I don't think it's unreasonable to come to the conclusion of 38mpg -remember that most on this forum who have checked "real world" mpg report that the MID estimate is off by +two or +three mpg. That gives a MID reporting of 40-41 which is where my wife hovers usually.
If Consumer Reports is as thorough as I believe they are then I imagine they are measuring from the pump, rather than using the MID for their numbers.
Still, the other comments are just down-right puzzling to me.
Here's the Consumer Reports' First Drive Impressions from April:
2010 Honda Insight - First Drive
This mentions the telescoping steering column so it begs the question of why they have visibility quibbles with the steering wheel/speedometer. The only time, for me, that this was an issue was during my test drive -before I realized how to adjust the steering column.
And don't get me started on this supposed "noisy car." It's the quietest car I've ever owned -far better than the expensive European sports car I had previously and much quieter than the Yaris, Corolla, and Fit that I test drove on the same day. The only way I could imagine noise being a problem is if one punched the throttle whilst hopping moguls in-between slalom cones. And I guess if they did
that it would explain the low mpg average.
I'm interested in reading the full review because right now I have this giant
question mark about their conclusions. Of their seven major faults (ride quality, handling, interior noise, acceleration, rear-seat, access and visibility) I actually chose the Insight because I thought well of five of them...
JP
