This is a history so far with a Honda Insight. At this point we have over 49,000 miles on the car. I would not use our numbers in your database, it would hurt the averages. The mileage techniques already presented on your website will give me much to think about. I am writing anyway, maybe to give an unvarnished view of an average driver.

The Rocky Mountain Institute proposed what they called a Hypercar, which introduced me to the idea of a hybrid car. Later the Prius and Insight came on the market. My wife and I had an aging sport utility. She was in favor of replacing it with another sport utility, when it gave out. But it used two or three tanks of gas per week. Unless we were hauling visitors or stuff, the two of us were the only load it carried. My wife agreed to put the sport utility into semi-retirement, and to get a hybrid for everyday commuting. We got the Insight because my wife hates sedans, and she hates automatic transmissions.

We had both driven Hondas in the past. The Insight has a likable Honda personality.

Road and Track magazine had done a test drive of the Insight and Prius. In the article the Insight’s battery lost charge during a drive into the California mountains. So when we took delivery of the car, we actually paid more attention to battery charge than to mileage. Every few weeks the battery can lose charge. I can be sitting at a light, on Auto Stop, and the engine will cut itself on, followed by a drop in the battery charge showing on the dashboard. The gas engine can move the car by itself, albeit sluggishly. After a quarter mile of driving, the battery is charged enough to Auto Stop again. The service department at Honda said they would ask why we lose charge, but no news so far.

I had to learn not to put my seat all the way back, so I could glance out the rear quarter window. I was concerned about rear visibility. Since the car is low to the ground, the rear deck can be piled with luggage, but the view in the rear view mirror is fine.

Being low to the ground also makes the car invisible when other vehicles are backing up. A Buick backed into the right front fender in a parking lot. The Honda dealership knew of a body shop that had repaired another Insight. The repair cost over $600.

Someone wrote that they were not happy with the door sills in the Civic. The same can be said for the Insight.

The Check Engine light would come on regularly, until Honda issued a patch for the computer.

Automatic climate control is sheer delight.

Now for what everyone else talks about, the mileage. As I said, my numbers do not stack up.

We bought the car in Conyers, Georgia. At the time we took delivery the average mileage on the dashboard was 30 mile per gallon. By the time we left Atlanta, it was up to 53 mpg. Driving around Atlanta is like driving around the District of Columbia. The terrain is hilly, the drivers are aggressive. At first, being back in a small car, I drove passively. But I do not like being cut off by other drivers. Soon I was back to tail gating to keep my place in line, which is ultimate stop and go driving.

We moved to Greenville, North Carolina. Driving I20 across South Carolina I averaged over 72 mpg on that leg of the trip.

In Greenville, North Carolina, the terrain is coastal plain, the traffic is less congested. Most highway driving involves dashing from a job to the airport in Raleigh, so speed takes priority over mileage. In warm weather I average 62 mpg, in cool weather 55 mpg. Every year when the weather turns cool, I have a mental bloc; it takes me weeks to remember to check the tire pressure.

I have been using tire pressure that I used on my old 1976 Honda. At first this was 30 psi, later 36 psi. The Honda dealership in Greenville, North Carolina, says they service three Insights. The service department once asked if I had recommendations on tires. They said another Insight owner had his tires at around 45 to 50 psi, and was averaging 65 mpg. When he bought a new set of tires, his mileage dropped and he went ballistic.