Q: How quickly does the Insight accelerate? What is the top Speed.

A: Car & Driver reported a 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 10.6 seconds on a full charge, 12.3 seconds on a partial charge, and 13.3 seconds with zero charge.

Honda quotes a top speed of 180 km/h (112 mph).

Q: What are braking distances like in the Insight?

A: Car & Driver reported a 70-0 mph (117-0 km/h) braking distance of 181 ft (55m). MotorWeek reported a 60-0 mph average of 120 feet.

Q: How does the Insight handle on cornering?

A: The Insight's sporty suspension is designed to favor handling over a soft ride. During high speed corning, the Insight remains stable, but tire grip is limited with the standard low rolling resistance tires. While this isn't something that would affect most drivers in day-to-day driving, it does show up in slalom tests in the form of understeer. Car & Driver's 300 ft diameter skid pad tests reported 0.77g. They reported "moderate" understeer.

Q: I've been waiting for a replacement for the CRX. Is this it?

A: It depends on what it is that you liked about the CRX, and which CRX you want to replace (HF, Si, ...).

If it is the two seat hatchback format you like, then the Insight is indeed very similar to the CRX.

If it is the fuel efficiency of the CRX HF that you want, then the Insight will do about 20% better than the CRX HF did in the same circumstances, with much better emissions levels, much more standard equipment, and meeting present-day safety standards. However, it does this at a much higher price than the CRX HF sold for. Acceleration of the CRX HF and Insight are roughly comparable.

If you're looking for a replacement for a CRX Si's performance, the Insight isn't it. While the Insight does have a sporty side, with agile handling and surprisingly good acceleration for an eco-car, it isn't trying to be the pocket rocket that the CRX Si was.

Q: How well does the Insight deal with mountain driving conditions?

A: The Insight deal very well with climbing hills. In fact, some owners have commented on being surprised when the Insight is able to maintain its speed on steep grades when other cars around them begin to loose speed. Depending on the steepness of the grade and the battery state of charge, the down-shift light may illuminate to ask you to shift down to fourth or third gear.

The Insight is also a lot of fun to drive on twisty mountain roads.

For some reason, the Insight gets extra good mileage in mountainous areas. This may be because, while it takes extra gas when climbing a hill, this is more than offset by the fact that the Insight is smart enough to use no gas at all when you're going down hill.

If the car is primarily driven in mountains conditions, Honda recommends following the "severe condition" maintenance schedule for oil changes.

Q: Has Honda tested the Insight in winter conditions?

A: Yes. In fact, one of the things Honda has specifically mentioned is testing the rear wheel skirt arrangement to ensure that it won't be a problem when there is a lot of snow about. They have also tuned things like idle-stop and which starter motor to use to automatically adjust behavior according to the ambient temperature.

Q: Can you turn on the Insight and leave it to warm-up on cold winter mornings?

A: Yes. The auto-idle-stop feature only activates after the engine has reached operating temperature. For this reason, the Insight will warm up if turned on and left in neutral. We aren't sure, but it may turn off the engine after the car has warmed up.

However, this being said, we discourage the practice of leaving your car on to warm up for more than a minute in the morning. A car warms up much more quickly when driven than when left idling. Leaving the car idling to warm up uses more fuel and creates more pollution, exactly what you bought the Insight to avoid.

Note: This is being said by someone who lives near Ottawa, Canada. If you live in a significantly colder climate than us (brrrrrr...), perhaps you'll have a different perspective on this.

Q: How does the IMA (high-voltage) battery perform in cold weather?

A: The NiMH type battery used in the Insight is nowhere nearly as sensitive to cold temperatures as a lead-acid battery. Honda's specs indicate that the IMA system will operate between +60 and -30 degrees Celsius. In sub -30 temperatures, the cabin heating system will help to bring the battery up to its operating temperature range.

The Insight has an auxiliary starter motor that is used to start the gasoline engine in cold weather, or when the IMA battery doesn't have sufficient charge. The Insight can still be driven without the IMA system operating, though performance would certainly suffer.

Q: Are snow tires available to fit the Insight?

A: The Insight's standard low-rolling resistance tires are rated as M+S (Mud + Snow tires). However, replacing the stock tires with dedicated snow tires can improve winter handling, though almost certainly at the cost of fuel efficiency.

The amount that fuel efficiency is affected will have a lot to do with what pressure you run the tires at. Running tires (including the Insight's stock tires) at lower pressure than Honda's recommended 38 psi front / 35 psi rear will increase the size contact patch with the road, improving grip, but will make rolling resistance worse.

If you'd like to install dedicated snow tires on your Insight, here are some options:

• Nokian, a tire manufacturer located in Finland, produces their Nokian Hakkapeliitta 1snow tires in the Insight's standard 165/65R14 size. These are studdable snow tires. One owner who has is running these tires at 28 psi has initially noticed about a 7% drop in fuel efficiency.
• In Canada, Honda's recommended snow tires for the Insight are the Bridgestone Blizzak MZ-02, 165/65 R14 79Q, p/n: 096857. These can be ordered in Canada from Bridgestone only under a Honda Canada tire program.
• Goodyear Ultra Grip tires are also available in 165/65R14 size.
• Pirelli no longer produces their S/Perf 165/65QR-14 tires. However, if you can still find these somewhere, they are non-studded snow tires that match the Insight's original tire size.
• Pete Tryon from Anchorage Alaska reports that Civic 14" wheels with 175/65R14 snow tires fit the Insight. Note that this tire is slightly larger in diameter than the stock Insight tires, and so may slightly affect speedometer accuracy, among other things.
• If you can find snow tires in the 195/55R14 size, these will also fit on the stock Insight wheels. They are a little over an inch wider than the standard Insight tires, and so will also increase contact area with the road for even better grip, but as a result you should expect them to have a greater impact on fuel efficiency.