Moving up to full EV but keeping the Clarity

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Fastermac

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Just picked up a Honda Prologue today. Traded it for my wife‘s 2018 Odyssey Ex-L. I gave her my 2021 Clarity PHEV. I drove the Clarity for 3 years, mostly on EV and was sold on electric driving. My wife’s round trip commute is under 7 miles, so she’ll never use gas.

I am very impressed by the Prologue. Car drives real smooth with good acceleration. The technology is impressive. I especially like the dual screen setup. Navigation on the big screen and media selection and speedometer on the other.

The Clarity is a good car but I won’t miss the times the gas engine came on. We have about 36,000 miles on it now and over 32,000 of those were EV. I charged every night at home with a level 2 Juicebox 40. On a warm day we still get 55 miles of range. We have 5 years of Honda Care on the car. Happy to be rid of gas dependency.

I originally bought a 2017 Accord Hybrid so this has been a slow journey to go full EV. The Accord is still in the family. My daughter owns it now, with 100,000 miles and zero problems since I pulled it off the dealer’s lot. Most reliable Honda we ever owned.
 
Haven't looked too close at Prologue yet but my Clarity has similarly passed to my son and in the Spring will move to my daughter. My wife's Highlander may get replaced within the next year but definitely within two so perhaps will also consider a VW ID4
 
Fastermac said:
The Clarity is a good car but I won’t miss the times the gas engine came on. We have about 36,000 miles on it now and over 32,000 of those were EV. I charged every night at home with a level 2 Juicebox 40. On a warm day we still get 55 miles of range. We have 5 years of Honda Care on the car. Happy to be rid of gas dependency.
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FWIW: We sold our 2019 Clarity Touring in April, with about the same mileage as yours, for $20K and got just over $600 refunded of the ~$1000 Honda Care Plan. Might be a good time to ditch the Clarity and double down on the BEV’s. Heck, your wife could commute for a month on a single charge with just about any BEV on the market.

Out of curiosity, which vehicle would you drive if you were to make a trip of say, 800-1000 miles one way with a hotel stop at the halfway point?
 
I had been looking at the Silverado EV, as I wanted something big enough to haul lots of IKEA boxes around, but was immediately soured with their lack of Android Auto. Didn't want to go with a Lightning as I just don't really like Ford. Looking at a Dodge Ram EV next year. Hoping they make a variant with a smaller two-seat cab and full bed. Might look at the Prologue. Can the rear seats be folded practically flat the to trunk floorboard like they could in a 2001 CR-V?
 
The rear seats do fold down but not completely flat. No comparison to the hauling ability of the Odyssey but or needs have changed. Youngest is 21. The rear space with the seats folded down in the Prologue will serve us well.

No need for my wife to go full EV. The Clarity will serve her well. We have 4.75 years of Honda Care left. She will put less than 5000 miles on the car per year.

On a long trip I would take the Prologue. Tesla opened some of their chargers up to GM vehicles in mid September. In the Tesla app you can identify the Prologue as a Chevy Blazer and it will charge. Just need to buy an adapter from J1772 to Tesla’s NACS.
 
Fastermac said:
No need for my wife to go full EV. The Clarity will serve her well. We have 4.75 years of Honda Care left. She will put less than 5000 miles on the car per year.
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Why not? Doesn’t she deserve to move up to full EV also? Her driving pattern is well suited for a BEV. You’d get top dollar for the Clarity now and a pro-rated refund on the HondaCare policy. Prices have dropped on EV’s as demand has declined.
 
Unlike me my wife is not particular about what car she drives. She is just looking for dependable transportation. A safe, comfortable ride with non buggy Apple Carplay is all she wants. The Clarity will serve this purpose in the most economical way. We have been together for 40 years, this is her way.
 
Fastermac said:
Unlike me my wife is not particular about what car she drives. She is just looking for dependable transportation. A safe, comfortable ride with non buggy Apple Carplay is all she wants. The Clarity will serve this purpose in the most economical way. We have been together for 40 years, this is her way.
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Clarity is a good choice if you only need to get from A to B, not if you want something that doesn't drive like it's falling apart.
 
TC1782 said:
Clarity is a good choice if you only need to get from A to B, not if you want something that doesn't drive like it's falling apart.
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@TC1782 , I don't think your experience with your car qualifies you to make this generalization. Most that have posted here are pretty happy with the reliability of their cars. Mine has been in the shop once since buying it -- to remove a very small kitten that came home with me from the dealership when I bought it. Other than that, only standard service. I don't even have the rusty rotors that some mention. After 6+ years and a little more than 65k miles on it, still hits 50+ Miles on the Battery GOM range occasionally and will get 40+ mpg running on gasoline, pretty much however I drive it. No rattles and no wind noise. It's been probably the best car I have ever owned so far. I bought a 10 yr 120k mile extended warranty, and will be surprised if I ever need it.
 
TC1782 said:
Clarity is a good choice if you only need to get from A to B, not if you want something that doesn't drive like it's falling apart.
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Would that make it an excellent choice for someone who wants to get from A to B in something that feels like it’s falling apart? There’s definitely a market for that.
 
Robert_Alabama said:
@TC1782 , I don't think your experience with your car qualifies you to make this generalization. Most that have posted here are pretty happy with the reliability of their cars. Mine has been in the shop once since buying it -- to remove a very small kitten that came home with me from the dealership when I bought it. Other than that, only standard service. I don't even have the rusty rotors that some mention. After 6+ years and a little more than 65k miles on it, still hits 50+ Miles on the Battery GOM range occasionally and will get 40+ mpg running on gasoline, pretty much however I drive it. No rattles and no wind noise. It's been probably the best car I have ever owned so far. I bought a 10 yr 120k mile extended warranty, and will be surprised if I ever need it.
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It's been my experience that after a few people have a failure in a car, and it isn't caused by abuse or neglect, chances are it's going to happen to a lot of people eventually.
 
Landshark said:
Please tell us what has failed on your Clarity.
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I wish I knew! Unfortunately they are basically impossible to diagnose, the dealership looked into it and came to the conclusion that it's completely normal to have a car from 2018 with steering reminiscent of a clapped out 90s truck, and a powertrain that feels broken. As far as I can tell, it's the transmission that's behind the drivetrain clunking, especially as it (presumably the transmission, everything else checks out) starting to make funny noises (I hope it keeps going down this path, the sooner something blows the better). Steering feels like bad tie rods but they are fine, so perhaps the steering rack? Dealership had no idea and claims loose and clunky steering is normal. Had 2 condenser failures too, but I am willing to excuse that as r1234yf being tricky.
 
Landshark said:
Perhaps an actual failure will occur while you’re in the discovery process.
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Not in the discovery process anymore, I'm just waiting for it to fail (completely). Today it started making some more whining, and occasional scraping(sorta) noises. The existing "whom whom whooom" sound is getting louder, and I can feel it through the steering wheel and pedals now. Hopefully it starts grinding loud enough that even the dealership can't ignore it.
 
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