FWIW, the guy who originally owned my '04 Insight commuted from Riverside to LA and back every day and constantly complained about bad mileage and the pack being discahrged. (It registered something like 39 mpg lifetime on the odo when I bought it.)
When I spoke to him he said he complained to Honda a number of times, and they always pronounced the car perfectly fit every time they tested it. He complained the IMA pack was always being slowly discharged in traffic and that the eventual forced recharge was killing his mileage. He'd added a funky window film to the glass that was supposed to reduce the A/C cycling and keep the temp down. Nothing worked and he finally traded it for an Accord or something.
Anyway, the day I bought it I drove it home from Phoenix, up the 5000 ft or so to Flagstaff and then across I40 to Colorado. That trip was the worst mileage it ever got and it was around 54 mpg. The pack never got below 1/4 charge during the long climb up to Flagstaff. Since then I've driven it over a number of mountin passes, topping out at 10-11k ft. The pack has never gotten below 3 bars. Where I live requires little stop & go the thing behaves better than advertised, averaging 60.1 since I reset the lifetime MPG indicator the day after I brought it home. It got 64.9 on a round trip to Albuquereque, cruising 65 mph. During that trip the pack never got below 3/5 charge going through the mountains.
It appears maybe communting can be aided by bypassing auto stop and a light foot on the accelerator to avoid using assist.
When I spoke to him he said he complained to Honda a number of times, and they always pronounced the car perfectly fit every time they tested it. He complained the IMA pack was always being slowly discharged in traffic and that the eventual forced recharge was killing his mileage. He'd added a funky window film to the glass that was supposed to reduce the A/C cycling and keep the temp down. Nothing worked and he finally traded it for an Accord or something.
Anyway, the day I bought it I drove it home from Phoenix, up the 5000 ft or so to Flagstaff and then across I40 to Colorado. That trip was the worst mileage it ever got and it was around 54 mpg. The pack never got below 1/4 charge during the long climb up to Flagstaff. Since then I've driven it over a number of mountin passes, topping out at 10-11k ft. The pack has never gotten below 3 bars. Where I live requires little stop & go the thing behaves better than advertised, averaging 60.1 since I reset the lifetime MPG indicator the day after I brought it home. It got 64.9 on a round trip to Albuquereque, cruising 65 mph. During that trip the pack never got below 3/5 charge going through the mountains.
It appears maybe communting can be aided by bypassing auto stop and a light foot on the accelerator to avoid using assist.
