RE: Honda Insight: You Know You Want To
Discussion
Syncro16 said:
I bought mine about 6 years ago at 70K miles and have put 135k on it since. I have to say I am completely in love with it. The quality of manufacture is incredible, you can get it serviced at any major dealer and still get most parts "off the shelf". The battery is starting to show the odd warning light so is past it best (although far from dead) but I cant really blame it for that after 205000 completely trouble free miles.
It is really great to drive, more "eager" than fast but in a fun way. I think any handling issues being talked about are down to the rock hard, thin tires that are oe - great for mpg, not much good otherwise. It has near 50/50 weight distribution is very light and low so I would love to try it with good tires - but of course that would be missing the point.... and I am far too tight!
I have been paid to own a car for my job for some time and when I add up what this has made me relative to say a Mondao company car we are talking thousands and thousands of pounds, i.e. it paid for itself outright in the first ten months, and if I add up all running costs baring fuel (but including insurance and an impeccable service regime etc)- and I include the grand and a bit I will pay for a new battery then that was covered in the first year and a half.
like I say, I love it and the money it has made me I have spent on other engine-y white elephants with a lot less guilt!
I did once have the 2nd gen 4 seater as a courtesy car - oh boy - my gast was flabered at how crap it was. You had to drive like a nun to get 60mpg where as I can get 75mpg every tank full not even trying - real step backwards....
Makes you wonder what is going on at Honda, no NSX type thing new Insight is like a Mondao but with more stuff to go wrong and they don't even have the s2000 any more!
Did once have 105 (registered) from the old girl (on private road - etc etc), rock steady
Never trust a man who says tires...It is really great to drive, more "eager" than fast but in a fun way. I think any handling issues being talked about are down to the rock hard, thin tires that are oe - great for mpg, not much good otherwise. It has near 50/50 weight distribution is very light and low so I would love to try it with good tires - but of course that would be missing the point.... and I am far too tight!
I have been paid to own a car for my job for some time and when I add up what this has made me relative to say a Mondao company car we are talking thousands and thousands of pounds, i.e. it paid for itself outright in the first ten months, and if I add up all running costs baring fuel (but including insurance and an impeccable service regime etc)- and I include the grand and a bit I will pay for a new battery then that was covered in the first year and a half.
like I say, I love it and the money it has made me I have spent on other engine-y white elephants with a lot less guilt!
I did once have the 2nd gen 4 seater as a courtesy car - oh boy - my gast was flabered at how crap it was. You had to drive like a nun to get 60mpg where as I can get 75mpg every tank full not even trying - real step backwards....
Makes you wonder what is going on at Honda, no NSX type thing new Insight is like a Mondao but with more stuff to go wrong and they don't even have the s2000 any more!
Did once have 105 (registered) from the old girl (on private road - etc etc), rock steady
V8RX7 said:
Sorry but on your deathbed you are NOT going to wish you had achieved higher mpg.
You are going to remember the great drives and they will not be in an Insight.
LPG a decent car and you will get reasonable mpg costs.
I understand that one might make sense in London but the thought of driving 100k in one - what a waste of time that could have been spent in something better.
If it was a Prius, I'd agree. But these are way more than a white good. My most memorable drives have been in some of the crappest cars - but they've been cars with character. The Gen1 Insight certainly has that (and I've not even driven one!)You are going to remember the great drives and they will not be in an Insight.
LPG a decent car and you will get reasonable mpg costs.
I understand that one might make sense in London but the thought of driving 100k in one - what a waste of time that could have been spent in something better.
B'stard Child said:
456lbft said:
TobesH said:
Doesn't Harry Metcalfe have one in his collection?
Did, see above, it's mine now. Mark Dixon of Octane mag has one, and so does Jonny Smith of 5th gear.Apparently a celebrated F1 designer is a fan too...
I have a DC5 with ITB (still being built to spec!) as well as a 370Z with a ridiculously thirsty V6. I'm a petrolhead through and through yet still own and drive a Peugeot 106 1.5 diesel to work when the mood hits me!
This sounds just about perfect for me if I'm honest.
Must look into getting one and maybe upgrading the battery capacity!
This sounds just about perfect for me if I'm honest.
Must look into getting one and maybe upgrading the battery capacity!
IN51GHT said:
Not a petrol heads car?????
How much more petrol heads can you get, I'm a design engineer on (what hopes to be) the worlds fastest car.
as an engineering design masterclass, the Insight is superb.
How much more petrol heads can you get, I'm a design engineer on (what hopes to be) the worlds fastest car.
as an engineering design masterclass, the Insight is superb.
It may not be a driver's car (although they really aren't bad to drive) but in terms of purity of purpose and design ethos, it's one of the most petrolhead cars out there, IMO. kambites said:
IN51GHT said:
Not a petrol heads car?????
How much more petrol heads can you get, I'm a design engineer on (what hopes to be) the worlds fastest car.
as an engineering design masterclass, the Insight is superb.
How much more petrol heads can you get, I'm a design engineer on (what hopes to be) the worlds fastest car.
as an engineering design masterclass, the Insight is superb.
It may not be a driver's car (although they really aren't bad to drive) but in terms of purity of purpose and design ethos, it's one of the most petrolhead cars out there, IMO. V8RX7 said:
Sorry but on your deathbed you are NOT going to wish you had achieved higher mpg.
You are going to remember the great drives and they will not be in an Insight.
LPG a decent car and you will get reasonable mpg costs.
I understand that one might make sense in London but the thought of driving 100k in one - what a waste of time that could have been spent in something better.
