Phill

Simple answer is that the hybrid is cheaper due to the low tax rate, if you are looking to import a vehicle. So you can buy a relatively new car, a hybrid for the price of 5 or 6 years or more old normal car. Fuel Economy is more dependant on the way you drive than the type of the car you drive.

I got close to 27kmpl in highway while driving close to 110kmph. And in office traffic time it does around 16kmpl or sometimes even less than that. Probably because of the way I drive in traffic.

Hi Kushani, As many people said, it will be difficult to find a prius within your budget. But you can import a decent Insight 2010. You might also be able to go for L grade or LS grade. I have few contacts who does vehicle import directly from auctions in japan, where you can select a car and give a budget limit. I don't have any contact from UK, but if you can find a UK import vehicle, it will be much better.

It is true. Anyway, I changed the CVT oil and engine oil from stafford and cost me around Rs. 8500 for CVT oil and around Rs 7500 for engine oil. Had to replace the oil filter and cleaned the air filter. It costs me close to Rs 20000 for that service from Stafford. Remember to use Honda CVT oil, and don't recommend to use any other oil for Honda CVT box.

Yes. I paid only 8 laks. It is after depreciation (75% because my car was late 2009) and at the time Yen was around Rs. 1.37. Tax percentage was 39.5%. One of my friend paid around a million after Tax increase and his car was early 2009 (70% after depreciation).

Not sure whether Insight can drive without the battery but when the battery power is very low, the motor support function will not work properly and the fuel economy will goes bad. It is recommended to charge the battery if it is very low.

I did a full service to my Honda Insight in Stafford and met a guy who went to Japan for Insight training. I learned a lot from him and also went a test drive with him. He showed me how to drive while keeping the fuel consumption close to 25km/l. What I'm trying to say is that the fuel consumption will depend on the way you drive. You can argue it is the case for any other car but Insight will have a large effect on it. Best option is when you do a service on Stafford, go and meet someone trained and he will guide you properly. I also think when battery dead, it is not possible to drive because IMA will failed to function properly but when power is very low in the battery, it is possible to drive without the help of the motor (It happened to me). Anyway there is a way to charge the battery and once it is done, the motor will start to assist when accelerating. I saw one unregistered Insight brought by Stafford. At the time I went for service there were 3 other Insight bought for service.

Ohh. Damn. Anyway I'm not going to get rid of the originals. It is manageable since they used Icons in most of the functionalities. All I need to fix is the TV and the FM range. SD card, DVD player and USB is working fine. Hopefully I can get the Nav also working.

Tax was only 8 laks. After 70% depreciation. I still haven't test the mileage. Car also has a smooth driving and it is awesome. I like the large side mirrors and see through back panel, because of that it is easy to reverse. Anyway, does anyone knows where it is possible to convert language in car stereo system. I talked to few companies they said they don't know anyone doing that in Sri Lanka.

It should be 70% after depreciation for my car.

I got the valuation from Stafford for Honda Insight. It is way much higher than I expected. It is even higher than Civic. FOB Price: 2.1 million Yen Freight: 90000 Yen Insuarance: 10000 Yen FOB price in USA is $18200 for Basic Insight. I was expecting it to be around 1.5 million yen from Stafford. But this is what they gave.

Yes. It looks like either Deputy Finance Minister only noticed the previous tax reduction few days ago or the media has conveyed it wrong.

I contacted my agent and he said tax is not reduced any further. And according to him, the tax of 2009 Honda Insight is around 9 laks. So it is kind of higher than even I expected.

I still haven't. The vehicle is already shipped and I can let you know exact tax after like 2 weeks. I think tax percentage is 15%. I will contact the clearing agent and confirm it.

This is not even the LX version (LX=EX version in US). This can be another typical market manipulation. You can import one for one million less easily.