What's everyone's opinion on it? Is it reliable, hassell and problem free, and cheap to maintain? I'm thinking of getting one as a second car.

 

Insight Central

It seems to be relatively problem-free. The depreciation is pretty steep, but I'd imagine reselling them to be a bitch once you rack up the miles. Nobody want to be the lucky owner stuck with the battery replacement bill.

 

70K on our when we sold it, oil changes and air filters that was about it. We had a five speed though so don;t know about the CVT.

Buy a used one they pop up cheap enough that I have even though of getting one as a commuter as ours was that reliable.

 

I've seen them new for under $15k. Pretty incredible for a purely utilitarian daily commuter with the best gas mileage out there for a 4 wheel vehicle.

 

i wouldn't mind pimping one.. with these gas prices.. i think we all need one...

 

When does the battery die and how much does it cost to replace it?

 

I'm guessing they'll easily do 150k miles. Cost two to three grand to replace the batteries.

This is a cool little car. Made out of aluminum, weight as much as a Lotus Elise, it also has the lowest aerodynamic drag co-efficient of any production car.

Plus you can put slicks on it and go autocrossing.

 

^ oh man thats some good stuff ...

 

i also heard that its the most aero dynamic car...is that so?

 

People have actually gotten 100mpg with this car. If you go to insightcentral.net, you meet tons of people that are big enthusiasts like us. The funny part is we go for power mods whilst they prefer mods that increase gas milage. There are also odd balls within the group that try to turbo their cars too. Some guy had a turbo setup that allowed a bllistering 0-60 accel under 10 seconds(it might be less but i can't remember). Kinda funny seeing a eco mobile doing a standing burnout.

One side note: the vehicle can't carry combined passenger weight of 400lbs. i doubt there are tree huggers that weigh this much since eating meat and farting is harmful to the environment.