Clarity and othe evs acceleration' are decievingly fast.

Glad you’re pleased and I agree it’s adequate for any normal driving, but I just gotta say Stopwatches don’t lie...reading tests it has about the same average 0 to 60 time for a base engine model, modern sedan. I actually did an informal and friendly drag race against my former 2013 Accord 185 hp 4 cyl (neighbor purchased from me and we happened side by side at a stoplight recently). It was close, but Clarity lost by a little bit before we let out...got up to about 55 or 60 ish. Yes it has a full charge and yes i remembered to hit the sport mode button before it turned green. Weight is the enemy here...this is a extremely heavy car which results in actual acceleration times about equal to a naturally aspirated 4 cylinder sedan, regardless of what it feels like.

As for comparing with other EVs? Why are Tesla 3s going nuts off the sales floor while Clarities sit? I believe in part because of Zero to 60 of 4.6 seconds vs nearly 8 seconds for a Clarity. Not even in the same universe in terms of acceleration. Tesla is exciting and Clarity is downright boring if looking at acceleration times. With the same general electric silence...although you gotta light a fire under the noisy beehive to even hit the 8 second number....in Ev mode alone zero to 60 is closer to 9 secs if you don’t go past the detent.

 

I think part of it is that EVs have all their torque available at 0 RPM. So they are extremely snappy and responsive off the line. That feels faster than an ICE car, which is downright laggy in comparison! But once you are already moving, torque doesn't matter as much, so the car feels quicker than the 0-60 times would lead one to believe.

 

Remember, there are NO Tesla 3s on any sales floor. Tesla has been trying to satisfy their Model 3 backlog ever since production began. Also, Clarity PHEV sales have picked up recently (see InsideEV's Monthly Plug-In Sales Scorecard). It will be interesting to see how the sales of these two cars compare (of course, not really an apples-to-apples comparison) after Tesla finally fills the Model 3 backlog. Tariffs may eventually reduce Clarity sales, however.

 

One thing that feels sluggish to me is the update speed on the digital speedometer, it jumps often instead of a constant increase like you'd see from a physical one.

 

I love the low end torque of electric motors. That’s one of the main reasons I’ve enjoyed driving hybrids since 2005. For me, O-45 mph is the key range for acceleration because that’s where I mostly use my car. At those speeds, electric motors are great. They can run out of breath as wind resistance kicks in and HP starts to be more important. Even in Tesla with high HP motors and big wires, driving hard to 60 repeatably whacks the range big time. Bottom line for me; the Clarity is fast where I care and being a PHEV is super!

 

Ya....Tesla is selling nearly 20K units per month and doesn't have the capacity to keep up with demand. And Clarity struggles to sell over 2,500/month and most of the cars sitting on dealer lots have 6 month old build dates and Honda is now being forced to discount to sell them.

In my mind, this pretty well sums up what the general public wants in a car, when huge numbers of people are willing to take a risk on a largely unestablished/unstable start-up car company (and spend an extra $10K over Clarity to get one), as opposed to considering a Clarity from a proven company like Honda. They want cool looks, high performance, "wow" factor. Tesla has managed to deliver this (in a sedan form no-less!), and it shows in their sales figures. Clarity does not deliver in those regards. Sorry to sound negative but until Honda starts writing me monthly checks, I'm not on this site as a Clarity cheerleader. I'm here because I'm one of the select few who chose to own this car. Please understand that I DO LIKE THE CAR. Enough that I bought one! But I'm a weird dude and I know that. In terms of widespread appeal, Clarity simply does NOT have it. It is a GREAT experiment of the technology, and maybe Honda will use it in other lines and in better future cars, or even in collaboration with other manufacturers. But this Clarity thing is nothing but a unicorn...and I believe it will remain that way until they change course in some fashion. It really wouldn't surprise me one bit if they pull the plug on it, and soon. As has been said, Honda CAN'T be making any profit on this car. They're just using the general public to beta test it. Once the test is over, if they're smart, they'll kill it ASAP and use what they learned to build something better that appeals much more to the masses, unlike this first generation.

EDIT: Just looked at some Model 3 specs. 0-60 in 3.3 seconds, faster than I even realized. That's wicked fast. And AWD. I'm not all that familiar with the car, but I am fascinated that so many people like to so much -- even if it's not my cup of tea, the marketing guy in me is very very intrigued. Tesla seriously knows how to read a market and deliver a product that people want in terms of EV's....I can't deny them that success, even if I still don't trust the longevity or stability of the company as a whole. Time will tell how this all plays out, my crystal ball is in the shop...

 

There's no Tesla you can get for $10K over the price of a Clarity. I would like our Clarity better if it looked as good as a Tesla. However, I'm willing to trade looks for quality, reliability, and service-ability everywhere, which are not Tesla strengths.

My little sister (over 60) has looked up to her big brother all her life, but I couldn't talk her into a Clarity Plug-In Hybrid instead of a new Camry Hybrid. I don't believe there could be a better (and honest) Clarity salesman than me, so I admit you're right about the limited appeal of the almost-secret Clarity PHEV. You're also right about the Clarity PHEV being a trial balloon for future products (like my 2000 and 2006 Insights). The Pilot PHEV will be here soon.

My 2006 Honda Insight likely cost Honda double to make as what I paid for it and although I doubt the Clarity PHEV costs $70K to build, I'm again happy Honda released the ground-breaking car at such a reasonable price. Like @KentuckyKen, I laugh (but I don't honk) at Tesla owners tethered to their SuperChargers for long periods of time to achieve significant range when I can extend my car's range with a 2-minute fill-up. For the first 10 months of ownership our Clarity visited a gas station the same number of times as a Tesla (unless the Tesla went there to fill up its tires).

