Have you ever have to get into the passenger side to get into the driver seat? Sometimes there is an obstruction on the driver's side that prevents you from getting into the car. I hate this shifter because I recently had to climb over it and it is nearly impossible. I ended up kicking the steering wheel and hurt my hip trying to get into the drivers seat. I wonder if I need to dive head first into the seat or maybe try it from the back seat. Why do they have to make this shifter so big and take up so much space? Everything is electronic anyway.
I too have issues with the shift panel. First it looks like it was an afterthought, stuck in where they could find room for it. It doesn't blend in with the rest of the structure around it. It looks like a five-year-old said to his designer father, "hey dad let's stick it here". I really miss having a shift lever too. After 11,000 miles, mostly around town, I have to look down at the shift panel to select reverse and drive. And why can't the reverse be a simple button rather than a strange one that you pull? The wings of the shift panel are just wasted space. My right knee comes in contact with the left wing while I'm driving with my foot off the gas. I wish the wings had been left off. At least Honda could have created a couple of storage compartment for coins and other small items. As it is the wings are just wastes space. If Honda had to stick with the push button shift instead of a stick they could have used a design something like the new Odyssey which pushes all of the buttons up toward the center stack.
I had to cross over today as some jackass parked leaving side mirror length of space on driver side. It was clumsy getting on the driver side from passenger seat. I backed the driver side furthest, then put one foot on passenger side and other on driver side mat, I found the shifter odd at test drive time, bad use of space when I bought the car, and now annoying with lack of storage, all these shifter buttons could have just been like traditional cars and it would have been just fine, but no we have this ugly contraption
Shifters designed by Ford, General Motors and Nissan are responsible for accidental deaths, making them worse. Honda's push-button shifter appears to at least be safe (which explains why Reverse isn't just a simple push-button). However, I agree the Clarity's shift buttons could be better positioned. I wonder where moving from passenger to driver seat ranks in Honda's interior design ergonomics checklist?
Why is the shifter so big? That's where they put the 12V battery..... See the repair manual in the other thread
The new Insight has its 12-volt battery under the center console, not the Clarity. Still, the Insight's center console looks more "climbable."
This is the arrangement on the 2018 Odyssey - up on the dash away from everything else, leaving you a bigger storage space below and nothing for your knee to rub against. The "flying bridge" design of the Clarity is STUPID! @jdonalds - I was told the reason reverse is not a push button is to avoid accidentally engaging reverse with a misplaced touch. I prefer the Prius on dash small stick shift, but have to admit this "looks nicer."
I think you guys all missed the point. The designer's goal was to make the car look as futuristic as possible, looking like something the Jetson's would drive. So the wing accomplished that ;P Practical ? No. Climbing over.... Did you all not read the warning regarding that on page 2305? <-- That was a joke.
My HMO deductible for the ER is too high for me to try climbing over that useless, over designed, space hogging, right knee jabbing shelf.
