Clarity -- the gateway drug

[Timothy]

My wife and I take turns driving the Clarity to work. Her drive is further so the savings are greater but I can charge at work for free (so more savings). We've noticed that we are each a little disappointed when we are not driving the Clarity. So we are having a 2015 Chevy Spark EV shipped our way.

I'm sure we would not have considered the Spark before the Clarity. But we have been able to drive all EV (except for a trip to her parents) with no effort at all. The experience has made us comfortable with limited range and has made us miss electric when we don't have it. I don't expect the Spark to be as nice but one fancy car feels like enough. I have joined a Spark online forum, I hope it is as nice as this one.

 

[dstrauss]

My wife and I take turns driving the Clarity to work. Her drive is further so the savings are greater but I can charge at work for free (so more savings). We've noticed that we are each a little disappointed when we are not driving the Clarity. So we are having a 2015 Chevy Spark EV shipped our way.

I'm sure we would not have considered the Spark before the Clarity. But we have been able to drive all EV (except for a trip to her parents) with no effort at all. The experience has made us comfortable with limited range and has made us miss electric when we don't have it. I don't expect the Spark to be as nice but one fancy car feels like enough. I have joined a Spark online forum, I hope it is as nice as this one.

So you will be the Spark driver? Poor fellow (just kidding). Welcome to the luckiest group of car owners on the planet (at least North America). The Clarity is the best kept secret going. A perfect combination of commuter range and highway power (well, I woul dlove about three more gallons in that tank).

 

[Emanuel Green]

Having one commuter car be an EV and the other a PHEV seems like the perfect arrangement. How often do both spouses go on trips out of town to different places at the same time? I think I can count on one hand the number of times my wife and I have done that since we got married!

 

[Tailwind]

I’ve gone in a different direction. My wife isn’t about to drive either an EV or PHEV (“Its too complicated!”), so I’ve decided on going solar at home. With a 5.5 kW solar array, I should be able to get my average electric cost down to about $0. Since about 300 of my 2600 miles driven so far has been EV, not paying for my nightly charge will shorten the payoff time for the solar system.

So the gateway drug for me is electricity.

 

[loomis2]

My wife and I take turns driving the Clarity to work. Her drive is further so the savings are greater but I can charge at work for free (so more savings). We've noticed that we are each a little disappointed when we are not driving the Clarity. So we are having a 2015 Chevy Spark EV shipped our way.

I'm sure we would not have considered the Spark before the Clarity. But we have been able to drive all EV (except for a trip to her parents) with no effort at all. The experience has made us comfortable with limited range and has made us miss electric when we don't have it. I don't expect the Spark to be as nice but one fancy car feels like enough. I have joined a Spark online forum, I hope it is as nice as this one.

Why did you choose the Spark? There are quite a few EV cars to choose from now.

 

[PHEV Newbie]

I

Why did you choose the Spark? There are quite a few EV cars to choose from now.

There are Youtube videos on how people have bought low mileage BMW i3's super cheap. You can easily pick up a nearly new one with range extender for less than $20,000. That's crazy depreciation.

 

[Timothy]

I

There are Youtube videos on how people have bought low mileage BMW i3's super cheap. You can easily pick up a nearly new one with range extender for less than $20,000. That's crazy depreciation.

You can get a low mileage Spark for under 10k. Spark owners love their Sparks. Think of all of us and our Claritys (proper noun plural?). The Clarity is our fancy car. The Spark will just be ''the other" car. Used Leafs have jumped in price. It's through Carvana, so we'll have 7 days of driving to change our minds. And I kind of like that the Clarity is still hard to find in wild. The Spark EV is rare as well. I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[Viking79]

I was surprised to see my 2012 Volt had gone back up as well, getting ready to sell it and it is worth more KBB private party this year than a year and a half ago. Hanging just above $10k private party now.

 

[bfd]

The

I

There are Youtube videos on how people have bought low mileage BMW i3's super cheap. You can easily pick up a nearly new one with range extender for less than $20,000. That's crazy depreciation.

Yes, down in the far southwestern corner, SDG&E was offering $5k rebates AND somehow the state was offering additional $2K rebates (for teachers, first responders, and the like). This was last summer/early fall. My thought at the time was that there must be something wrong with the BMWs since they were getting such a huge boost. (The initial $7K in rebates didn't even include the additional $7.5K for federal tax credit and another $1.5K from the state) By the time all was said and done, the cars final cost was about $20-$22K. Since my wife is a teacher, we would've qualified, and we almost went for it. Very seductive deal at the time. Haven't checked to see if that deal is still available from SDG&E. But since we already have a Tesla, one more EV didn't seem like the direction we wanted to go with a second car.

 

[loomis2]

I was stuck behind an i3 in traffic yesterday. That rear end is not a good look. It's just all black with cut outs for the lights. It looks unfinished.

Isn't the Spark basically a compliance ev? What is the range? I guess for under $10k it is probably good enough. I'm guessing Chevy doesn't have any battery issues.

