Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Hatchbacks, Honda
ABG First Drive: 2010 Honda Insight, 63.4 mpg!
by Sam Abuelsamid on Jan 11th 2009 at 9:00AM 
Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2010 Honda Insight
2009 is shaping up to be a big year for hybrids as Ford launches the Fusion and Milan hybrids, Toyota brings us the third generation Prius and the new Lexus HS250h and Honda revives the Insight brand. The original Insight was the first hybrid to make it to the US market but it was never very commercially successful. Honda only managed to sell about 18,000 Insights worldwide over 6 years. The new Insight is a whole different story.
This time around, Honda has created a five seat hatchback that it says will be the most affordable hybrid in the world. Honda is targeting world wide sales of 200,000 Insights a year with half of those going to North America. AutoblogGreen spent a day driving the new Insight in and around Carefree AZ just before the holidays. Unlike the Prius which is efficient but has never been particularly appealing to drive, the Insight makes good use of its Fit based chassis for fun steering and handling and still manages to get outstanding fuel efficiency. ABG managed to achieve an average 63.4 mpg on an efficiency drive and 44 mpg on a mountain road pleasure drive. Read all about the new Insight at AutoblogGreen.
Gallery: ABG First Drive: 2010 Honda Insight
Live Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: AutoblogGreen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Kumail 9:03AM (1/11/2009)
so i would fill up like twice a week?! and the car looks good?! i like...
Reply
letstakeawalk 9:52AM (1/11/2009)
How long is your commute that even getting 63.5mpg you'd be filling up 2x a week? Do you drive cross country every day?
I can't find a gas tank capacity stat for it, but even if it's a tiny 10-gallon tank, you should be able to get at least 400-500 miles between gas stops.
G-Meister 11:02AM (1/11/2009)
letstakeawalk- some of us drive around for a living- 900 mile weeks are normal for me.
letstakeawalk 1:49PM (1/11/2009)
@ G-Meister
Wow, I'm impressed. I live 8 blocks from my office, and commute by bike, so 900 miles per week just staggers my imagination.
I'm glad cars are becoming available that will save ya'll some $$$!
Avinash machado 9:17AM (1/11/2009)
So one can buy two Insights for the price of one Volt?
Reply
Dave 11:42AM (1/11/2009)
Well said. GM... seriously!!??!
why not the LS2LS7? 12:19PM (1/11/2009)
I think you're missing the point.
Bungle 1:13PM (1/11/2009)
@why not...
Is he? How so?
why not the LS2LS7? 1:34PM (1/11/2009)
The point of the Volt isn't its overall mpg. It's the 40 miles without gas. If you drive less than 40 miles a day (or 80 assuming you can charge at work), you can use literally zero gas in the Volt.
Some people will find the idea of using no gasoline in a normal week to be attractive. It should appeal to the same kind of person who bought the first-gen Prius despite knowing it would never make financial sense with the (at the time) $2.50/gal gas.
2004m3driver 4:00PM (1/11/2009)
@ Why not LS7
You need to get a lot of absolutely free miles to even come close to the initial money saved. So frugal people wouldn't even think twice about the Volt. Lets say you drive ALOT (which means you have to fill up with gas, but lets pretend you never have to pay for gas with the volt) You fill up twice a week at 40 bucks a fill up. so thats 80 bucks a week times 4 x 12= 3840 bucks a year saved. You need to drive for over 4 years to make up for the money initial cost of the volt. But thats with pretty extreme conditions and assuming you never ever fill up with gas.
dkw 10:45PM (1/11/2009)
@ 2004m3driver
not to nitpick here, but 4 x 12 = 48. Last time I checked, there were 52 weeks in a year.
80 x 52 = $4160.
Snowdog 11:09PM (1/11/2009)
You both have the math wrong.
Realistically. The most you can expect to use is one charge per day. That one charge only saves you 1Gallon of gas.
So 365 gallons a year, savings based on price of gas.
But even at $4 it is under $1500 a year saved on Gas. Given the $20K premium, this will never make financial sense.
Gator 8:58AM (1/12/2009)
But you need to consider that most won't buy it to save gas money. The ability to not have to stop for gas for months at a time is appealing to most I'm sure. Sounds somewhat trivial at first, but I see that as a major feature
Gator 9:02AM (1/12/2009)
That sounded kinda narrow minded, but you get what I mean :)
dkw 3:57PM (1/13/2009)
@ SnowDog....
I don't have the wrong math, because I was only correcting the # of weeks in a year, I left all of his other assumptions as they were.
(there are 52 weeks in a year)
jackson liu 9:23AM (1/11/2009)
63mpg??
omg, that's awesome!!
Reply
Galley 10:18AM (1/12/2009)
At that rate, I would only use 100 gallons in an entire year.
Sea Urchin 9:25AM (1/11/2009)
63 MPG, i am amazed, it's been rumored that it will get only 45.
This is truly revolutionary, now let' see what Prius has.
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hyundaifans.com 9:32AM (1/11/2009)
63MPG?? Were they driving like normal people disrespecting the speed limit with the AC on or were they gently massaging the throttle?
Reply
sheth 9:59AM (1/11/2009)
Read the article. You dont get 63mpg driving like a sane person. try 44mpg.
People shop based on EPA ratings, not ratings achieved on "efficiency loops" designed by manufacturers.