One already satisfied customer
As the proud (& therefore certainly biased) owner of a 2002 2-seater Insight this looks like great news. I can only vouch for my mpg figures - 60-70 mpg depending on terrain (at an average of 50-70mph), but that should indicate they are not too over the top with the figures for the new model. The good mpg is partly due to the curb weight, 835-850kg for mine, (due mostly to the general lack of metal wherever possible). I'd like to know what that is on the 2009 model - I'd also assume more passengers will certainly make a fair deal of difference on the figures.
At <100g/km CO2 I get free tax (& feel oh so smug), it's shame they couldn't have managed 1g less on the new model - still £35 to the DVLA for 12months travel isn't too bad! I'd guess they've had to increase the engine capacity from .995l to 1.3l accommodate the extra seats and the bhp of the batteries is about the same.
Dispight the "Buck Rogers" visual feel (which hasn't really improved much by the look of it), the functionality of the design is excellent and as for the drive, I'd say it compares to the sort of thing you'd expect from a normal small car (the balance of the battery versus the motor means you don't even really notice its there - which really is the best bit).
Hopefully someone really wanting a Tesla will buy one of these asap and be so disappointed with the performance I can buy it second hand in 2011 for a song!
Biting the hand that feeds IT
