That is a really good point. I also drive in ways that limit assist usage, hoping to prolong IMA battery life, I pay a slight mpg penalty, but figure it will be worth it in the long run.

Also, wrt driving the car on a dead IMA battery, with the Insights at least this is problematic (I don't know if the HCH's are similar but probably). There is no alternator in the Insight, it depends on the IMA system to charge the 12v battery, and the charging function is disabled by a dead IMA battery.

In the Insight forum there is a guy who recently reported trying to live without his IMA battery when it died. He lasted about 2 weeks before getting sick of charging his 12v battery every day. I think it died on him once and that was the last straw for him.

Here is the thread:

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/w...tery.5734.html