HOT DAMN HONDA!

[BForbes]

As per Autoblog.com:

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

As per CarandD

We’re also waiting for the official EPA fuel-economy ratings. Meantime, Honda projects 40 mpg city and 43 highway—no match for the Prius at 48 and 45, respectively. Your mileage may vary, of course, but our 128-mile test trip over suburban and rural blacktops netted an encouraging 46 mpg

Lets hope Honda was a bit conservative. :thumbup:

The 2009 Insight, at first glance, fits almost perfectly into the Prius mold. The body has the same high-tail fastback silhouette, surely dictated by aero drag considerations. At 172.3 inches, the Insight is nearly three inches shorter than the Prius, 2.5 inches lower, and about an inch narrower

Prius clone?!?!?! Not quite.

For the record, the Insight drives like a Honda, with tight suspension motions, a firm ride, well-connected steering, and a no-fat musculature. Interior sound levels are mild and well controlled, especially at freeway speeds.

:thumbup:

After a half-dozen acceleration sprints, a couple of skidpad runs, and two full-throttle laps around a five-mile oval, it’s telling that the Insight’s fuel gauge was still pegged at full, not budging even a millimeter. The Honda is more invigorating to drive than the Prius—that’s perhaps the feeblest of praise.

:thumbup: :thumbup:

It seems as if a moderately heavy right foot will yield mpg's in the 40's. I wouldnt mind playing with 60mpg+ when I so please.
The CR-Z is going to ROMP.

[TunedM2C]

Gas mileage +
Looks -

[135iUSN]

agree looks - yuk

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by Tuned1

Gas mileage +
Looks -

Sad fact of the matter is, if you're going to build an extremely fuel efficient car with a decent amount of usable space, it's going to look very similar to this. It's no accident that it looks so much like the Prius.

[135i_TT]

Wrong Jeremy...im not feeling this honda, they shoulda came up with their own design instead of copying the Prius, it only averaging at 40 mpg city and 48 mpg on the highway?? Ill stick with VW TDI's that average 45-55 mpg not to mention looks sexier in every way... imho

[ARES45]

I'd prefer a 123d in a 5 door.

[G5Ti]

Jeremy is right that the basic Prius/Insight/Volt silhouette is that of a car that is optimized for aerodynamics. The cars don't have to look identical, but they are going to look remarkably similar.

Personally, I still find hybrids somewhat unappealing as they have yet to routinely match (as others here note) the efficiency of a good diesel motor.

[ARES45]

Wasn't Honda developing a turbo 4 banger diesel that was supposed to be great? I would like to see them put a 5 cyl or 6 cyl diesel in the ridgeline personally, but that is just me.

My stable would then include a 135i coupe, 123d 5 door, and a honda ridgeline diesel.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by 135i_TT

Wrong Jeremy...im not feeling this honda, they shoulda came up with their own design instead of copying the Prius, it only averaging at 40 mpg city and 48 mpg on the highway?? Ill stick with VW TDI's that average 45-55 mpg not to mention looks sexier in every way... imho

Wrong?
I don't care if you're "feeling it" or not. The shape is the most efficient when it comes to a drag/space compromise. You can't change the laws of physics.

FYI, a Prius averages about 50MPG in the city, and about 44MPG on the highway, but this Honda is supposed to be cheaper up front.

We had two TDI's in my old office (a Jetta and a Passat) and neither one of them averaged 55MPG. The Jetta would get about 40MPG in mixed driving, with a little effort. It would move up to about 44MPG on the highway. We also had a Prius. Lifetime average (with around 30k on the clock) on it was 48MPG. Factor in the extra cost of diesel and the Prius makes more sense. It's also considerably larger inside than the Jetta, and has more useful cargo capacity with the seats folded.

And a Jetta looks sexy?

[ARES45]

Prius takes longer than 10 seconds to get to 60, that made it a no go for me. Thats why a 123d would be the perfect compromise in my opinion. The prius did impress the misses and I when we looked at it, lots of space and good quality, but the lack of ability to get up and go when needed makes it unsafe for my driving style.

[135i_TT]

Maybe for a Hybrid the shape is efficient but if I believe reason hybrids dont sell as much as they could is bc of the shape.. The Honda is probably going to be cheaper I mean seriously it is a Honda lol. But I wonder what years your VW's bc driving a lot thru Texas and Mexico Id average 45-55mpg and Id only be putting gas once sumtimes twice a month depending on how fast Id drive. And yes if you look at a VW TDI and this fugly Honda in or out you can easily see who has a more pricey tag... Id also look at the 123d before this Honda..

[singular]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

Wrong?
I don't care if you're "feeling it" or not. The shape is the most efficient when it comes to a drag/space compromise. You can't change the laws of physics.

FYI, a Prius averages about 50MPG in the city, and about 44MPG on the highway.

We had two TDI's in my old office (a Jetta and a Passat) and neither one of them averaged 55MPG. The Jetta would get about 40MPG in mixed driving, with a little effort. It would move up to about 44MPG on the highway. We also had a Prius. Lifetime average (with around 30k on the clock) on it was 48MPG. Factor in the extra cost of diesel and the Prius makes more sense. It's also considerably larger inside than the Jetta, and has more useful cargo capacity with the seats folded.

