Quote:
Originally Posted by Xist
For my normal commute to work, I know that if I maintain the speed limit (40 mph, although my GPS shows 37), I need to start coasting two blocks before the intersection or I will need to brake. I can EOC or stay in-gear a little longer and hope DFCO kicks in. In a hybrid, the DFCO would regenerate, but also slow down faster, but isn't it more economical to time the light and never brake, regenerative or otherwise?
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It might be true that in urban driving you can time lights, and not brake much at all. However, not everyone does a lot of urban driving. If your usual driving happens to involve descending 4000 vertical ft or so of switchbacked mountain road, you appreciate being able to brake :-) Or in my case, use the MIMA control to force regen without braking.
And for the multiple thousand dollar hybrid battery pack replacements, if your (not under warranty) conventional car blows an engine or transmission, do you spend multiple thousands ordering a replacement from the dealer? Or do you go to a salvage yard and spend maybe a quarter of that amount? With the 1st gen Insight, at least, removing the battery pack (which I do for a rebalancing every year or two) only takes a couple of hours.