Just test drove the new Insight

If works just fine if you: come to a stop, wait for the light to change, go. Why do you feel the need to move a few inches at a time?

 

Yo'all need come to Sunny Socal and spend some time on the "405" at 4pm on a Friday. I garontee, you will see the light!!!

 

Wait 'til it's inched a couple of car lengths. Occasionally you'll get some jerk overtaking you because you didn't move immediately when the car in front did, but it's not that common. Or, you may find yourself next to a junction where many cars pull out into your gap, in which case you might need to get a little more aggressive if they're not allowing you your turn again.

If it's very stop-and-go, try to give yourself a bit of a buffer then creep along at the average speed; your buffer will grow and shrink as people speed up to each other and slam on their brakes. This technique actually clears the jam; most jams are caused by people reacting to each others' brake lights. Running through at a slow speed means everyone behind you can do the same thing, at least until some idiot brakes again.

Once you've come to a stop, stay there when the people in front decide that they could have got a bit closer to the car in front of them.

Patience is a virtue. Why is covering the two feet of tarmac in front of you so important? Once you're moving at decent speed, you'll cover them in no time. (At 30mph you cover 44 feet per second.)

For more jam-driving tips, see Traffic Waves.

 

good advice, but to be honest, in northern NJ you have to keep less than a car length in front of you or person after person will cut in front of you. it's quite rediculous.

 

That's why you buy a FULL hybrid that can get out of the traffic jam on battery power.

 

When paying 20+k for a car, you have the right to be picky regarding this type of thing. Especially in this economy.

When I bought my car, I test drove the Civic Hybrid. I think at the time it was a 3 cylinder gas engine in that thing and IT drove me crazy.... Slow, sluggish, I hated it.... and chose accordingly....

 

Looks wise ... they ought to just call it the Honda Prius. At least that way, you'd feel better about it lookiing like a Prius. You could then say, "Well . . . at least it LOOKS like a prius".

I'm going to build a device so my Prius will "sound" like an Insight. When I pull forward in traffic, a recording will come on. You'll hear, vroom vroom, then the sound of tire burn out. Then a vibration device will turn on, and simulate the real feal, of an honest to god ICE. Real macho.

 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I hadn't considered this but you are absolutely right. More importantly, it hasn't really been addressed in the 'car press.' I love it!

Bob Wilson

 

RoTFL!!!

 

You California guys are funny. First, you think no one else in the world has traffic jams. Second, you assume that I haven't been on the 405 on a Friday.

I've only driven a Honda Civic Hybrid in California. I flew into LAX, picked up my rental car and got on the LAX at ~ 4pm on Friday. We drove in stop and go traffic until we got to 101 and headed west to Oxnard. I had no problem with people swerving in front of me if I allowed a car length in front of me. Yes it happened a few times but wasn't any worse than stop and go traffic in MI, VA, TN, AL. There were just more lanes of stopped traffic.

My wife's normal commute is 7 miles and it takes 45 minutes for an average speed of 9.3 mph. I dropped her off at work yesterday driving my manual transmission TDI. I could have crept along with everyone else, go 10 feet, stop, go 10 feet, stop, etc. Instead I let the car in front of me get a bit out in front of me and then went. I left it in 1st and we idled along at 1000 RPM and ~8 mph. If the gap got too large I shifted to 2nd and idled at ~ 12 mph. 45 minutes later we were at her work and I didn't have a sore and worn out clutch leg. I drove the Civic Hybrid just like I drive my manual transmission car.

 

I think you are missing the point. The driver should not have to compensate for a cars poor behaviour. If the car cannot be driven smoothly doing something as simple as creeping along in traffic, that is a design flaw IMO.

 

I agree, so the need to shift gears IMHO.

 

I think you are missing my point. Constantly accelerating and braking is a stupid and inefficient way to drive no matter what type of vehicle you are driving.

 

Yet amazingly I routinely manage to drive along a constant slow speed while people all around me stop and start. Sometimes what is normal is stupid.

I've not driven the Insight so I can't comment on whether it jerks when the engine starts and stops. The Civic Hybrid is a smooth as my Prius.

 

Man, the fanboi's are out in force today.

 

According to you it's stupid. But that doesn't matter, not everyone wants to or drives like you.

If you drive in rush hour traffic in New York City for example, if you attempt to drive leisurely, you might quite literally be run over. A person pretty much HAS to maintain a slow, near bumper to bumper driving style. Unless you want cars continuously cutting in front of you, which means you will likely miss your turns, or worse.

Anyway, arguing that it's the drivers fault for a cars erratic stop/start behaviour is what's actually stupid.