Insight MPG variations; depending on how you drive.

[bish79]

Originally Posted by kristingish

I live in Central Illinois and it's been pretty cold. About 20-25 degrees in the morning and 20-30 on the way home.

I know that the temperature does have a negative effect on MPG and I've kept that in mind. Still, I have been reading in these forums that for many people.. that means dropping from around 50-60 to around 40-45 but I still can't get above 39.6 no matter what I do.

It looks like this weekend it will be between 40-60 which will be nice.

I am wondering.. do you have to stay below 45 to get 50+MPG? I have been doing mostly 55 and with the speed limit being 65.. and the Insight being rather small, drivers here seem to violently pass me as though they are offended by my speed. I can understand that as I drove pretty fast myself before, but for my own safety I would like to be at 65.

I think that alot of the people who get 50-60 regularly have a "lucky" commute which includes highway (NOT interstate, but 55 mph highway) and a relatively long stretch so they can get the engine nice and warm every day.

With minor changes (such as tire pressure) you should expect 50-60 MPG on flat terrain with little or no headwind at 55 MPH in the summer. Once you get above 60-65 MPH, the MPG starts to drop off significantly. Under the same conditions at 65 MPH you might expect mid 40's for MPG. 70+ MPH gets you high 30's to low 40's unless you have some more major mods (lowering kit, etc.) Winter just plain sucks, I can't put it any other way, BUT my civic which would get 35-40 MPG in the summer got 25-30 in the winter, so I take the "crappy" winter mileage with a grain of salt.

Now this is gonna be hard to swallow, but I have found that you can drive like a bat out of hell and shotgun start at every light and people will STILL drive like asses around you because you are in a hybrid. I don't know why they do it but they do and it really ticks me off since I can drive slow in a sports car and they don't act like that but I can drive fast in the Insight and they will ride my ass all the way down the road. So you'll have to get used to that... sigh.

[Jayemtee]

Ditto on the "just drive normal" advice, except watch the efficiency indicators and play the game for best score. Watch the MID indicator that shows the bar that slides left or right depending if you are accelerating or braking. Keep the bar out of the hashmarks zone. Watch the halo at the speedometer.

I suggest driving the speed limit, but allowing it to raise or drop 5mph by not jumpping on the gas too hard. You might even try cruise control on the freeway. Don't drive slow just to save gas. That's dangerous.

If you've read enough posts, you saw where a lot of people get a big mileage increase after their first oil change. That will be several thousand miles down the road.

Don't panic. Just learn how to drive correctly, pay attention the intuitive indications, keep your tire pressure up, and it will come around.

[CraigCA]

First oil change? I have almost 6000 miles in 8 months and it still says 50% oil life left.

I use the cruise ALL the time. Even when I'm going 45mph. The car is much better at keeping a constant speed than I am.

Your ECON button is on, right?

[insightfulone]

Besides driving style, tire pressure is very important. Get a good digital, illuminated tire pressure gauge and measure the pressure first thing on a cold morning. It should read at least 33, I'll bet yours will be low. In the winter as the temps cool, tire pressure will naturally go down and reduce your mileage. Even if you drive a little bit, or measure in the afternoon, tire pressure will rise and you will not get an accurate reading of what the cold pressure is.

[freddy the mug]

I'm getting better gas mileage with the econ button off. The car seems to have a bit better torque. I'm using less gas pedal to maintain speed. And getting up to speed quicker without pushing the engine hard.

[iamiam]

Originally Posted by freddy the mug

I'm getting better gas mileage with the econ button off. The car seems to have a bit better torque. I'm using less gas pedal to maintain speed. And getting up to speed quicker without pushing the engine hard.

I made the same decision a while back and have not looked back. First of all, I need to be front of sorry drivers and the depressed acceleration with ECON mode was driving me crazy. I used to average 43 MPG per MID, 41 or less actual. With ECON off, now I average 45 MID, 42-3 actual.