I mean, it wasn't a fast car, but that "starter motor" could provide 35ft-lbs of extra torque from idle to a 1L engine. At those RPM that's probably a 66%+ boost.

Handing is actually not half bad. Honda usually gets that right, at least.

Forgot to mention. Mine has a LSD, brakes from a much bigger car, and everything works. No CEL, emissions all in place, cruise control. Zero torque steer, smokes both front tires in a straight line, you can let go of the steering wheel.

I have a K24 (TSX) swapped Insight. My best tank so far has been 48mpg and I expect 60 is within reach with a light foot. Car weighs under 2000lbs with a full tank of gas, A/C and power steering, and heavy CR-Z seats because my back likes them better. JSYK, there’s ZERO torque steer, presumably because of some magic…

The Mitsubishi Mirage has a purpose - it’s an extremely inexpensive, fuel efficient, reliable and simple car. I don’t think any of those things need to change.

These are nice to drive, not short on power, and pretty comfortable. At those miles it has a lot of life left, but ultimately it's still $7000 for a 2001 with close to 200k miles. If it were anything but an SUV the price would be insane.

I'd like to point out that WHP varies based on options and accessories. AWD reduces it, larger or stickier tires reduce it. Two Camries sitting on a lot with different tires will have different WHP ratings and, unfortunately, the "Sport" trim with the 19's will have less. Every country has different factory tires and…

In Vermont, electricity costs about 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, pretty close to national average and the same as you pay. That works out to roughly $5 per “gallon” of electricity. So, a 98mpg Volt on 15 cent electricity costs almost exactly the same per mile (sans oil chances of course) as a 55mpg-on-gasoline car…

I don’t know of any efficient or clean rotaries. Those built have had low weight, small size and great power to weight, but lousy economy and relatively dirty exhaust. Diesel’s advantage over gas engines is that it offers more efficiency over a broader rev and load range (no throttle plate), at the expense of being…

The Insight and Prius also have two electric motors. The only hybrids in recent memory that don’t are the mild hybrid designs like Honda’s original “IMA” and some of the bolt-on altermotor solutions GM and Ford experimented with in the early 00's. 

The Accord Hybrid has had this drivetrain since 2012 or 2013, I believe.

The Volt only gets ~40mpg on gasoline and costs 50% / $10,000 more. 

Nissan’s E-Note is set up this way too, but they only manage ~40mpg in a smaller vehicle. The magic is in Honda’s ~40% thermally efficient gas engines. 

Except Voltec is not a series hybrid. It’s a parallel hybrid with an orbital gearset, just like a Prius. I get your point though, hybrids which can run in several different ways have huge advantages. 

I had one as a rental a few years ago. On Ohio’s 55mph roads, I set the cruise control to 55mph and it delivered 55mpg quietly and competently. Plus, your first repair will probably be more than a decade from purchase. To me, some good qualities to have in an economy car are economy and reliability. 

My 2000 Insight still delivers 100+ mpg. If anything, the fuel economy has gotten better over the last 275,000 miles. I think this has more to do with a well designed and built engine, and maintaining the car properly, than that it’s gas or electric.

The Clarity has essentially the same drivetrain, just with a larger battery you can charge from the grid. It’s the plug-in option.

The Volt has an orbital transmission much like a Prius (suspiciously like that of a Prius). The gasoline engine provides power to the wheels at all speeds, even if Chevy advertises otherwise. It’s a parallel hybrid. The Volt can drive ~50 miles on electricity alone, and then gets ~40mpg out of its gas engine.…

They’ll have to pry my first gen Insight 5MT out of my cold, dead hands. xD

Wow, 180HP out of a naturally aspirated 2L? That’s really impressive. I bet nobody has been able to do that before, especially reliably in a production car.