Quote:
Originally Posted by cfg83
Ooooooh, then that means they *could* offer a manual if they really wanted to, yes? I hope engineers are lobbying for that inside Honda.
CarloSW2
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I'm pretty sure they won't.
The dropped the option in the Insight 1 halfway through the model run. They made the Gen 2 Civic Hybrid without any manual. I think they've made up their minds.
There was a problem with the early Insights with manuals. Drivers were lead-footing them and running the battery pack down. A number of the early models had battery failures due to too many depletion cycles. They changed the charging logic for the later years, which helped.
The other solution, which they have settled on, is to use a CVT. In high-demand situations, like climbing a mountain, it runs the engine at high rpm (3000+) rather than draw down the battery excessively. It hurts for mpg, but vastly improves the lifespan of the system. They settled for reliability at the expense of mpg.