Clarity interior look & feel - Base vs. Touring?

[wildfins]

I am eyeing on the White Clarity and believe that I would fall for it, anytime now

Next question is Base vs. Touring, which comes down to essentially suede dashboard panels + (real) leather seats vs. (faux) leatherette dashboard panels and seats. Searching for online pictures, I notice that the (faux) leatherette seats on the White Base model seem to come in two-tones: Beige with light Gray in the center? Can somebody confirm?

If that's the case, as I am not really a fan of the bi-tone beige and gray color on White Base seats so I might swing for a different color like Silver Base with Black (faux) leatherette interior or the White Touring with Beige (real) leather interior that look more blend-in.

On the other hand, I am wondering whether it's worth to spend $3000 more just for the leather seats because the power-seats won't be used that often. I am also afraid that the suede panels dashboard would be a dust magnet and hard to keep clean and not too sure if the leather seats in the Touring would provide better comfort and luxury feel vs. the (faux) leatherette in the Base model neither...

Would love to hear from the owners on this subject...

Clarity Touring White #4

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Touring White #5

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Touring White #6

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Base White #4

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Base White #5

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Base White #6

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Base Silver #4

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Base Silver #5

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Base Silver #6

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Touring Silver #4

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Touring Silver #5

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Touring Silver #6

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

 

[su_A_ve]

I would have preferred a bright red, but I do like the white because of all the black moldings it has and black carpets, giving it a good contrast. I'm sticking with base because no way I'll pay 3K for just leather and memory seats. If it had a sunroof maybe...

 

[JJim]

I am eyeing on the White Clarity and believe that I would fall for it, anytime now

Next question is Base vs. Touring, which comes down to essentially suede dashboard panels + (real) leather seats vs. (faux) leatherette dashboard panels and seats. Searching for online pictures, I notice that the (faux) leatherette seats on the White Base model seem to come in two-tones: Beige with light Gray in the center?

Clarity Base Silver #4

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Base Silver #5

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

Clarity Base Silver #6

• wildfins
• Jul 25, 2018

My white Base model interior is exactly the same with this silver Base

 

[wildfins]

I didn't see the combo White ext + Black int on the Honda Clarity PHEV Build A Car website and Beige is the only interior color available for a White exterior... Is yours a Hybrid or Electric version?

 

[JJim]

I didn't see the combo White ext + Black int on the Honda Clarity PHEV Build A Car website and Beige is the only interior color available for a White exterior... Is yours a Hybrid or Electric version?

Mine is Canadian version , maybe different from US version

 

[jdonalds]

For me the power seats were the big attraction to buy the Touring model. Not only do I like the ease of fine adjustments on long road trips but the Driver 1 and Driver 2 memory was huge for us. Other than that I would not have spent the extra $3K.

 

[mcdull]

I am eyeing on the White Clarity and believe that I would fall for it, anytime now

Next question is Base vs. Touring, which comes down to essentially suede dashboard panels + (real) leather seats vs. (faux) leatherette dashboard panels and seats. Searching for online pictures, I notice that the (faux) leatherette seats on the White Base model seem to come in two-tones: Beige with light Gray in the center? Can somebody confirm?

If that's the case, as I am not really a fan of the bi-tone beige and gray color on White Base seats so I might swing for a different color like Silver Base with Black (faux) leatherette interior or the White Touring with Beige (real) leather interior that look more blend-in.

Originally I was going to get Silver because of it hides dirt the best, but only found out Silver comes with only black interior at dealer.
I like the beige interior much better after looking at both. Black interior is just boring and old to me. So, I decided on getting the white base.

The cloth part of the base seat has a little gray, it's like the fabric has both beige and gray color threads, it doesn't bother me at all and is not whole gray like in your picture. It's more similar to the black base seat in the picture, the cloth part has some gray on it compared to the faux leather.
You probably should see the car interiors in person to compare.

I don't see a good reason to pay like $2500 extra for touring. The faux leather with cloth center looks very nice and it's not burning like leather seat in hot weather, which is insane this year in LA.
I'm thinking temporary put a cloth steering wheel cover until the weather gets cooler.

