Honda insight how does it work

Then, a road crew was digging up one of the side streets and a worker stepped out with his stop sign. The 20 or so seconds I waited saw the readout click upward to 4. Yes, despite the overt weirdness of the first-generation Insight, the Jetsons-like coupe produced from late to that also became the first hybrid sold in North America, the third-generation model — awarded Green Car of the Year in — is perfectly bland.

Depending on your need to be seen as environmentally conscious, this could be either a positive or a negative. The Prius sedan, closely priced and sized but a far stronger seller — has only net hp, which makes it about 1. Punching the button elicits a pronounced change in character as both gas engine and electric motor kick in. However, along with the added verve comes a big increase in noise. Ride and handling are quite acceptable, if not particularly noteworthy in any way.

The car does sit low, though, which, along with low, flat seats, makes it a bit tougher for the taller driver or passenger to enter and exit easily. Naturally, being a hybrid, instrumentation includes additional mode reminders as a power flow meter in the centre screen. And even with rebates, electric vehicles can be an expensive proposition, while hybrids, despite the lack of government assistance, are significantly cheaper. Despite having three hybrid sedans in its Canadian lineup — the other two being the Clarity plug-in and the Accord Hybrid — Honda does little to promote them, which at least partly explains their poor sales, along with general public apathy toward automobiles, now increasingly replaced by crossovers.

Too bad, really. The Insight, though far from perfect, is affordable, comfortable, very fuel efficient and is an exceedingly friendly compromise for those unsure of making a full commitment to a greener future.

Sign up to receive Driving. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Driving. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. With exquisite LED taillights and brake lights, the performance-inspired rear design achieves a distinctive, cutting-edge look. Touring shown with Ivory Leather. By offering elegant style and plenty of spacious seating, this 5-seat hybrid strikes a perfect balance between beauty and function.

The Driver Information Interface makes it easy to manage a wealth of data, including trip information, phone calls and real-time energy flow from the battery. Leather-trimmed seats standard on Touring. The perforated, leather-trimmed seats set a standard for craftsmanship, while the dash and instrument panel have been enhanced with sophisticated touches like soft leather and fine double-stitching.

Power-adjustable front seats standard on Touring. LX, EX: With its battery under the rear seats, the Insight offers nearly 15 cubic feet of trunk capacity. Heated front seats standard on Touring.

Choose from three heat settings to ensure you and your front passenger both find the perfect level of warmth. One-touch power moonroof standard on Touring. With the one-touch power moonroof, you can let in natural light, extra fresh air and a better view at the touch of a button. The Insight cabin can be warmed up or cooled down before you get inside, thanks to remote engine start.

The front underbody spoiler accentuates the sporty character of the Insight while optimizing the ground effects. The side underbody spoiler accentuates the profile lines of the Insight with a sleek, custom touch. Turn heads with accentuated aerodynamic styling created by the rear underbody spoiler. Trunk Trim. Complement your Insight with the trunk trim accessory for a more upscale look.

Made of high-quality material for long-lasting durability, the trunk trim is designed specifically for your Insight so the fit and finish are exact. Wet boots? Muddy shoes? Dog hair? No problem. Sweeping Lines. LED Taillights. Sophisticated Aesthetic. Driver Information Interface. Leather-Trimmed Interior.

Long-term cars don't get hall passes and the Insight is no exception. When spring rolled around, we discovered that the air conditioning didn't work. Tailgating in the name of efficiency was costly, too.

The final bit of damage came when a raccoon wandered into our path and took out the bumper cover and miscellaneous trim pieces. Perhaps the raccoon missed seeing the anonymous Insight. Judged by sales, the Prius is the gold standard of hybrid cars.

Toyota sells three of them for every Insight that Honda sends into the world. No matter how easy it is to live with, or how well-mannered and pleasing it is to drive, the Insight falls behind the Prius year after year. More people should take notice. It got our attention, even though we occasionally mistook it for a Civic.

As we approach the 40,mile endpoint of our time with the Honda Insight , we can't help thinking of that moment in Forrest Gump when the title character stops running across the country and, with complete disregard for his followers keeping pace over the past umpteen months, decides to go home.

Now, we're not saying the Insight is dull or simple, but just that it goes about its own business with a stoic competence that we find endearing. It gets to work and does its job without a single complaint. It is a commuter savant. Regardless of whether or not it is fun to drive, that no-nonsense approach makes the Insight our kind of car.

