Quote:
Originally Posted by bish79
Ok, lets start an informal owner satisfaction survey on these seven major faults... I'll begin:
1. Ride Quality - I do not find this to be any different than any other car that I own, have owned, or ridden in over the past few years. I do not feel that the Insight is overly harsh in any way.
2. Handling - No it's not an S2000, but taken for what it is, it handles quite well. I actually had alot of fun on some mountain roads through Wyoming earlier this year and forgot I was driving a hybrid.
3. Interior Noise - They're WAY off base on this one. The only interior noise that I get is if I hammer the throttle. I find this acceptable because you should get a nasty reminder of how much fuel you are wasting when you do that.
4. Acceleration - For 99.999% of my driving I do not NEED anymore acceleration than what the Insight provides. If I get into a situation where I NEED more, then I probably shouldn't have done whatever it was that I did to get into that situation. Any expression of a lack of acceleration is purely out of WANT for more acceleration, not need.
5. Rear-Seat - I can at least agree with their point here. However, as most have expressed on this forum, this is something that you are well aware of before buying this car and you must evaluate your own needs before deciding on this. This is certainly NOT a reason to not recommend the Insight, but it should be noted.
6. Access - I am assuming that they are talking about the rear seats again. If so, see comments above.
7. Visibility - I was concerned about this before I had a chance to sit in the car. And my g/f being very short (5'3" or so) was VERY concerned about this. What we found is that the adjustable height seat and huge side mirrors eliminated any concerns. The only annoyance that I still have with this is that you cannot see the face of the driver that is tailgating you at times. But that is an annoyance, not a major issue.
Does anyone else want to add their take on these issues?
|
I will only comment on the handling and road noise; the space issues are of course, dependant upon use, etc. I find the car as quiet (or noisy) as any other on the road bases that I travel....actually quieter than my Taurus SHO over most of the same route
Handling: I have a little 'test' route on my commute through dairy country that has 1/2 to 1 mile straights, punctuated by sharp 90 degree corners that are 1-2 degree banked and posted for 15 MPH. At one far end, there is a sweeping turn posted a 50 MPH; the remainder of the roads are 55MH posted.
I regularly take these 15MPH corners at 33 MPH without even working the suspension, tires, or even shifting to Sport mode. No drama, no squeal, no tilt, slide, span, drift, not even a spilled latte!!
If I tried real hard, and wanted to disturb our contented Holsteins, I could probably push 40MPH if I hung the tail out some.....
On the other end, that 50MPH sweeper is taken at 57MPH, again, with no drama.....(If I had a real clear shot, and knew that there was no traffic, I could split apexes and exit in to the other lane for a probable 65+ exit speed here..)
Another portion of my commute is through a posted 50 MPH bit of wooded twisties for several miles. Here too, I am able to maintain 60 MPH + without squealing tires or even leaning..if traffic is light, I could probably hit 75 in the same area...This car is very competent and I am able to place it just about anywhere on the roadway without sliding or drastic actions on my part.
One caveat: I am running 40PSI vice the standard 33PSI, but even when I was at 33, I never experienced what CR called bad handling.
Interior noise seems low enough to I and my wife; with music on and at speed, we still carry on conversations at normal voice.
Walt
