How practical is this tiny car?
 

Hi, current HCH owner here considering an insight. I commute 80 miles each way to work with one other person. While the HCH is a great car, I wonder if it's more than we need for this trip which is its primary purpose. So, thinking about an Insight I wonder how comfortable it is for two people. We both carry a briefcase and/or backpack which we usually put in the back seat of the civic. Is there a handy place for stuff like this and an occasional box or two in the Insight? The other thing I typically carry is a set of golf clubs... is there enough room in the Insight to carry clubs long-term?

Thanks for your help, I have never seen one up close and the dealer here doesn't have one to look at.

Re: How practical is this tiny car?
 

The answer is yes.

A bike rack can fit on the rear bumper without damage.

The seats may become uncomfortable after an hour or so of travel, althoug I've managed.

The behind-the-seat room is comparable to the CRX, but the bottom half full (batteries).

Hope that was helpful...

Re: How practical is this tiny car?
 

For comfort, I would compare the Insight to most other small, short wheelbase cars - it's what I call a "lively" ride, you feel the road. It's comparable to my old RX-7.

Two people will be OK, the interior is spacious for the size car it is. And the cargo area should handle everything you listed.

Good luck finding one.

Regards,

Re: How practical is this tiny car?
 

For your looking to get a Insight one thing you should no theres no crusie control. The car is great for long trips. Your going to save a lot of money on those trips. I went from Jacksonville, Florida to the New Jersey turnpike drafting on one tank of gas and from Jacksonville, Florida to Washington D.C. without drafting on one tank also. If you got any questions about the car you can email me at Jperez1204@aol.com :shade:

Re: How practical is this tiny car?
 

No criuse control on a car built for commuting? WTF?

Re: How practical is this tiny car?
 

Don't get so excited about the lack of cruise control...

It was not recommended for the 1988 CRX HF I had prior to my 5-speed Insight.

If you want to get the best fuel economy out of the Insight, most if not all the hypermilers will tell you it's going to be by letting your accelerator foot respond to the dashboard. Frankly, the Insight's dash is like a video arcade. Even if you want to drive a bit agressive (not saying you do...) I doubt a cruise control will do as well as you could manually.

Re: How practical is this tiny car?
 

Not interested in hypermiling, I just want to do as well as I can with what I have to do. Remember I'm talking about 160 miles a day, five days a week, all year. Would you be excited about doing that without cruise control? With that in mind, I'll pay a little gas for some comfort. Has anyone here installed aftermarket cruise control? I had one on a toyota and it never worked right. Sort of made me shy away from anyhing but factory cruise. That really is too bad the insight doesn't have it. Oh well, I didn't really need to be car shopping right now anyway.

Re: How practical is this tiny car?
 

I just got a manual 2006 Insight in December. I commute 120 miles each day. The Insight is comfortable enough for me and lack of cruise control is not an issue. I'm averaging 62 mpg on my commute. There should be enough storage spave in the back to haul everything you listed. I say, if gas cost is your primary objective, go for it.

Why Cruise Control Doen't Work (I Think)
 

I could be wrong, but cruise control works best on powerful vehicles with automatics - the anthesis of the 5-speed Insight.

My foot does not suffer much from long trips. I'd bet that most Insight drivers desiring better comfort would enhance or replace the seat.

If you don't/can't hypermile - that's OK. Just be aware that cruise controls are probably a bad fit on very lightweight 5-speeds, esp. hill climbing....

Re: How practical is this tiny car?
 

I drive 130 miles, round trip in my '04 HCH MT. I get close to 60 mpg. Rarely do I use the cruise control.

If you will get 60 mpg, or so, in the Insight running on autopilot, why not use some of the tools at hand in the HCH and get as close to 60 as possible?