We have been looking for a more fuel efficient vehicle for a few weeks now. Started out looking at the Hyundai Inioq Hybrid 55-59 mpg but you couldn't carry on a conversation going down the highway because of the road noise. Then we looked at Sonata and started looking at the Toyota Camry. The LE hybrid was touting 51-54 mpg. I loved the bells and whistles the Camry had like birds-eye view, head up display, ect..The only problem with the Camry was I had to sit like a lady in a short skirt because there was no room to sit comfortably because of the console. Then we decided to look at the Accord hybrid. I had never owned a Honda with four wheels and I wasn't overly impressed with the Accord. While we were there I saw this weird looking car with half the rear wheel covered. I started looking closer and told the salesman I wanted to drive it. I was impressed. Drove great, handled great, stopped great, comfortable to ride in and quite. Then I came home and started my due diligence Googling and ran across this site. I read everyone's post for 4 hours last night along with other reviews. Everyone liked it and I saw very few negative posts. Long story short we have one sitting in the garage tonight. Now I just need to figure out how to maximize the MPG and learn things like paddling and other stuff yall talked about on here. Look forward to speaking with everyone....
Welcome to the club! BTW: there's no need to paddle unless you want to. Chill driving is a feature of the Clarity.
Awesome. Welcome. Although it's a shame that you had to ask to drive one instead of it being recommended by the sales person based on what you were in the market for (a high MPG car). That's one of the things that concerns us here -- Honda dealerships are not promoting or pushing this vehicle. But then again, sales people tend to push what's best for them (as far as commission), not what's best for you.
At first it does get some getting used to with all the modes and paddles, but you get used to it pretty fast. I’m coming from a manual transmission and the paddles are awesome because it simulates downshifting, but the best part is that it resets on its own. The more I drive it, the more I like it.
We test drove and priced at a small town dealer in Tyler, TX. They would not budge on price or trade so I started dealing with the Dallas area dealers who have more local competition. Miraculously just before I drove to Dallas the Tyler dealer had a change of heart. I think, being a small town (110,000) dealer they don't really understand the car. They said this was only the 4th Clarity they sold. It had 2 bars charged and a full tank of gas when I arrived to pick it up. I asked them if they charged it and they said it had been plugged in a couple of hours so I figured half charge. Negative ghost rider. They were just using the Level 1 charger that comes with the car. No Level 2 charger at that dealer. The person showing us how to work everything knew exactly how to pair my i-phone but not a lot about eco-driving or battery/gas usage. That's why this forum is so great!! Thanks, everyone for your input.
They don’t really seem to know anything about efficiency. Also the sales people we worked with seemed to just give us a test drive on what we asked and not anything more. I always felt like I knew more about the cars than they did after my very brief research.
Ugh. That’s my husband - drives it like a normal car! drives me crazy. I, on the other hands, have the EV mile and energy displays up, paddling left and right, changing Econ and sport modes (to suit my mood). Wouldn’t it be funny if we ended up with the same electric mileage? Wish we could get that kind of detailed info, separated by driver. Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Individual driver stats would be a great idea! Could have little friendly competitions on who got the most range, etc. Would be fun.
For my part (having used the paddles only rarely as an experiment), I think I'm doing okay. Sole driver (about 2000 miles) of my Clarity, generally seeing 60 mile EV range in the morning (similar to actual range while I'm driving). Of course, I stay in Econ and had been driving hybrid Civics since 2002 so I don't tend to be a leadfoot.
Driving gen 1 Insights for 19 years, I've often wished for a way to control the level of regen (but not enough to install the home-brew MiMA box that can do that). I use our Clarity's paddles every chance I get to push the EV range to the max. Many have remarked that the brake pedal may provide a higher level of regen than the paddles, but the brakes are so smooth, I'm never sure when the regen stops and the energy-dissipating discs take over. There must be a wire somewhere I could tap into to set up an LED to indicate brake-caliper activation (even though I'd never do it).
What were their best offers to you? Touring or base? I’m in the DFW area and curious where the best dealers to start with are and what they are offering?
I was looking to buy a Kia Niro Hybrid and went to two dealerships where neither salesperson knew what the car was all about. I knew more just by watching YouTube videos. I walked away unimpressed and went to drive a Honda Accord Hybrid. I had the same experience as you, was not overly impressed with the Accord and then I saw the weird looking car go by and test drove it the next day. My salesperson knew a lot and that was what sealed the deal for me. My salesperson even followed up two weeks after sale and told me TX just reinstated a rebate for the car and to make sure I applied for the rebate of $2500.
I went on the Sams True Car website and got the quote. The Touring was 34K and some change. Just over 36K drive out with TTL.
Could you both summarize what you didn't like about the Accord Hybrid? Before buying the Clarity, I test-drove the Camry Hybrid, Optima & Sonata Hybrids, but I could never find an Accord Hybrid to test-drive (they are very rare in this area), so I am curious to know what your impressions were. Thanks!
I drove the top of the line touring edition which costs about the same as a base Clarity. I must admit there are features in the Accord that I wish were in the Clarity like a radio knob and a feature that reads speed limit signs and displays in your instrument cluster. I was upgrading from a Honda Fit so maybe my expectations were too high but other than being roomier, it kind of felt like I was in my Honda Fit. I think the combination of the quietne of the ride in the Clarity, the salesperson, the rebates and I'm a sucker for wood trim won me over.