And a Jetta looks sexy?

I had an '81 VW Diesel Rabbit that got 52MPG. Ugly little sucker. Not aero-dynamic at all.

How much difference does having the Prius-style aero-design actually make? Couple of MPG?

Should they redesign the Tesla to look like a Prius? :biggrin:

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by 135i_TT

Maybe for a Hybrid the shape is efficient but if I believe reason hybrids dont sell as much as they could is bc of the shape.. The Honda is probably going to be cheaper I mean seriously it is a Honda lol. But I wonder what years your VW's bc driving a lot thru Texas and Mexico Id average 45-55mpg and Id only be putting gas once sumtimes twice a month depending on how fast Id drive. And yes if you look at a VW TDI and this fugly Honda in or out you can easily see who has a more pricey tag... Id also look at the 123d before this Honda..

Prius don't sell well?

Toyota sold 158,884 Prius in the United States in 2008. It was the 8th highest selling passenger car, and the 11th highest selling vehicle overall, in spite of being supply limited several months out of the summer (Camry production ate into battery alotments).

For comparision, VW's entire lineup sold 223,128 units in 2008.

The Jetta we had was a MkIV (2004 IIRC) and the Passat was a 2006 I think. It was an auto so that cut it back a little, but the best I ever saw out of it was 40MPG on the highway, and it was typicaly more like 34-36 average.

A 123d will cost $10k more than this Honda. That buys a hell of a lot of gas.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by singular

I had an '81 VW Diesel Rabbit that got 52MPG. Ugly little sucker. Not aero-dynamic at all.

How much difference does having the Prius-style aero-design actually make? Couple of MPG?

Should they redesign the Tesla to look like a Prius? :biggrin:

I don't doubt that at all, but with all the weight forced onto manufacturers for safety equipment these days we've gone backwards in that respect.

It's hard to say about the difference, because there really isn't anything else to compare it to that has a similar drivetrain. I'd say 2-4MPG is probably realistic.

[adrean8j]

FWIW the VOLT is by far NOT ugly....far more "regular" cars out there that look much, much worse. I am with ARES45 on this...give me a 123d!!!!

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by ARES45

Prius takes longer than 10 seconds to get to 60, that made it a no go for me. Thats why a 123d would be the perfect compromise in my opinion. The prius did impress the misses and I when we looked at it, lots of space and good quality, but the lack of ability to get up and go when needed makes it unsafe for my driving style.

There's no doubt it slow. It takes some getting used to to go from a fast car to a Prius on a regular basis for sure. At the same time, the VW TDIs have about the same 0-60 times, so there's not much to be gained there. I've never seen the numbers for a 123d. Any idea what it does it in?

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by adrean8j

FWIW the VOLT is by far NOT ugly....far more "regular" cars out there that look much, much worse. I am with ARES45 on this...give me a 123d!!!!

The Volt is a good take on the design. GM did a nice job with the black around the doors, to break up the belt line.

[Heinzftw]

Looks good. I will definitely wait for another model to come along before getting another Honda. CR-Z anyone? Btw I will take the 123d>all anyday

[jkp1187]

The Insight and the Prius are remarkable vehicles, but I find them a bit bland for my own driving tastes -- both in terms of styling and performance.

The Jetta, although not exactly the most stylish vehicle on the planet, scores over both of them in the looks department.

I think that diesel engines -- like those in the 123d or the Jetta TDI -- offer the best combination of fuel economy and performance for driving enthusiasts of the future...especially after the Honda Accord V6 hybrid spun in. I just wish America would get with that program already.

FWIW, the 123d coupe does 0-62MPH (100kph) in 7.0 seconds, with a top speed of 150 MPH.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/dri...cle2744771.ece

I'd actually prefer it slightly over the 135i as a daily driver just b/c of the fuel economy and longevity of the diesel engine, combined with the fact that it still packs a bit of a punch.

[adrean8j]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

There's no doubt it slow. It takes some getting used to to go from a fast car to a Prius on a regular basis for sure. At the same time, the VW TDIs have about the same 0-60 times, so there's not much to be gained there. I've never seen the numbers for a 123d. Any idea what it does it in?

Do not know the actual numbers off the top of my head but this should be eye opening from our resident Belgian 1addict GIGOLAS:
Original without chip:

Originally Posted by Gigolas

Hi,


This is my BMW 123d coupé that I have since april 2008
204hp and 400 torque

Originally Posted by Gigolas

Chipped mine. Got 243hp and 470 torque. Damn nice for a 2l diesel imo.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by adrean8j

Do not know the actual numbers off the top of my head but this should be eye opening from our resident Belgian 1addict GIGOLAS:
Original without chip:

BMW UK says it's doing it in around 7 Seconds, so not bad.

[adrean8j]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

The Volt is a good take on the design. GM did a nice job with the black around the doors, to break up the belt line.

Yes if I was going to by this genre of car based upon looks the Volt would win hands down. Actually it would win over quite a few vehicles in other genres as well. It has some excellent visual design qualities...