It has even won over numerous staffers who initially discarded the Insight as a weeniemobile. Early gripes about seat comfort, mainly that there wasn't enough lumbar support or too much lumber support, have ceased. Maybe we finally broke in the Insight's seatback, like a nice pair of leather hiking boots. We're rarely going to reach for the Insight over our long-term Honda Civic Type R , especially since we've fitted the latter with snazzy inch BBS wheels for the winter, but the zero-drama experience and efficiency of the Insight appeals to the logical adult inside of us.

Beyond gasoline, scheduled service, and windshield-washer solvent, the Insight hasn't needed anything and continues to affirm the adage that Hondas are reliable rides.

We've had the car for 11 months, and it hasn't so much as thrown a check engine light damage caused by us notwithstanding. The low-fuel warning light comes on with some frequency, but that is only because the fuel tank is so tiny. Staffers own lawnmowers with fuel capacities that rival the Insight's Those lawnmowers don't average 41 mpg, although Honda does make a lawnmower with a higher top speed than the Insight.

Because we are so close to the end of our time with the Insight, we opted not to swap the car onto its winter tires, a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS80s, because of the simple fact that we'll soon test the car again at the 40K-mile mark and we don't want to swap tires back and forth.

If the Insight didn't have decent all-season rubber from the start, we'd certainly make the change to winters. Being one of the only cars in our fleet currently not on winter tires has made it a little more popular around lunchtime and on our commutes, if only because all-season tires generate a bit less road noise than most winter tires.

Since the Insight's last update, it has braved Chicago-area highways a couple of times on the way to Wisconsin and Minnesota, jaunted up to Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula as well as parts of its Upper Peninsula, and ventured to Nashville. One day soon it'll go back to Honda, and the people who rely on it to get them around without fuss may be more vocal about its absence.

Like a good pair of jeans, our long-term Honda Insight has only gotten better with age. No, it hasn't suddenly found a knack for ripping through corners on the tail of the Civic Type R that shares our long-term garage. And we haven't discovered the controls to convert what is an otherwise standard compact-car rear seat into a sliding and reclining davenport with sprawling legroom. Nor did we learn of a secret transmission mode that limits its droning on the highway. However, the Insight has improved on the one thing it is designed to do: sip fuel.

We record every fuel stop for every test car. Occasionally a fill-up is missed, and we do some creative arithmetic to eliminate those miles from our observed-fuel-economy calculation. A bunch of missed fill-ups will artificially increase the number, but we didn't miss logging a single stop for gasoline in the Insight. Over the life of a long-termer, we may see the fuel-economy needle move 1 mpg between updates, but our Insight's economy jumped 8 percent since our last check-in, from an average of 38 mpg to 41 mpg.

The Honda has ventured on more trips of late, but even the in-town, urban-driving tanks have improved. Bottom line, the overall trend is more efficiency, and we're at a bit of a loss for the reason. Weather and fuel could be factors, but they're potentially offsetting as it's warmer in the summer months not great for efficiency , and winter-blend fuel generally is not to be found in Michigan come spring better for efficiency. Plus, prior to our last update, we removed the Honda's winter tires, which rob any car of fuel economy due to their increased rolling resistance.

A larger percentage of highway miles will certainly tip the needle in favor of efficiency, but 3 mpg is a haymaker of a swing. While we can't pin the improvement to a single change, we assume it is a combination of a bunch of variables out of our control.

The staff continues to have its expectations tempered by the Insight's performance. Print director Tony Quiroga calls it a "no fuss, zero-BS car," and for that reason he loves it. You're not going to find much better praise for a small hybrid. Equally good, our wallet withdrawals from scheduled maintenance certainly haven't changed much. We have, however, racked up quite a tally in the "oops, we broke it" department. Come to think of it, if we're continually picking up stone chips and cracked windshields, the staff is probably keeping pace with traffic or enticing it to get out of our way, so maybe the uptick in fuel economy isn't due to more highway driving but from increased drafting behind other vehicles.

Either way, we will take it as a win and keep chugging to 40, miles. Lonely is the life of a hybrid in the Car and Driver long-term fleet. Extra lonely is the life of the long-termer with the current honor of being the least powerful.