A Peacock Hybrid MARCH 2009 HONDA MAKES a GRAB for the PRIUS’S HALO with a HYBRID for LE$$
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ROAD TEST ELECTRONICALLY ELECTRONICALLY REPRINTED FROM REPRINTED A PEACOCK HYBRID www.caranddriver.com MARCH 2009 HONDA MAKES A GRAB FOR THE PRIUS’S HALO WITH A HYBRID FOR LE$$. BY PATRICK BEDARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFFREY G. RUSSELL HONDA INSIGHT EX THE HIGHS Meet the “affordable hybrid.” on bringing down the price of hybrid ben- was not used, nor were there engine starts ior of these two hybrids is very different. hybrids, like conventional cars, do less Drives like a Honda, taut handling, That’s a new item on your ever- efits more than pushing out the technical at seriously cold temperatures.) “Hondas must drive like cars,” one engi- well in metro motoring. darn good chairs in front, great mpg, expanding menu of hybrid choices. We’ve frontier. The 2010 Insight, at first glance, fits neer explained to us, citing a very specific While Toyota hybrids readily move plenty of hybrid dashboard action. tested hyper-miler hybrids—the original While we wait for its price to be revealed, almost perfectly into the Prius mold. The difference: When you key on the Insight, about at city speeds with the engine off, three-cylinder Honda Insight at the dawn we expect the base Insight LX will slip in body has the same high-tail fastback sil- the engine always starts. But when you Honda’s arguably don’t. However, the of this millennium, rated at 49 mpg city and at less than $21,000, nearly $2000 below the houette, surely dictated by aero drag con- power up a Prius, a ready indicator will Insight does slip into the “EV mode” quite THE LOWS 61 highway by today’s EPA methods—and 2009 Toyota Prius. siderations. At 172.3 inches, the Insight is glow on the dash even though the engine often at low speeds, accomplished by clos- Head-crasher door openings in back, “muscle-car” hybrids, the 5.5-seconds-to- We’re also waiting for the official EPA nearly three inches shorter than the Prius, may choose not to start if it’s already ing all of the valves to prevent pumping Gen-Y muddle on the instrument panel, 60 Lexus GS450h. There have even been fuel-economy ratings. Meantime, Honda 2.5 inches lower, and about an inch nar- sufficiently warm. This difference goes losses and cutting off fuel flow through perplexing hybrids; Honda never was able projects 40 mpg city and 43 highway—no rower. The space inside, as expressed by back to each company’s fundamental ideas the injectors. Motive power in this mode hatch design slices up mirror view. to convince customers of the benefits of the match for the Prius at 48 and 45, respec- EPA passenger volume, is substantially about hybrids. Toyota’s hybrid is more is supplied by the electric motor acting 2005 Accord hybrid. All of the above were tively. Your mileage may vary, of course, less than in the Prius (85 cubic feet versus complex, is more costly to build, and is on the crankshaft, which is still rotating THE VERDICT mileage makers, more or less, but none put but our 128-mile test trip over suburban 96) and makes for a tight back seat with capable of higher fuel economy in urban and therefore adding the engine’s friction Honda seizes the low ground with a priority on affordability. Now Honda is and rural blacktops netted an encouraging limited headroom. But cargo volume, at 16 driving. The payoff of that technology, in losses to the motor’s burden. turning that page with this five-door, five- 46 mpg. (A footnote: Arizona’s temperate cubic feet, is larger by 10 percent. fact, is sufficient to boost the Prius’s city The necessity of “motoring” the engine more hybrid for less lucre. seat Insight; it says the emphasis here is December climate means air conditioning So much for the similarities. The behav- mileage above highway mileage; Honda’s whenever the Honda is in motion will inevi- ROAD TEST ECON INdeed The ECON button gives you a set-it-and- forget-it mode for wringing more mpg out of Honda’s hybrid system. The Eco Guide is one of the advisory screens; call it up for on-the-fly coaching as you try to push up your personal-best mileage. HONDA INSIGHT EX tested. The nearly foot-shorter Fit is much quicker at 8.5 seconds. At 2727 pounds, 216 less than the last Prius we scaled, we think Honda has done a good job of weight control. Still, the non- hybrid Fit is even lighter, at 2506 pounds. Pavement grip is typical of fuel savers on low-rolling-resistance tires, 0.74 g on the skidpad compared with 0.76 for the Prius. Braking was above average at 177 feet from 70 mph, with no surprises