2001 Honda Insight Mk1 - The OG hybrid now joined by a CRZ

MrLOL said:
i just dont get this at all

you owned a JDM integra, and have now gone into an insight ??

You just CANT be a car person, which your previous car purchase would suggest. Drexel downsized, and got a cheap Golf GTI. Downsizing does not mean you have to sell your motoring soul.

If my sister in law bought one of these, id laugh and leave her to it. But an ex JDM integra owner

EH ??
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The Insight is pretty impressive engineering wise to be fair.
 
wtf.jpg
 
it does seem like a weird choice , especially as they are really getting on a bit now, surely the battery is well past its prime by now? or are there re-conditioning/replacement kits around?

Regardless i imagine its an interesting car to own, i do have some perverse fantasy of stripping on of those (or the Prius) out and doing an engine swap for a big fat v8 / ****le

edit: lol the VVankle engine's a naughty word now is it?

edit 2: damn it, been watching beat videos on youtube and want another kei class again now :(
 
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MrLOL said:
You just CANT be a car person, which your previous car purchase would suggest. Drexel downsized, and got a cheap Golf GTI. Downsizing does not mean you have to sell your motoring soul.
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I test drove one and liked it. Go me.

It will do 100MPG on petrol. Its rare. It has zero tax. The muppet in the SLK has dented my insurance significantly. Its a tool for my job. Im a qualified aerospace engineer - this interests me as it wasn't styled with a pencil. Im working on hybrid vehicles at work - this interests me with its tech. Its pretty much depreciation free.

Do the math on 75MPG compared to 34.

My Integra was too capable for commuting, so far I missing a lot more road noise and a bigger .hole in my wallet for 450miles a week.

I love how no one says nice thing when you have a good car but this gets 100x more comments in an afternoon :D
 
If anyone is interested in a bit more whats under the ugly shell...

http://www.insightcentral.net/encyclopedia/index.html

Battery is a 6.5Ah unit but with a window of only 4Ah to avoid over discharge and over charge on the NiMH unit so a lot are around 85% of new capacity. This one has had the packs rebalanced so each cell is recharged as the charging of a large old pack like this is based on path of least resistance rather than least state of charge.

Just need to work out lean burn better and you can sit at 25:1 AFR pulling 100+ MPG.

838kg and a Cd of 0.25 with a flat floor body. :cool:

Im only really interested in them after driving a few hybrids at work and then seeing the Insight more for what it is underneath after years of knowing nothing and discounting it based on looks. This makes a great evaluation tool for my company and strangly in engineering you dont need to roll up in a BMW/Merc to make the right kind of impression.
 
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[TW]Fox;13601677 said:
<snip boring costs of low road tax>

How much are new batteries?
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£2700 from Honda, new insight shares the battery pack with much larger volumes. Its just aload of D cell batteries welded in strips though, Panasonic Auto spec ones to cope with the high current discharge and charge rates.

There is one with a K20 engine in aswell, still does 50MPG (US)
 
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