Hmm, interesting answer, not sure what experience is based on.....You are going to remember the great drives and they will not be in an Insight.
LPG a decent car and you will get reasonable mpg costs.
I understand that one might make sense in London but the thought of driving 100k in one - what a waste of time that could have been spent in something better.
are you saying that unless a car is "conventional" and with a large engine then it isn't for petrol heads..?
Also, I have to ask, what do you drive to work, day in day out and for how many miles? having had the insight for 6 years and fended off more than the odd comment from people who to be honest really don't have a good frame of reference for their opinion - "I've got a Mondao........ XT! and I do 7000 ,miles a year.." I have only met one person who lives the dream of driving a car he loves everyday and takes the (crippling) financial cost of sub 20mpg.
Plus like I said, driving this means that my toys are paid for outright, and honestly on a Friday afternoon, when I have done 1000 miles in a week and I just want to get off the m25 car park and it is pissing down I couldn't really give a toss what I drive. its Saturday and Sunday when I can pick my roads that I get my jollys.
Face it, the vast majority of people on this website drive to work in some bland euro box or other, and a gen 1 Insight is anything but that.......
Edited by Syncro16 on Wednesday 19th June 12:49
Edited by Syncro16 on Wednesday 19th June 12:50
456lbft said:
TobesH said:
Doesn't Harry Metcalfe have one in his collection?
Did, see above, it's mine now. Mark Dixon of Octane mag has one, and so does Jonny Smith of 5th gear.Apparently a celebrated F1 designer is a fan too...
These little Honda's seem to attract the right sort of attention. It is odd the hybrid car concept doesn't seem to have 'moved-on' a great deal in the last 10 years. Chris's review on the new Porsche 918 makes an interesting point. The car is very light with amazing attention to engineering detail but the batteries are so heavy and the car is so complex.V8RX7 said:
You are going to remember the great drives and they will not be in an Insight.
Sorry but I've had more fun driving a Fiat Panda on a twisty road within the speed limits than driving a WRX on a track flat out. Getting the best out of the car you're in is more challenging and ultimately more rewarding than having the car do most of the work for you. Not a petrolheads car?
There's no such thing. Any car in the hands of a petrolhead will never be disappointing.
TobesH said:
The car is very light with amazing attention to engineering detail but the batteries are so heavy and the car is so complex.
It's sophisticated and was ahead of it's time but it's not unduly complex.The batteries weigh 22kg, not a massive weight penalty. I bet your Tesco christmas shopping with a case or two of beer weighs more than that
Liquid Knight said:
Any car in the hands of a petrolhead will never be disappointing.
By and large I'd agree, but my daily is a prius so I can save the world (tax) and there is nothing remotely petrol sniffing about it. It's the motoring equivilant of grey. It's even more dissapointing when a car like the insight exists, does what the Prius does better, TEN YEARS AGO, and is far more a tempting driving proposition than the toyota donkey. To think that the Honda hybrid (which I considered at the time of ordering the s
tus) is said to be worse than the toyota.Consider my mind well and truely blown.
peterperkins said:
It's sophisticated and was ahead of it's time but it's not unduly complex.
The batteries weigh 22kg, not a massive weight penalty. I bet your Tesco christmas shopping with a case or two of beer weighs more than that
I read it at that first scan but you've quoted the comments that Harris made on the Porsche 918.The batteries weigh 22kg, not a massive weight penalty. I bet your Tesco christmas shopping with a case or two of beer weighs more than that
The Insight isnt a Petrol heads car? Stupid thing to say. Jay Leno isnt a petrol head?
List of my previous cars:
Prelude, E30, 1.8 MX5, V6 166, 156 ti, Integra Type-R, Civic 1.6 Vtec, Accord Type-R, INSIGHT.
The Insight gave me just as much joy, but in a different way. It was nippy, handled well and was cheeky like an original Mini. Every drive was a challenge to either get maximum mpg, or show people it could really move quite quickly when proded.
I'm a few years out of my Insight now and i still remember plenty of drives in it, some hypermiling, some throwing it around at night having fun, some pulling past little boy racers in 1.4 litre modded cars.
List of my previous cars:
Prelude, E30, 1.8 MX5, V6 166, 156 ti, Integra Type-R, Civic 1.6 Vtec, Accord Type-R, INSIGHT.
The Insight gave me just as much joy, but in a different way. It was nippy, handled well and was cheeky like an original Mini. Every drive was a challenge to either get maximum mpg, or show people it could really move quite quickly when proded.
I'm a few years out of my Insight now and i still remember plenty of drives in it, some hypermiling, some throwing it around at night having fun, some pulling past little boy racers in 1.4 litre modded cars.
soad said:
Spot on, chap. Not a petrolhead's motor at all.
Do you want to explain to us non-petrolheads what one is, then? The majority of owners I have met are either engineers or mechanically minded enthusiasts with interesting garages and immense knowledge of all things dynamic. The quoted post is misinformed. The point of the car isn't mpg, it's a happy byproduct of its efficient design. As a comparison, a McLaren F1's top speed wasn't the objective, merely a confirmation of the inherent rightness of its original purpose. Both are now the headline figures for the respective cars because they remain the most astonishing things about them: even 15 years on a car capable of a genuine 80mpg with few compromises is astounding.
Reminds me of the Lexus LS, which for donkeys' years was incredibly aerodynamically efficient yet this was not widely publicised. This year the new Mercedes S-Class launches and they're boasting of world-beating cd figures. Why? Legislation, not innovation for design's sake. Little developments like that get lost in the annals of automotive branding bulls
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