OK, so our 2010 Honda Insight isn't a fun car to drive but I do love, love, love those paddle shifters for around-town driving, especially in L.A. traffic. Since I had to drive from Santa Monica to Pasadena to Long Beach this weekend, and most of that involved sitting in gridlock, I appreciated being able to slow down without having to press the brakes all the time. I don't put the gearshift in "S" since the paddle shifters still work without my having to do that. Plus it clears the gear automatically as soon as you accelerate or brake. Makes it really easy to just sit back and relax, foot hovering over the brake pedal of course. Might as well since we're not going anywhere any time soon.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 16,922 miles
roar02ram says:
11:00 AM, 05/ 3/10
"Since I had to drive from Santa Monica to Pasadena to Long Beach this WEEKEND, and most of that involved sitting in GRIDLOCK..."
God, I love LA.
seppoboy says:
11:02 AM, 05/ 3/10
While that would be the smoothest and most enjoyable way to drive the Insight, doesn't that technique to some extent defeat the purpose of the brake regeneration system in extending the battery charge? I thought the Insight used brake regen like most hybrids. If so, as is so often the case, the most efficient path from an energy utilization standpoint may not be the most useful from the driving perspective.
nealibob says:
11:06 AM, 05/ 3/10
One would hope that for any engine-braking situation, regeneration would be 100% in effect. I have no idea how it works, but it would be silly if that were not the case, especially since it is all computer controlled anyway.
throwback says:
11:12 AM, 05/ 3/10
If your going to be stuck in traffic, might as well be in the Insight. It would be worse to be stuck in traffic in a high performance car.
carguy622 says:
11:20 AM, 05/ 3/10
@throwback: That's great. That should be Honda's motto for the Insight. "The BMW M3 was never this much fun in traffic", or "As fast an a Ferrari to 5 mph to 0 mph to 5 mph".
Also, nice whitewall tires on the Sable over there.
caroscuro says:
11:31 AM, 05/ 3/10
Roar02ram,
Yeah, I don't know what was the deal with all that traffic this weekend. I know the Doo Dah Parade was going on in Pasadena, but don't know the excuse for all the other CFs.
Throwback,
My thoughts exactly. Nothing is more frustrating than being stuck in stop-and-go while driving a fun car.
ed124c says:
12:08 PM, 05/ 3/10
So, which scenario is better?
Living in California where the weather is nice all year round, but you have gridlock every day of the week.
Or...
Living in upstate NY, where the weather is nice about 6 months (well, at least no snow for 6 months), but we hardly ever have gridlock on work days (that term is not even used here) and never have it on weekends.
prndlol says:
12:26 PM, 05/ 3/10
Sable with whitewalls, lol
jederino says:
02:38 PM, 05/ 3/10
@ed124c,
You get used to the traffic in SoCal and just forget about it.
kidding. I left, and only have nightmares of returning. It does have a desert beauty, but also a grey-brown haze. And you exist from refrigerated environment to refrigerated environment. Yuck. But, there are very few nasty bugs, and that's a huge plus.
hybris says:
08:37 PM, 05/ 3/10
Come to Kansas we have open roads CARB free laws and a wide variety of weather with much of year being quite nice.