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Back when I owned one of the original Honda Insights, it became very obvious that I would need to adjust my driving habits to fully take advantage of the car's
by bstar77 14y ago
Back when I owned one of the original Honda Insights, it became very obvious that I would need to adjust my driving habits to fully take advantage of the car's enormous driving range.
If I drove like a typical New Jersey-ian then my range would have been somewhere around 450 miles. With some adjustments (namely going around 65mph at most), I could regularly attain 700+ range. This is an adjustment many people absolutely refuse to make. Once I really learned how to get the most out of my car the milage numbers were unbelievable. When I sold the car my lifetime milage was 68 mpg over 130,000 miles (in nj climate).
I can see why Musk is so frustrated... he gets a reviewer that has no interest whatsoever in understanding the vehicle's prime operating conditions and instead is driving the car like a Hertz rental. When going on a long range trip, it should be obvious that you need to drive conservatively. Use the car's incredible performance for shorter trips so that you are not at risk.
I have no problems with these limitations, and I think they are acceptable. I was quite impressed that the range numbers for Tesla were over 500 miles... my current kia rio can't touch that despite getting nearly 50mpg. I have a feeling the media is never going to "get" electric cars because they don't get conservation.
- Domenic_S 14y ago> my current kia rio ... nearly 50mpg I have to ask about this. The highest EPA estimates (which are notoriously generous) for the 2013 Rio are 37 MPG [1]. [1] http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2013_Kia_Rio.shtml http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2013_Kia_Rio.shtml
- adrianpike 14y agoWith a more conservative driving style, it's quite doable to get much better range than those estimates. It's quite fun, actually!
- InAnEmergency 14y agoAgreed. My wife's hybrid is rated at 35mpg, but it regularly gets more than 40mpg, sometimes as much as 48mpg. Of course, if you get really creative... https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/magazine/articles/Vehicle-Insider/How-I-Got-85-Mph-in-the-Lexus-HS-250h https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/magazine/artic...
- bstar77 14y agoYou are correct, and I appreciate you bringing that up. I should have mentioned that I'm averaging around 45mpg and peaking at 50mpg. I don't expect everyone to drive this efficiently, I just happen to enjoy it. But even if I'm a bit more aggressive behind the wheel and loose 10 mpg, I believe my argument is still valid.
- Domenic_S 14y agoThat's cool to know -- I guess the Rio can be hypermiled more efficiently than some others. My last car was a BMW 128, and for the life of me I can't beat EPA estimates. I drive a Prius now though, and consistently beat EPA estimates -- even with mostly highway miles.