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Originally Posted by wstander
Reading some postings here, I learned that no Prius ever built was close to ready for the road, all have been recalled, broken on the road, or otherwise disabled, that Prius in general apparently have a dismal record of failing on the highway and have to be limped or towed to an expensive repair...or at least that is unproven gist of the missives  |
That comes as bit of a shock to me - I thought they'd be better than that. But I was working in a remote office about a month ago when one guy came in late complaining that the M4 had been all jammed up because of a Prius broken down in the middle lane (and somehow couldn't make it to the hard shoulder refuge). He sneered in that way that people do when they see a Ferrari broken down... It's the backlash against "smug tree-hugging hybrid drivers".
I hope the I2 is as reliable as the Accords I had were. Both were pretty much bullet-proof. Never had one breakdown in a combined 220,000 miles.
I've been a fan of Honda since my first one... I hope my faith in the I2 is justified...
I didn't expect too much in the handling department from my I2 as it's not a sports car but after getting used to it over the last couple of weeks, it certainly goes round corners quite well. It rolls with the punches a bit but credit to it, it holds the line of the corner and doesn't understeer or oversteer.
The only thing that I've not enjoyed is the low feedback from the steering and sometimes a little bit of vagueness around the center steering position when at speed. Maybe this is just the effect of the higher profile tyres and softer suspension than I'm used to. With 17" low profile wheels and tyres and sports suspension, my old car transmitted
everything about the road under it. You knew from the feel of the steering if the road was smooth or rough or had a loose or grippy surface. You could sense any camber or rutting from trucks wearing the tarmac down... In the I2... Every road just feels the same, regardless of what it is.
I absolutely LOVE the tiny turning circle it has. The Accord was a nightmare to park in multi-storey car parks and the like because it had the turning circle of an oil tanker. The I2 can just hang a 90 straight into almost any parking space and I can make the exit corner of my garage drive without the rear wheels mounting the kerb! The only car that I've had that was better was the minute Fiat 126 and the Prelude (another long car but it had 4 wheel steering so could turn like a shopping trolley!)
The I2 doesn't feel as planted as the Accord at speed which wasn't fazed by buffeting from big lorries or side winds and would hold a straight line at 140mph (although the sunroof would start to lift and make a hissing noise above 130mph!). Still, the I2 is higher, shorter and lighter (the seating position is
so much higher in fact that at first it felt like driving my mum's old Suzuki van!) so it
will feel the wind more. My tiny Fiats used to blow around like leaves. The manual says the I2 is electronically limited to 112mph but even if it could get that fast, I'd be worried about its aero-stability at that speed. It didn't inspire confidence at 70mph.
Although it says in the manual to never drive with the wing mirrors retracted, I couldn't help thinking it would be cool to drive along and at a certain speed they would auto-retract to reduce drag in the exact opposite way to Porsche spoilers that come up automatically above 50mph. It would just add to the spaceship appeal of the I2...
"Gold leader... lock x-wings into attack position..."
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