1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

My 2019 Insight thread

Discussion in 'Honda/Acura Hybrids and EVs' started by JK919, Aug 4, 2019.

  1. JK919

    JK919 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2017
    47
    33
    0
    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Traded from a gen2 Prius to a Gen3 Honda Insight Touring, the top trim. I'll keep a thread going to track my experiences with it.

    The car is essentially a Civic Hybrid, as it is built on the same platform. My vehicle sat on a dealer lot for nearly a year before I purchased it. Not sure how this will affect longevity of the battery, but I guess we will see. The hybrid strategy differs slightly from the Prius, in that wheels run purely off of electric power below highway speeds. The engine turns on and off to power a generator and/or charge the battery depending on soc or throttle demand. At highway speeds, the transmission directly connects to the engine to power the wheels, but can still disconnect and run off of battery power - I've cruised along at 70mph on electric power. It's quiet, it feels luxurious, it has apple carplay, the stereo reads .flac files, the trunk is huge, and it looks fantastic.

    Now for some weird bits. Since the engine and wheels aren't directly linked at lower speeds, it can feel quite odd to drive at times. The engine will rev hard occasionally to power the car up a hill (it hates hills), despite relatively low throttle. Think accelerating in your Prius with 2 battery bars remaining. It also has a wave pattern with regard to mileage, where the mpg is lower while the engine runs, and higher when it turns off and goes battery powered. This is especially evident on the highway, and mpg will suffer greatly when exceeding 70mph. I think I prefer Toyota's hybrid system where the mpg graph is smoother, but time will tell.

    I'm curious to know what the Insight's modes of operation are, vs the Prius (The Five Stages of Prius Hybrid Operation | PriusChat). Sometimes the engine fires up immediately on startup, sometimes it lets me drive it around on pure battery power for a minute or so. The knowledgebase for the car is rather lean, since it's a new model, but a dedicated forum does exist. It's going in for a tint job (3M Crystalline) soon, and future plans include some lightweight wheels. The 17" Touring wheels were reported on the forums to weigh an absurdly tubby 27lbs each, so cutting that down should improve mileage. So far so good with the first 700 miles, averaging at around 48mpg.
     
  2. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    21,597
    11,224
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Sounds like the system is automatically pulse and gliding on the highway. My understanding is that Hyundai hybrids do the same on the highway.

    Fuel economy for many cars drops above 70mph.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    congrats! all the best (y)
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,474
    38,106
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Our 2010 Prius was similar, about 15 months from manufacture date when we bought; it's been a champ.

    If you've got some sort of digital scale you could weigh one, subtract the spec'd weight of the tire. That is a porker for sure.

    Look forward to your updates; I like Honda; we've had quite a few. Too bad the Insight's not a hatchback; I've become hooked.
     
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,768
    16,017
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Congrats! Definitely eager to learn more about the Insight III and its new hybrid system.
     
  6. JK919

    JK919 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2017
    47
    33
    0
    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    This is what I was thinking too. I can also manually make it go into "EV" mode by lifting my foot off the gas, same as the Prius.
     
  7. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    2,233
    1,595
    0
    Location:
    Nebraska
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    This is true for all cars. Power required varies with the cube of speed.
     
  8. JK919

    JK919 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2017
    47
    33
    0
    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Finished the first tank of gas with the car completely under our ownership - 51mpg or so. This included my wife's extremely short trips to work with low mpg, and my longer 30min commute, as well as about 2 hours of highway driving. The reported mpg was around 49 on the display, but at the pump it calculated out to 51. Following an 18-wheeler on the highway going about 60-65mph got me about 56mpg on my return trip, better than I ever got with my gen2 Prius. I've seen as high as 60mpg in suburban driving, on a 15-20 minute trip, rolling hills, mostly downhill I'm guessing. Pretty impressive.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,474
    38,106
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    That was the case with our 06 Civic Hybrid: displayed mpg for the tank was either spot-on or slightly pessimistic. Good to hear they're still keeping it honest.
     
  10. JK919

    JK919 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2017
    47
    33
    0
    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yeah I really like that actually. Both my Prius and Cayman report higher than what I calculated at the pump.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  11. JK919

    JK919 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2017
    47
    33
    0
    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    A big con I've noticed is build quality - this car has more godawful gaps and misaligned panels than any other vehicle I've owned. I certainly hope it doesn't extend into the mechanical parts of the car, but I guess we will see. I don't recall my '98 Integra having gaps like this.

    This guy shows off some similar issues I'm having with mine:
     
  12. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    21,597
    11,224
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Isn't this its first year? There is a higher risk of problems with such cars from everybody, and the statistical risk could extend into the second year.
     
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,474
    38,106
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I always remember one Civic I had: under the hood there was a seam along the fender wall. On one side there was a bead of caulking along that seam. On the other side there was a corresponding bead, about an inch offset from the seam. Quality control...
     
  14. JK919

    JK919 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2017
    47
    33
    0
    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yeah it's a first year model. Mine is a pretty low VIN too.
     
  15. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
    21,597
    11,224
    0
    Location:
    eastern Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Part of the reason for first year issues is that the factory workers are learning the assembly process. I remember reading that Ford waited on filling preorders on a new Lincoln in order to let workers get more experience on dealer bound cars.