during a panic stop. For gentle stopping around town, however, the brakes have the quirky, nonlinear feel common to some hybrids. We celebrate hybrids that try to involve the driver in their special fuel-saving capa- for two in front, a bit tight on the knees in bilities. Honda has always been a leader in COUNTERPOINT back if front occupants are unwilling to this regard, though Ford is an impressive compromise on legroom. The rear bench is contender with the 2010 Fusion. The Insight high, firm, and exceptionally well shaped offers two aids that we haven’t seen before. DAVE VANDERWERP for lumbar support. Most obvious is the glowing background After a half-dozen acceleration Honda’s shrewd packaging of the of the digital speedometer, which varies sprints, a couple of skidpad runs, hybrid’s energy-storage apparatus mini- through a range of peacock hues from elec- and two full-throttle laps around mizes its intrusion into cargo space. The tric lime green at the thrifty extreme to a five-mile oval, it’s telling that the 48-pound nickel-metal hydride battery double-strength indigo blue at full power. Insight’s fuel gauge was still pegged pack, along with 35 pounds of electronic Compared with GM’s “ECO” indicator, at full, not budging even a millimeter. circuitry and power connectors, lives in an which simply gives your effort a passing The Honda is more invigorating to armored box low between the rear wheels or failing grade, Honda’s subtle shading drive than the Prius—that’s perhaps where it is protected from crash impact. is vastly more informative. It focuses the the feeblest of praise—but the The spare tire reclines above, under a mind on the one essential issue of frugal enthusiast litmus test seems to be hinged panel in the cargo hold. All you see driving: Would a little less power get you whether you’d trade the Insight’s when you lift the hatchback is a flat floor, there just as quickly? Because the cruise- dozen-mpg advantage to drive the which is continued forward when the rear control mentality of constant speed up hill cheaper, far more spacious, light- backrests are folded. Three separate head and down is not the most efficient way. years quicker, and exceedingly more restraints retract neatly into the rear seat- The second aid, Eco Guide, can be exciting standard-issue Honda Fit. I back, pulling them down out of the mirror called up on the trip computer centered certainly would. view when passengers have no need. in the tach. It’s a graphic guide for tailor- The passenger compartment and the ing your acceleration and braking to the JEFFREY DWORIN rear structure are newly designed for the preferences of Honda’s hybrid system. You I’ve never been a hybrid fan. Mostly Insight. The front structure and the sus- see a horizontal bar graph that lengthens they’re joyless to drive, with far pension are carried over from the Honda leftward for braking and rightward for too many powertrain quirks. But Fit. Like the Fit, the Insight has drum acceleration, marked by suggested don’t- this Honda hybrid forces me to brakes in back to cut costs. go-here zones on each end of the range. Any rethink my position. When you All Insights have the same 88-hp, 1.3- guidance is good, we think, but neither of twist the Insight’s ignition key, liter four-cylinder engine supplemented by these aids scored on the grin meter of our the gasoline engine comes to life a 13-hp electric motor that is sandwiched most passionate hybrid enthusiast. as in a conventional car. And it between the engine and the transmission Pushing the ECON button calls in a drives like a conventional car, with as in every Honda hybrid. Maximum computer to moderate air-conditioning almost none of the bad habits of its output is 98 horsepower (because the two cycles and throttle action to improve competitors. While graphic-display sources don’t peak at the same speed, fuel economy. Apart from illuminating a screens may be engagingly novel, a simply adding up the power of the two is leafy green sprout on the cluster, ECON manual gearbox would make things incorrect, Honda says). A CVT is the only produces mildly lethargic part-throttle genuinely entertaining. available transmission. EX versions have responses but bows out completely when shifter paddles linked to software that you press further to full power. simulates a seven-speed gearbox. Honda plans 90,000 Insights per year for tably cut into mileage. But if the overall Because the motor contributes up to 58 the U.S., aimed especially at Gen-Y buyers vehicle price can be lower, which is the plan, pound-feet of torque at 1000 rpm, roughly with incomes of $45,000 to $55,000.