On Sat, 24 Mar 2001, Dennis Brownridge asked:
> ... What sort of fuel efficiency does it get under realistic conditions?
Dennis,
For the life of the car (to date from May of 2000) my overall
gasoline consumption rate is 42 microliters per meter (4.2 L/100 km);
continuously displayed on the all-electronic instrument panel.
There are four odometers. The first can not be reset (a legal
requirement). The remaining three trip odometers can be reset at any time
of the driver's choice. All four give instantaneous graphical displays
of the rate of fuel consumption, and a digital display of the average rate
calculated each minute. All four displays can be toggled, metric or
non-metric, by the push of a button.
The smallest rate of fuel consumption I have enjoyed is about
30 microliters per meter (3 L/100 km) under neutral conditions:
level smooth highway, no winds (head, tail, or cross), climate control
off, and the ideal speed for economy of about 15 m/s to 20 m/s.
> How noisy is it?
The Insight makes less noise than most automobiles.
> How much payload can it carry (volume and mass)?
Gross Vehicle Mass is 1040 kg (all aluminum frame).
Seating if for two persons *only*. A small additional mass
and volume are available for cargo. The numbers are not specified in the
Service Manual. (I'll look again for the numbers in the Owner's Manual.)
> How big and heavy are the batteries?
D-cells, 120 x 1.2 V each = 144 V total battery voltage. There is
an eight year warranty on the Ni-MH battery pack. Mass and volume?
> What is the cruising range?
For the forty-liter fuel tank and highway driving @ 100 km/3.5 L
the maximum range is about 1100 km (40 x 100/3.5 = 1143).
Gene.
