It’s a three-vehicle MPG battle!
Is Tommy’s old Honda Insight hybrid more fuel-efficient than a new electric car or a new motorcycle? AND, are these vehicles more efficient than a 125cc motor scooter? We do a road trip video to find out; and you may be surprised.
Obviously, these are three very different vehicles. With fuel prices going through the roof, and car prices in general becoming ridiculous (thanks chip-shortage, COVID – etc.), we thought it would be a good idea to use three very efficient vehicles. Not that anyone will cross-shop the Honda 125 vs a electric Mini Cooper, but you never know. On top of that, electricity is not free, and when you travel, you can be charged quite a bit to charge up.
Here are the three vehicles:
2022 Mini Cooper SE — Electric
Sporting a 32.6-kWh battery, (but, only 28.9 kWh is usable) our Mini EV motor makes 181 horsepower and 199 lbs-feet of torque. According to Mini, it can scamper from 0 to 60 in 6.9 seconds. It’s very quick, and handles like a Mini, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, it has a maximum EPA range of 114 miles. That’s not so good. The Mini Cooper EV does support DC fast charging up to 50 kW.
Still, it’s not as frugal as other EVs, but it should out-perform a gas vehicle – right?
Hybrid: 2000 Honda Insight
The 2000 Honda Insight is an odd (and rare) duck. They are coveted by many, but preserved by few. in other words – they are hard to find becase many used them up and threw them away. The Insight has a VTEC-E 1-liter, 3-cylinder engine and a small electric motor connected to a 1 Kwh battery. Combined the VTEC-E power plant totaled roughly 73 hp and 91 ft-lb. torque. The “E” in “VTEC-E” stands for efficiency.
The EPA rated it at 70 MPG, when it was new. Things have changed and the EPA now rates the Insight at 53 MPG. That still makes it one of the most efficient vehicles that sips petrol. Ours has the five-speed manual transmission, which makes it even more rare. Even by today’s standards, it’s an incredible piece of tech, but it’s not perfect.
It weighs less than a ton, partially due to its aluminum body, and tiny measurements. That also means that it has room for two, and that’s all.
It also smells odd, but Tommy knows the reason behind that.
Motorctcle: 2022 Honda Trail 125
Finally, there’s the 2022 Honda Trail 125. Evgery motorcycle geek at TFLbike.com adores this thing. It’s simple, rugged, comfortable, and efficient. The 125cc, air-cooled one-cylinder can get about 100MPG, according to published reports. The 125 produces about 10-horsepower, and it weighs about 259-lbs wet.
All of these vehicles are mighty efficient, but which one is the best?