 

I have no disagreement with any...but sorta preaching to the choir. Those of us who "get it" already bought it. Honda's gotta figure out how to preach it to the general public if these cars are gonna take off. And I think they're falling on their face in that regard. And now gas is dipping to $2/gallon... and another HUGE incentive is gone when fuel savings are no longer substantial...further delaying the inevitable. And I agree EV, and PHEV, will eventually be the way it all goes. But with cheap gas? Maybe not as fast as was earlier predicted. So gas later will go up, as we all know. And every time demand for EVs go up because gas gets expensive, demand for electric will start to go up (likely raising prices as EVs head toward the masses), and at the same time demand for gas drops (lowering gas prices)....again slowing adoption rate to EV or PHEV as is happening right now. It's a vicious cycle. And eventually it will be broken.

But I believe government will likely need to step in with more incentives to push it over, in the name of climate change. Methinks public as a whole won't do it voluntarily for a LONG time.

Sorry to O.P. I've taken this way off topic. I'll shut up now.

 

At the stop light, with my Clarity on Eco/EV, I'm usually still the fastest to take off... Then stay at cruising speed of 40mph. I'm not even stumping on the pedals.

 

In regard to getting it. My initial motivation was simple. As soon as I realized (in my state) more than 10K in rebate/incentive available, it literally cost less to buy Clarity than a well equipped Honda Accord. So the car is relatively cheap for someone that can stand being without that 10K for several months. My buddy got his Clarity Touring for 34K (I paid 35K), but anyway, subtract 10 and that will be the net after $7500 fed, and $2500 state, plus $300 utility (EWEB). Some other folks have even better (depends on state and utility).

So I kind of got in to get a nice car for a nice price. After I bought it, I recognized it's one of the best cars I've even driven or been a passenger in. I wasn't expecting that. And for a person who spent his whole life using gasoline without a thought, I now "get concerned" if I exceed my electric range. Anyway, I'm a convert and a believer now. I doubt I'll ever buy a normal gas-only car again.

 

Yep, considering the base clarity has most of the same comfort features as a touring accord the pricing is amazing. I wanted heated seats and those come standard vs having to pay extra for accord... plus the "limited" models of Clarity was super nice and easy to get what you want vs having to "customize" other cars.

 

The Clarity isn't meant to be a fast car. Taking the Model 3 and Volt as nearest competitors: It's meant to be a roomy, comfy car which beats out the Model 3 and Volt from that angle, and a car with no range anxiety being a PHEV, which beats out the Model 3 from that angle.

Yes, the torque definitely helps a little, but let's not call it deceivingly fast.. that's not what it's supposed to be good at.

EDIT: I just noticed the title says "...EVs' acceleration" as being deceiving fast. I would definitely agree with that in normal city conditions, with torque being the main contributor.

 

IMO there are several reasons why Tesla 3s are selling far better than the Clarity.
* Although subjective, many people find the styling nicer
* Far longer range, even though all electric
* Far faster
* Relatively dense SuperCharger network, making an all-electric, long range trip very feasible
* For many, the undeniable allure of owning a 'Tesla' that's considerably cheaper than previous Teslas

With that said, having owned a Clarity for a year, we have no regrets. Although I would have opted for a Model 3 to compliment my Model S, my wife preferred the idea of having one car that could also run on gas if necessary. The Clarity was an excellent compromise and, after all, it is her car.

 

In addition, Honda (the company) doesn't do a great job of promoting the Clarity. When a typical consumer thinks of Tesla, they think Model S, Model X and Model 3. Only 3 cars. The typical consumer thinking about Honda probably thinks of Accord, CRV, Civic, etc... Not so much Clarity.

I had my mind set on Tesla 3 or the Volt, and the Clarity didn't even enter into my EV-uninitiated mind. It was only by chance that I discovered the Clarity.. I think it was some random Google pop-up add from a car dealer nearby that caught my eye. And the rest is history.

 

Poor sales, horrible sales.
Even dealers doesn't know how to sell this car. They provide test drive without any charge. I was almost turned away.

I first found Clarity here: https://www.plugincars.com/cars?sort_by=field_epa_range_value&sort_order=DESC&field_isphev_value_many_to_one=electric+%2B+gasoline

 

Honda said it has a 4-year sales goal of 75,000 Clarities, so it is not surprising that they are only selling around 2,000 per month at the end of its first year.

I don't know about other buyers, but a Tesla never crossed my mind. I imagine there isn't a ton of overlap between those on the Tesla waiting list and those looking at PHEVs like the Clarity. I know several here have mentioned that they were, but I have a feeling that might be the minority. I don't think they are really competing against each other, so comparing sales numbers isn't super useful, especially since one is being produced at about 10x the rate.

Edit to add: As others have said, Honda has done a terrible job of marketing the car. I didn't know it existed and nearly bought a Niro PHEV until I was looking at the federal rebate website and saw the Clarity listed.

 

Here in sunny southern California I'm actually seeing A LOT of Claritys on the road. I know of 5 Claritys in my neighborhood and I normally see 2 more on my way into work, 8 mile commute. I know my sample size is small and I probably notice it more just because I'm an owner but the car is starting to sell and sell well. Who knows, maybe it will 'go viral' even though there is limited marketing. It is important to note though: not everyone has access to a plug at night to charge a PHEV every night so it doesn't work for everyone but boy do I like my car.