Clarity without charging

If you can regularly charge at your office and/or you plan on installing an EV charger at home soon, or plan on moving to a new place where you can charge at home, then buying a PHEV such as the Clarity PHEV may make sense.

But using the car's onboard ability to charge the battery on a regular basis makes no sense. That would be the most inefficient way to use the car. Just driving it in HV mode (without charging the battery) would be more fuel-efficient, less costly, and wouldn't wear out either the gas engine or the battery pack nearly as fast.

A PHEV's "Charge" mode, using the car's gas motor to charge the battery pack, should only be used for unusual circumstances where that offers some advantage, such as charging the battery fully before climbing a tall mountain, or entering a "green" zone where tailpipe emissions are not allowed. "Charge" mode should not be used daily or even weekly.

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Honda won't soon run out of its 200,000 potential credits for the U.S. Federal $7500 income tax rebate.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean it won't go away within a few months. A lot of people have speculated that as soon as both Tesla and GM run out of credits, Congress will move to cut off any more tax credits, because at that point it would primarily benefit only foreign auto makers... such as Honda.

Please note I'm not advocating for this; I'm merely pointing out the most probable actions of a Congress primarily controlled by hard-right Republicans, who are rather antagonistic toward any agenda perceived as being "green" and therefore "liberal".

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Hi...to enable HV Charge, press the HV button until the HV Charge indicator turns on.While the vehicle is in HV Charge, the High Voltage battery will continue to charge until the battery charge level display reaches 12 segments. Once the battery reaches this level, the vehicle switches to HV. You can cancel HV Charge before the battery reaches 12 segments by pressing the HV button.When the vehicle is in HV Charge, priority is given to the charging of the High Voltage battery.

 

I actually wanted a used Accord Hybrid, but the resale was so high (above $21,000) that I started looking at the Clarity.
With dealer discounts, state and federal incentives, the new Clarity ended up slightly less expensive than the used Accord Hybrid.
The upside is the battery only range (incredible) and near luxury car feel (to me).
I could drive this car on gas only and still be happy.
I have been getting high 50's to mid 60's MPG on the highway.
Might go lower as temps drop.
On rural back roads at around 45 MPH, without AC, I can get mid 70's easy.
The EV mode is cool for all my short unplanned trips that usually ruin avg MPG.
I just smile every time I drive it.
The silence in EV mode is peaceful.
Driving around town in HV mode is very quiet also, just a mild moan from the engine during the fraction of time it runs.
I'm 55 and I drive gently anyway, so the engine never really revs in HV mode even when the battery gauges at empty.
When I bought the Clarity, I factored in the possibility that electricity might not be available or cost effective at some point and made the decision based on HV mode worst case.

 

You pattern is exactly same as mine.
1. I'm getting 50mpg with HV
2. That would be quite bad. Won't consider unless really nessesary.

 

Yep thats how I found the clarity as well. Was looking for a Honda Accord Hybrid and found them priced pretty high, especially for ones with heated seats.

Ended up seeing the clarity on Honda's website (had never heard of it before), and was amazed that it was not only better than the Accord, but came standard with most "EX" type features like heated seats and such. The touring edition offers very little (more if you have two drivers since it can have seat presets).

It definitely feels like a luxury car and the electric only range has been amazing.