sounds like you should be the lead car for the next trip(s), ha.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

...also sounds like you should be the lead car for the next trip(s), ha.

Unfortunately the company owners generally get to lead. On a plus note they paid my parking in Manhattan, saved me 3 tanks of gas worth of cash.

Generally speaking, unless it's work related, I drive very conservatively. I didn't need to follow them, other than for the fact that if we got separated, I'd be paying for things instead of them.

 

[yecam]

By any chance would you have a record of how much fuel you consumed over the distance traveled? That would be your gas station receipts if you put in gas just before and after your trip. Since your electronics went a bit weird I would think that a hand calculation of MPG might give you a better number than what the onboard computer might have provided in its zombie state.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

I drove ~330 miles, roughly 7 gallons of gas (under 7.25). I got gas after leaving Manhattan, on my return trip.

 

[yecam]

So that would be a tad better than 47 MPG. That seems to be pretty good for the speed that you were going outbound with the AC on.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

So that would be a tad better than 47 MPG. That seems to be pretty good for the speed that you were going outbound with the AC on.

Yes, that included driving the day before, and driving around the city. Only 180 of those miles were the trip from Albany to Nassau.

As previously mentioned this thread was meant to point out that the Insight was not designed for, and doesn't perform well with sustained high speed thruway driving. Essentially above 75, the car is a 1.5l gas powered car with occasional help from the EV side. It runs the ICE almost 95% at speeds above 75, unless terrain is in your favor.

 

[markyp32]

We LOADED up my Insight Touring model and headed to Maine last week. Lots of excess weight, ran the A/C on "Lo" setting and drove 70 - 75 MPH the whole way, 340 miles. I averaged 47.6 MPG. On the way back we drove 75 - 80 MPH and averages 46.4 MPG.

 

[tightywhitey]

We LOADED up my Insight Touring model and headed to Maine last week. Lots of excess weight, ran the A/C on "Lo" setting and drove 70 - 75 MPH the whole way, 340 miles. I averaged 47.6 MPG. On the way back we drove 75 - 80 MPH and averages 46.4 MPG.

That is promising. We will be going to Disney soon in my EX. Curious to see what my mpg will be. How many people in the car?

 

[Wasabi]

We LOADED up my Insight Touring model and headed to Maine last week. Lots of excess weight, ran the A/C on "Lo" setting and drove 70 - 75 MPH the whole way, 340 miles. I averaged 47.6 MPG. On the way back we drove 75 - 80 MPH and averages 46.4 MPG.

I'd be happy with that.

 

[andrew28]

We LOADED up my Insight Touring model and headed to Maine last week. Lots of excess weight, ran the A/C on "Lo" setting and drove 70 - 75 MPH the whole way, 340 miles. I averaged 47.6 MPG. On the way back we drove 75 - 80 MPH and averages 46.4 MPG.

That's pretty amazing with a heavy loaded Touring, AC on "Lo", and 70-80MPH while beating the EPA Highway (Touring) 45mpg. Your Touring Insight must of been made by the same crew that produced @hasarad's EX Insight. :grin:

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

I'm so jealous of those that aren't topography challenged. Albany is a valley, technically, and surrounded by mountains on all sides. Any time I have to go anywhere, I have to overcome a ~1000' climb, that unfortunately is not a quick climb. It takes at least 40-50 miles to get past the "High points" in most directions.

Later next month I'll compile data on my drive to VA beach. Breaking down topography vs mileage. I'll do my best to reset the trip indicator to compare the climb/descent portion of my trip, vs level terrain. Using the same ACC settings for each part of the trip.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

Comparison MPG

Just to highlight what I was talking about. I've been waiting to have the same amount of mileage on the return tank of fuel.