One Year Later

With the turn of the new year, 2003, it is a good time to take a look back at the past 12 months driving one of the most unique cars on the road today.

The 2001 Honda Insight was, for me, a step outside of my regular buying patterns. I'd always driven small to medium cars, but they'd always been 4-doors, and a more traditional design. My purchase of the 2001 Insight changed all of that. This review is for all late-model Insights in general, since the car has not changed much in the past two model years.

When I first saw the car, I was intrigued. It's radical design, the fact that it was a hybrid, and that it's motor shut down when I came to a stop sign or stop light were enough to keep me coming back for yet another test drive. The dealer I eventually purchased the car from, was extremely cooperative and knowledgeable. They let me test drive this car about 6 times by myself. I looked at many other makes and models, but, as I said, I kept coming back to the Insight.

When I finally made my decision, it was because of the high gas mileage (I'd been driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee) and that it was one of the cleanest running cars on the market today. With the Jeep, I was used to spending $90 - $110 per month on gasoline, and I was ready for a change. Also, I wanted to do something that said I was serious about fighting the brown cloud pollution that appears many days here on the Front Range of Colorado.

At first, I was very aware that I was driving something unique. As a result, I noticed everyone looking at it as I drove it down the streets of Denver. A year later, I've become used to the car, but I still notice a lot of looks my way as the car passes by. Last year, the most asked question I got was "Where do you plug it in?" Now, with the introduction of the Honda Civic Hybrid, and more Toyota Prius's on the road, more people are aware of hybrids than they once were.

Driving the car has been fun. It was great fun when I first bought it, and it continues to be fun a year later. Gas mileage over the past year has more than met my expectations. On average, around town, I'm getting between 52 and 53 mpg. Some Insight owners may think that this is on the low side, but consider that I do not drive on the OEM Insight tires, but have replaced them with more standard tires for better traction on the road. I find I can get an mpg that is closer to 60 mpg on the open road where I can better regulate my speed to something constant. One trick I've found in driving the car is to watch the mpg numbers, and the battery charge indicator. If I drive more conservatively, and keep the battery charged up, I've found that my mpg improves also.

I've taken the car up some dirt roads, with generally good results. Here is where you need to be aware of the ground clearance of the car. The specs say that there is about a 6 inch clearance between the bottom covers of the car and the road. I'd say that is about right. If I take a dirt road, I have to drive slower so that I don't bottom out the car and crack one of the under covers.

The sound system still bothers me. I replaced the stock radio and front speakers when I bought the car. The radio is great, but I will eventually need to upgrade the speakers I got. I also am planning to put speakers in behind the seats, and possibly a sub-woofer to give the car's sound a lower end. Right now, the sound still sounds tinny.

I have enjoyed the driving guages. They are extremely informative. The climate control through the winter and summer months was very effective.

The car has been in for regular oil changes, and a service around 8,000 miles. There was one unscheduled service at 3,000 miles when Honda contacted me to tell me that the firmware in the car's computer needed upgrading to better control the emissions. Speaking of emissions. Colorado has started putting emission checking devices at strategic on-ramps to some of our larger interstates. Drive by one of them, and it instantly reads your emission and gives you a 'pass' or 'fail' grade. The ones I've driven by have all passed me with flying colors.

The car body has held up well over the past year. I didn't know how I would like an aluminum body at first. But, I keep it clean and waxed, and the body has shown few, if any, of the normal scratching I've seen in other, more standard, cars.

The front seats have proven to be very comfortable. I had back surgery this past year, and once I got into the car, the seats were very easy on my back.

One driving problem that I've encountered is that people don't seem to see me and tend to make dumb driving decisions as a result. The horn is much too tiny to be effective, and isn't much help in letting people know I'm there. So, I have to be much more careful driving than I have been in the past. I've also been thinking about replacing the horn with one from another manufacturer, though I hear it is not easy to get to.

I wish the car had cruise control. That would really help the mileage on the open road, and help reduce driving fatigue on longer trips.

A question some will have is "How has it done in the snow?" I put good snow tires on it, and so far it has performed as well as any other front-wheel drive car I've owned. Low ground clearance means that I can't go when the snow on the streets is in excess of 5"-6", but with the snow plow crews here, that's generally not the case.

Would I buy the car again, if I knew then what I knew now? You bet I would. It's fun to drive. I don't feel guilty about going for a drive in the country anymore, or making multiple small trips for errands. And the $20 gasoline bills that come in each month make my wallet feel good.

I was once asked if I minded buying a foreign car. My response was that I would rather buy this foreign car and help reduce dependence on oil, and help the environment.