 

[wildfins]

@mcdull: "The cloth part of the base seat has a little gray, it's like the fabric has both beige and gray color threads, it doesn't bother me at all and is not whole gray like in your picture. It's more similar to the black base seat in the picture, the cloth part has some gray on it compared to the faux leather.
You probably should see the car interiors in person to compare."

Thanks for the detail feedback, appreciated it, I will go to the dealer to see it in person but your comments have reassured me and I think that I will stick with the Base White/Beige color that I'd like.

 

[jeff10236]

I got the base with black interior, I test drove one with the beige. Both look good. I can't speak to the longevity or dust resistance of the faux suede of the Touring. I didn't even think much about spending the extra money, until after I bought my car. The leather seats and power seats would be nice, and it does have a few little things here and there that would be nice. If you are paying cash, $2500 is a lot of extra money, but spread out over a 4-6 year loan it really isn't that much (especially with current interest rates). So, I do sometimes wish I sprung for it (and I may have aftermarket leather installed at some time). That said, I am pleased with my car, and I'm generally happy with the interior (it is just that I've long wanted a car with leather and never had it, even my BMW I had some years ago had "leatherette", and I do miss having a leather wrapped steering wheel as it cools off in summer and warms up in winter faster than the plastic steering wheel).

 

[Viking79]

I bought the touring in part because the Touring was the first model available. Nav is nice to have for cases where you are offline (although Google Maps now supports offline maps).

I like the power memory seats (US), but definitely no deal breaker there to me. Go sit in both.

 

[wildfins]

Thank you all for sharing, that's all valuable feedback that would also help other buyers who wonder the same questions, appreciated it. I will definitely go check and sit in the cars to get a good feeling about real vs. faux leather...

 

[insightman]

Thank you all for sharing, that's all valuable feedback that would also help other buyers who wonder the same questions, appreciated it. I will definitely go check and sit in the cars to get a good feeling about real vs. faux leather...

The power seats in the Touring allow you to adjust the tilt of the seat bottom. The base seats do not. If the base seat feels OK, then that's not an issue.

 

[su_A_ve]

I guess I read it wrong. I thought on the base, the driver's seat was power but not passenger, and no memory.

Back to manual seats.. ugh. But still would have not gotten the touring. I use mine all the way back in any case.

 

[David Poulson]

For me the power seats were the big attraction to buy the Touring model. Not only do I like the ease of fine adjustments on long road trips but the Driver 1 and Driver 2 memory was huge for us. Other than that I would not have spent the extra $3K.

If you are from Canada, the Canadian Touring model does NOT have the power seats. Big disappointment.

 

[weave]

Mine is Canadian version , maybe different from US version

Starting to think everything is better in Canada!

 

[ZedFez]

Purchased base model about a month ago. Have owned vehicles with leather seats in past. Leather is unquestionably nice. The non-leather seats in base model seem to be comfortable and outer portion feels very leather-like. The inner fabric is durable and breathable. Always drive for about an hour on work commute and never notice discomfort at or near end of ride. If my dealer would have been more giving on deals, I would own a Touring model, but they didn’t and no regrets here with base. Base was better value in my situation as dealer wanted $3500 U.S. more for Touring and wouldn’t budge on price. That’s a lot of dough for limited extra amenities.

 

[insightman]

I guess I read it wrong. I thought on the base, the driver's seat was power but not passenger, and no memory.

Back to manual seats.. ugh. But still would have not gotten the touring. I use mine all the way back in any case.

That makes me wonder if the base and Touring seats offer the exact same forward and backward distance adjustments?

 

[su_A_ve]

That makes me wonder if the base and Touring seats offer the exact same forward and backward distance adjustments?

Touring has 8 way power driver's seat. I wonder if the height adjustment moves the seat forward when it's set high and back when low, as it is on most other cars (like on Odysseys)

 

[bfd]

For those of us who bought in early/mid-December, it's quite true that it seemed like the ratio of Touring/Base models for sale was something like 10/1… There must not have been very many base models coming off the boat in that first shipment.