After less than a week of living with our "new" 2001 Insight, I have a quesiton that reflects not what I know about this car but, rather, what I know about our Prius.
With the Toyota, the general consensus among hybrid "enthusiasts" is that energy conversion into and out of the battery is inefficient and is, therefore, to be minimized. When moving on a level stretch of ground at a speed under 41 mph (which is about the point that the Prius' CVT is going to start the gas engine due to planetary gearing) there is actually a mode you can find (and observe on the MFD) where no energy is flowing in either direction.
Similarly, there are methods of acceleration that promise greater efficiency (though they all seem to work equally well). And that leads me to my Insight question:
According to the manual, shifting with the greeen "upshift" light is the most efficient. However, in actual use, this feels like serious short-shifting. In order to attain acceleration any faster than glacial, I find I am really stepping into the throttle. In any other car, it would be lugging to beat the band. But with the Insight, the battery assist cuts in to provide the "oomph" I'm lacking.
When I rev it out to what feels to be a more productive engine speed (not more than 3000 rpm), the upshift light will have been glowing for quite a few seconds, quietly urging me to get into another gear. When I do this, from what I can see, there is no charging and no assist. If this is an accurate indication, I'm simply utilizing the ICE and not converting any energy within the IMA system.
So, overall, which is more efficient in terms of mpg -- getting into the IMA and letting the electric motor add some torque (energy for which will have to be replaced in the battery by additional running of the ICE)...or asking the ICE to act just a tiny bit more like it would in an Si model Honda?
With the Toyota, the general consensus among hybrid "enthusiasts" is that energy conversion into and out of the battery is inefficient and is, therefore, to be minimized. When moving on a level stretch of ground at a speed under 41 mph (which is about the point that the Prius' CVT is going to start the gas engine due to planetary gearing) there is actually a mode you can find (and observe on the MFD) where no energy is flowing in either direction.
Similarly, there are methods of acceleration that promise greater efficiency (though they all seem to work equally well). And that leads me to my Insight question:
According to the manual, shifting with the greeen "upshift" light is the most efficient. However, in actual use, this feels like serious short-shifting. In order to attain acceleration any faster than glacial, I find I am really stepping into the throttle. In any other car, it would be lugging to beat the band. But with the Insight, the battery assist cuts in to provide the "oomph" I'm lacking.
When I rev it out to what feels to be a more productive engine speed (not more than 3000 rpm), the upshift light will have been glowing for quite a few seconds, quietly urging me to get into another gear. When I do this, from what I can see, there is no charging and no assist. If this is an accurate indication, I'm simply utilizing the ICE and not converting any energy within the IMA system.
So, overall, which is more efficient in terms of mpg -- getting into the IMA and letting the electric motor add some torque (energy for which will have to be replaced in the battery by additional running of the ICE)...or asking the ICE to act just a tiny bit more like it would in an Si model Honda?