This week, I went to Las Vegas to attend Jaguar's R Performance driving school -- a very cool program that I'll tell you more about in a couple of days. Rather than fly, I decided to put some miles on our long-term Insight and see what kind of fuel economy numbers I could generate.
My trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas was a straight shot up Interstate 15. After a bit of dodging and weaving through the last remnants of rush-hour traffic, I took it easy, setting the cruise at 72 MPH. Through the flatlands, I was averaging well over 47 MPG. A couple of steep climbs (and correspondingly steep descents) put a dent in that figure, but after about four hours of driving I rolled into Sin City with 45.8 MPG showing on the trip computer.
For the drive home, I decided to stick to the back roads, heading northwest out of Las Vegas towards Pahrump. My route took me just above the snowline, and I pulled off for the photo above (larger version here) to commemorate the Insight's first time dipping its tires into the white stuff. From Pahrump, I headed for Death Valley. Years ago, I took the original two-seat Honda Insight for a trip through Death Valley, so there was something cool -- to me, at least -- about repeating the trip in the new Insight.
I figured the beauty of Death Valley would provide great backdrops for some new photos of the Insight, but I just couldn't stay ahead of the dirt -- Death Valley has been seeing an unusual amount of rain, and while the skies were clear, there was still a lot of water and mud on the road, and a good chunk of it clung to the Insight. Oh well, I still enjoyed the scenery.
The long, straight desert roads provide few hiding places for the po-po, so I took advantage of one lonely straightaway to see if the Insight's digital speedometer has a third digit. (It does.) But for most of the trip I kept my speed down -- gas stations are few and far between, and while the Insight gets great mileage, it doesn't have a very big fuel tank. As it turns out, I topped off the tank on my way out of Vegas, puttered around Nevada and California for the better part of seven hours and 400 miles, and got home with about a quarter of a tank left.
Death Valley National Park is known for containing the lowest point in the continental United States -- Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level -- but it also has its share of peaks, the highest of which (Telescope Peak) stands over 11,000 feet. The Insight and I didn't climb nearly that high, but we still did our share of climbing, often to the point of exhausting the hybrid battery. The last two hours were downhill at freeway speeds, and my final day's fuel economy was 44.5 MPG.
Final score: 667 miles at 45 MPG. Total fuel consumption was 14.8 gallons, so the whole shebang cost me about $43 in gas.
Other trivia from the trip: Oil life is now (finally) down to 15%, and we are now getting a SERVICE DUE SOON light when we start the car. That means we should go well past 10,000 miles before the first oil change! Also, I brought along my old Motorola phone, which is supposed to be fully compatible with the Insight's Bluetooth speakerphone -- and sure enough, it worked like a charm. And here I thought I had that most rare of artifacts -- a defective Honda. Maybe such things really don't exist. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Aaron, what do you think the TDI would have delivered for fuel economy? Which would you prefer to drive?
Jeff — Difficult to quote a number, as my mileage in Volkswagen TDIs seems to vary with body style (aerodynamics?), transmission, and type of driving. But if I was able to pull 45 MPG out of the Insight, I’m sure I might have been able to get at least 50 MPG out of a Jetta TDI with a DSG transmission. Although those highway runs make me wonder — the aerodynamics of the Insight seem to really help at higher speeds. Which would I rather drive? Well, as much as I like the Insight — and I genuinely do like the car — I’m a sucker for diesels. And both the Jetta and the Golf have a sunroof, which would have been nice on this trip.
My 2010 Golf test drive was mostly city driving, so the MPG figure isn’t showy — mid-30s, although I think that’s pretty good for the type of driving I did. Maybe VW will let me repeat the LA-LV-DV-LA trip in a Golf… I’ll have to ask. — Aaron
Hi Aaron – 10,000 miles without an oil change. That seems amazingly far. Do you trust the electronics to manage that? I’m never sure what to do about oil changes. Speedy-lubes or what have you always put in a sticker that says to change at 3,000 miles. My Subaru dealership suggests 3,750 between oil changes. (Is this adjusted for living in the frozen wastes of Minnesota?) My owner’s manual suggests 5,000 miles (if I remember correctly.) I hate to waste oil, but once upon a time my dad told me that changing it on time is the most important thing you can do for your car, saying that if you fail, your engine will become a boat anchor. The question is further complicated by synthetic oils which apparently go further (is that what you have in the Insight to make it go so far between changes?) Much more expensive – are they worth it? What is your thinking on the topic?
Aaron….I just have one question….how do you manage to keep the Insight looking showroom shiny after driving it through snow?
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Al, everyone knows that Aaron travels with an entourage of trucks each carrying a clean test vehicle. In fact, it’s doubtful that “Aaron Gold” even exists. He’s a cyber construct posting stories through multiple “ghost writers”. It’s a massive right-wing-conspiracy….Orwellian in structure….machiavellian in scope…orrr something.
OK, OK. I’m full of crap. But I bet the car wash got a pretty good workout.
Either that or the Insight is really a hover craft.
Aaron says…
“And here I thought I had that most rare of artifacts — a defective Honda. Maybe such things really don’t exist.” — Aaron Gold
Aaron, oh yeah, they do exist! Keep reading..
I have a ‘07 Civic EX with an A/T. In less than 3 yrs. & 21K miles I’ve had the tranny replaced, the replacement tranny blew the 3rd gear pressusre switch, the right inside boot & CV joint replaced, replaced the steering rack, battery & sun visors, all under warranty. Also had 3 recalls taken care of.
Yeah, nothing quite like Honda quality!
Where’s the Hyundai sales guy? I’d liked to hear his thoughts on your observed mpg? Oh wait, that was on the Aaron Gould about.com site.
Please Matt, don’t encourage Hyundai-Man.
I don’t even think the Insight is a real car, but I came to this blog just to get away from him.
Hyundai Dude needs to go up to Canada, where the first Hyundais appeared in North America. They were known as the Hyundai Pony. Never in the annals of Canadian Automotive History has a car been lamented less. That includes the Yugo, Russian Lada and the Skoda. Worst crap that ever washed up on North American shores!!! Auto graveyards are full of them…most with less than 50,000 miles.
Wolfe – the reason for the extended milage is that the engine in a hybrid doesn’t always run. Therefore, the car may have travelled 10k miles, but the engine hasn’t been driving that far.
Aaron – Glad to read the insight is working out. As for the hybrid vs. diesel comparison, I guess one big consideration may be how many gas stations out in the desert actually sell diesel.
My 14 year old daughter loves the Insight in Tiffany Blue, so I have been following the story with much enthusiasm.
Presently we have a 2002 VW Beetle TDI with 150,000. Last year the 3 of us drove through every State east of the Mississippi, except for Michigan. We averaged close to 40 mpg fully, and I mean fully loaded with people and stuff.
The problem that I have with the Insight is that it is not nearly as fat friendly as the Bug. As a tall fat man the Bug is very comfortable while I am afraid that I am going to shoehorn myself in and out of the Insight. Maybe if I can drop some tonnage.
Another thing I love about the TDI is that oil and filter changes are every 10k. Once I hit 160k it will be time for another timing belt change. I don’t think I will get the to door Golf TDI, @ $24k it is too expensive for the money. I will keep the Bug forever. Happy trails.