It just ain't a road trip on the 5 unless you stop at Anderson's Pea Soup.
Here's the rest of the story of my 800-mile trek with our 2,700-pound hybrid.
Road Noise
I'm sure it's no surprise to hear that there was a good deal of road noise in the Insight, given Honda's reputation for road noise. And it's not just the noise. I think it's the frequency of the sound that makes it really noticeable. At highway speeds for long stretches, that kind of noise can be quite fatiguing. And it was annoying having to turn the volume up on the audio system in order to combat the road noise. Audiobooks were particularly difficult to hear. I'd say the road noise was my biggest complaint on the trip.
Fuel Economy
For the first tank (L.A. to Morro Bay to Berkeley on the 101 freeway with moderate-heavy traffic in the big city areas) we got 41.52 mpg. For this leg, we didn't drive any differently than we normally would have, except that we kept our speed under 75 miles per hour because, to us, the Insight just started feeling jittery above that. We also had ECON mode engaged.
The second tank was from Berkeley to L.A. on the 5 freeway with lots of traffic leaving Berkeley. We used cruise control (usually set between 72 and 76 mph) a lot more on this leg than on the south to north leg and had ECON mode turned off. We averaged 41.13 mpg on that leg.
Because the two legs of the trip were completely different route-wise, I can't really make any judgments on ECON mode, but it is interesting that both legs were over 41 mpg (which is the EPA's combined estimate for the Insight's fuel economy).
Average fuel economy for the whole trip was 41.35 mpg.
Seat Comfort
Both my husband and I found the front seats to be quite comfortable for the long legs of the trip. My husband wished for a little more adjustability, particularly so he could dial in a little less lumbar support, but we both felt well supported overall. No dead butt like last year.
Elevation Gains
Contrary to everyone's anticipation, the Insight's performance on inclines wasn't horrible. We didn't push it hard, just kind of let it do its thing and crossed our fingers. And not once did we accumulate a long line of angry travelers behind us. I'm not saying it tore up the hills, but it wasn't a nailbiter either.
Overall, I think a lot has to do with your expectations. If you drive a strong highway cruiser/climber already, you're not going to be happy with the Insight on a road trip. But my husband's daily driver is a 2003 Honda Civic GX (with the CVT), and while he wasn't thrilled by the Insight, he wasn't thoroughly disappointed with its performance either. We weren't wishing the Insight was anything other than what it is: a fuel economy-focused, four-door hatchback with a nav system from Honda.
I wouldn't volunteer for another road trip in the Insight right away, but if it were my daily driver and I wanted to take the family on a little jaunt up the coast, I'd be fine with it.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com
mikeolan says:
05:40 PM, 11/17/09
CVT's are most "at home" going up elevation gains- no surprise. It's one area where it is clearly the superior transmission choice, so even though the Insight's powertrain is a failure, it's no surprise it didn't fail.
That said, I simply don't understand why Honda can not put in some decent sound dampening material in their vehicles.
bodyblue says:
05:54 PM, 11/17/09
In other words one does not need 300+ horsepower, AWD and 4200 lbs to make short road trips.
revaholic says:
06:53 PM, 11/17/09
The car looks very handsome in that picture.
vt8919 says:
07:44 PM, 11/17/09
Reminds me of the phrase, "you can roast beef but you can't pea soup".
gbear2 says:
08:04 PM, 11/17/09
I own and have owned more expensive cars, faster cars, more luxurious cars (e.g. Saab 9-3 SE) but the Insight is as much fun to drive as any of them.
I mainly drive it from home to office (Brentwood to Universal City), average around 46MPG and haven't noticed excessive road noise, vibrations or the like. And the interior fabric (and the interior overall) is actually nice and comfortable- perhaps it's not pretentious enough to satisfy some.
greenpony says:
08:22 PM, 11/17/09
Sound deadening material costs weight. And weight makes the car feel less jittery.
dougtheeng says:
08:24 PM, 11/17/09
The road noise is annoying. I've done many loud road trips and I'm looking forward to the day when I have a quieter car. That's some decent fuel Economy. Other then the fact that it's not a prius, I don't think it does a bad job being a small hybrid hatch. Regarding the hills, I've never once driven a vehicle that was dangerous on a hill. I maintain my belief that such hill 'concerns' are just as silly as those who suggest that you need a zero to sixty of five seconds for safe highway driving - rediculous.
stephen987 says:
06:41 AM, 11/18/09
The conditions you describe are pretty varied. I'd be interested to hear how the significantly less expensive Fit copes with similar conditions--my guess is that it would have significantly more usable space, comparable noise levels, and considerably better performance in return for a fuel economy penalty of 10-15%.
mikept03 says:
08:38 AM, 11/18/09
I took the Insight this past weekend on a trip from Orange County to Vegas and pretty much agree with what was said, but found on reasonably level ground the car is comfortable cruising at 80mph. I got it up to 100 pretty easily, but didn't think it felt too steady once passing 90. You're right, it doesn't exactly power up hills, but I never had a stream of cars behind me, and was even passing a good number of people while climbing. Overall mileage over ~580 miles was 45mpg, not bad for all the patches of traffic, cruise set at 80-85, and stop and go on the strip.
gbear2 says:
08:48 AM, 11/18/09
With respect to Stephan987's comment, in Dan Edmunds' road test review, he says "Much better fuel economy than a Honda Fit without sacrificing performance..."
stephen987 says:
12:44 PM, 11/18/09
@gbear2: I average mid to high thirties on my daily commute in a manual Fit, and I drive fairly aggressively. So I was hoping Bryn or someone else at IL might be able to provide a direct and specific comparison, by taking the IL Fit on the same loop as the Insight.
illucent17 says:
01:39 PM, 11/18/09
I hate to be a stickler for the caption for the photo, but isn't Andersen's Pea Soup on the 101, not on the 5?
illucent17 says:
01:39 PM, 11/18/09
I hate to be a stickler for the caption for the photo, but isn't Andersen's Pea Soup on the 101, not on the 5?
gobryngo says:
11:44 AM, 11/19/09
@illucent17: there are two restaurants. one on the 5 (in santa nella) and one on the 101 (in buellton).