1st gen. Insight vs. Metro comparison on rough roads?

[MetroMPG]

I got a private message from a lurker considering a gen 1 Insight. I'm putting his question out there for consideration by anyone else with experience in both cars:

I owned a 2000 Chevrolet Metro for a while (1.0, 5spd, hatch) and am wondering if the Insight is really any worse than the Metro in terms of crappy pavement competency.

At this point I'm mostly looking for someone that can say from experience, "The Insight does/does not ride any better/worse than the Metro on wonderful SW Ohio pavement."

I've never been on SW Ohio pavement, but eastern Ontario has tons of frost heaves, cracks & potholes at this time of year. (I'm not currently driving my Firefly/Metro, but I am scraping my '07 Civic's DIY air dam on a regular basis.)

If by "crappy pavement competency" you mean "ride comfort", I'm going to say that yes, a stock Metro offers a somewhat plusher ride, has more ground clearance, and more suspension travel.

But it's also taller, narrower, has more body roll and a slower ratio manual steering rack. Plus narrower, squishier tires.

The Insight's steering/suspension is FAR more responsive & enjoyable to drive than a Metro's if you consider yourself a typical "driving enthusiast."

Is it enough of a trade-off to matter if you're dealing with bad pavement? Only you can answer that. I take it you haven't driven an Insight yet, but that'd be my advice.

[cghstang]

Thanks for the reply!

I have driven only one Insight so far. I did notice that I liked its steering feel.

It has been a while since I drove the metro but I don't ever remember thinking it was that bad in terms of ride comfort.

[MetroMPG]

No problem.

The Metro's not bad at all. Of course it depends on your frame of reference.

I wouldn't hesitate to do a road trip in either car.