Gasoline Type Recommendations

You can safely use "regular" 87 octane (91 ROZ) or higher gasoline, and this is what most Insight owners use. There may be some benefit to using higher octane gasoline, though there is much debate as to if or how much benefit there is.

The North American owner's manual says to use on "regular" 87 octane or higher gasoline. The service manual, however, indicates that 91 octane (95 ROZ) gasoline should be used for best performance. The German owner's manual also says that you should use "premium" 95 ROZ (91 octane) gasoline. It goes on to say that the Insight can be driven with lower ROZ gasoline, but power may be reduced.

The Insight's gasoline engine has a fairly high compression ratio of 10.8:1. Manufacturers usually indicate that premium gasoline should be used in cars with a compression ratio this high. The Insight does have a knock sensor that allows it to adjust to different octane levels.

Some owners have reported increased mileage with higher octane gasolines, while others who have tried higher octane gasolines haven't noticed any difference. Part of the difficulty in comparing the use of lower and higher octane gasolines is that there are so many other variables that affect mileage that it is difficult to do an accurately controlled comparison. Even driving the same route at the same speed can vary one time to another due to wind speed and many other factors.

If you want to be picky about what gasoline you use in your Insight, it probably makes more sense to pay attention to sulfur levels than to octane ratings. Sulfur interferes with catalytic converter operation, leading to higher emissions levels (among other harmful side effects). Since the Insight is designed to achieve very low emissions levels, it makes sense to maximize this buy selecting the lowest sulfur level possible.

In many areas, sulfur levels to vary from one retailer to another. Unfortunately, many gasoline retailers don't provide information on the sulfur levels in their gasoline, and so it may take a little research to find out how much sulfur is in the fuel you're buying. Here are some gasoline sulfur levels that you can use as a basis for comparison:

In Canada, the Canadian automaker's association has introduced an "Automaker's Choice" program that identifies fuel with a maximum sulfur level of 150 ppm. Currently, you'll only find this logo on the pumps at a few MacEwen stations (owned by Irving). Beginning in July, 2002, all gasoline sold in Canada will be required to have a maximum sulfur level of 150 ppm. As of January 1st, 2005, that maximum will be lowered to 30 ppm.

Another thing to bear in mind is that premium gasolines may also include better quality additives that contribute to cleaner burning, or provide other beneficial qualities.

Q: How accurate is the fuel consumption display?

A: The fuel consumption display (mpg readout) is based on the actual amount of fuel that the fuel injectors are delivering at any moment, and so is very accurate.

By comparing the average fuel consumption displayed by the car with the total distance traveled and the amount of fuel put into the car, Insight owners have found the fuel consumption display to be very accurate - often within +/- 1%.

In fact, the display may be even more accurate that this, as some of the discrepancy may be due to slight differences in the amount of fuel put in the tank each time. You can imagine that if you filled the tank three weeks ago, and filled it again today, after having traveled 700 miles, and having put 10 gallons in the tank, you might conclude that you averaged 70 miles per gallon. However, this is assuming that the "full" tank from three weeks ago is exactly as full as the "full" tank from today. Due to differences in the volume of fuel at different temperatures, and due to one gas pump's auto-shut-off sensor being more sensitive than another, both "full" tanks probably don't have the same amount of fuel in them. It is easy to imagine, in fact, that the amount of fuel in the "full" tank one time could vary by at least 1% as compared to another occasion.

Q: How do the air conditioning and idle stop features interact?

A: You have three choices with regards to how you want the air conditioning / idle stop interaction to behave

1. If you set the climate control to full auto mode (by pressing the "auto"), the air conditioning will take priority over idle stop. This means that if it is hot enough for the air conditioning, idle stop won't occur, but instead the engine will continue to run to power the A/C compressor.
2. If you set the climate control to economy mode with automatic fan speed (by pressing the "econ" button), idle stop will occur if the interior has reached the set temperature. When you come to a stop, since the engine is turned off, the A/C compressor is off. In this mode, the car automatically selects what speed to use for the fan that delivers cold air, and will turn off the fan during idle stop.
3. The third option, which many Insight owner's I've talked to don't realize is available, is to set the climate control to economy mode, but set a specific fan speed (e.g. press "econ" button, then press fan speed button once.) In this mode, the idle stop will continue to function, meaning that the A/C compresser is off, but the fan will continue to run. Since air is still being blown over the evaporator coils, you continue to get cold air, so long as you aren't stopped for too long.

Car-pool (HOV) lanes with only the driver

This chart shows which jurisdictions permit the Insight to be used in HOV (car-pool) lanes with only one person in the car. If you have information on any other regions, please email me.