 

[Timothy]

I was stuck behind an i3 in traffic yesterday. That rear end is not a good look. It's just all black with cut outs for the lights. It looks unfinished.

Isn't the Spark basically a compliance ev? What is the range? I guess for under $10k it is probably good enough. I'm guessing Chevy doesn't have any battery issues.

What's wrong with a compliance ev? The EPA range is 82 miles (just two miles less than the Leaf). Many Spark driver say they often get over 100 miles. From what I have read it sounds like it is fun to drive. The 47 miles of the Clarity has been more than enough for our daily driving so 82 miles should be easy. And no one has to drive an ICE vehicle on the days the other has the Clarity. We'll have 7 days to drive it and change our minds. I have seen an i3 where I charge and to be honest I am more excited about the spark.

[we also considered the Smart Fortwo and the 500e]
https://www.caranddriver.com/compar...v-nissan-leaf-smart-fortwo-ed-comparison-test

 

[Viking79]

I dislike how people throw around "compliance EV" like it is a bad thing. Technically, Tesla got its start as a compliance company taking advantage of ZEV credits to help them get rolling. They have evolved beyond that now.

A spark for less than $10k could be a great buy. It is powerful, very efficient, and a nice compact hatch. The i3 offers maybe better material quality and features, but you are going to pay a lot more too.

Many people want the 150 mile+ EVs making cars like the i3 BEV and Spark EV incredibly good buys. The only thing I would watch with your Spark is make sure you local dealer can service it. If they work on Volt's I imagine they could figure it out.

I bought a used i3 REx due to wanting the range extender and I love it (replacing my Volt) and also love the Clarity. My wife is happy that I don't steal the Clarity all the time now that I have the i3. I prefer the quirkiness of the i3 so didn't really look at the spark.

 

[Kendalf]

I’ve gone in a different direction. My wife isn’t about to drive either an EV or PHEV (“Its too complicated!”), so I’ve decided on going solar at home. With a 5.5 kW solar array, I should be able to get my average electric cost down to about $0. Since about 300 of my 2600 miles driven so far has been EV, not paying for my nightly charge will shorten the payoff time for the solar system.

So the gateway drug for me is electricity.

Yes, purchasing the Clarity was the decision that finally made going solar much more financially appealing. Charging the car more than doubled our monthly electric bill. Our solar system was turned on a little over 3 weeks ago, and we've been building up net metering credits for the summer A/C usage. I oversized our solar system compared to our actual annual usage in anticipation of our kids turning into teenagers and also to potentially cover if we replace my wife's Camry with an EV in a few years.

 

[loomis2]

What's wrong with a compliance ev? The EPA range is 82 miles (just two miles less than the Leaf). Many Spark driver say they often get over 100 miles. From what I have read it sounds like it is fun to drive. The 47 miles of the Clarity has been more than enough for our daily driving so 82 miles should be easy. And no one has to drive an ICE vehicle on the days the other has the Clarity. We'll have 7 days to drive it and change our minds. I have seen an i3 where I charge and to be honest I am more excited about the spark.

[we also considered the Smart Fortwo and the 500e]
https://www.caranddriver.com/compar...v-nissan-leaf-smart-fortwo-ed-comparison-test

I don't know if anything is wrong with compliance cars. It sounds like a perfectly good range, though. And it only gets better with that price. The negative connotation I associate with compliance cars is that the manufacturer threw some batteries in one of their ICE cars and called it a day. Whether that's true or not (probably not) is hard to say because I may never see one. I always liked ev's that were designed from the ground up to be an ev, like the Leaf and Clarity. But people with real-world experience are the best sources of info on the car and it sounds like those people like it. Post some pics when you get it! I am intrigued.

 

[dstrauss]

I don't think the term "compliance cars" is a knock on the cars themselves as it is the manufacturers. For me they denote a vehicle the manufacturer is really not behind - it is there to meet a governmental mandate. Witness the Clarity BEV - 87 mile BEV range is insanely low for this size vehicle, when its PHEV cousin can do 47 AND never have range anxiety.

 

[Timothy]

Now that it looks like we will be getting a second EV (a Spark EV for those of you who missed the beginning of this thread), I am wondering if the Clarity and the Spark can be friends. I have heard Spark owners talk about the tow of shame (something I am hoping to avoid). And so I wondered if I could charge the Spark from the Clarity (just enough to get home if I had misjudged a mile or so). I know many of you all have EVs other than the Clarity. Has anyone tried this? How well has it worked?

 

[Vezz66]

I also love driving the Clarity, just finding excuses to 'go someplace' during the week (I bus to work, my wife uses it weekdays).

Now worried I will go over the 20k km yearly allowance on the lease...but with end of lease buyback at 13k I'm sure I can sell it for a small profit at that point, no matter the mileage.

Also realized we could very easily live with an EV with 200km range for 99% of our use, or with a second smaller EV I could drive to a bus stop closer to town and enjoy more EV driving.