Help - Prius Prime vs. Clarity PHEV

I test drove the Prime and there's no comparison to the Clarity in all those areas. The Clarity interior is more spacious and has a more premium luxury feel than the Prime. Not to mention the quiet cabin. Clarity accelerates smoothly, handles better (especially in sport mode) and has enough power. I felt like the Prime was struggling. Carplay/Android Auto is pretty great for my long commute. If you get the Touring model, there are memory seats. There are a couple threads here that discuss the features in a lot more detail.

I will say that the Prime drove better than other Prius models that I've tested.

Since you are happy with your Civic, the Clarity will feel like an upgrade.

 

Plus don't discount the buying experience.

I also test drove the Hyundai Ioniq and the sales guy was so horrible, I will never consider that brand again.

 

Although I never test drove the Prime due to its looks and size, the Clarity has more than double the electric range of the Prime. To me that’s huge.

 

I was in the same boat a few years ago. I had driven Toyotas for nearly a decade. Never once had a good dealer experience here in the Dallas area.

None would sell me a Rav 4 EV since it was a compliance car only, and none had a Prius Plug-In on the lot. I finally gave up on toyota when I was looking into shipping a Rav 4 EV here and every dealer I spoke with refused to even look at the car. Several chevy dealers were autorized to work on the Spark EV and one dealer (classic chevy) was actually enthusiastic since they had never seen one before.

North Texas Toyota dealers are anti-EV. Ive dealt with it personally. You don’t wanna deal with that. Don’t waste your time with them.

The Honda dealers in DFW are keeping a healthy stock of the Clarity. Go for the Honda!

 

I have a wife and two kids so the extra cabin room was important. Also, the Clarity PHEV has a huge trunk and a passthrough to the cabin so losing the hatch wasn't as big a deal. The Prime can't even seat five people if necessary. I never test drove a Prime because the nearest one was 12 hours away, but the seats looked comfortable and the big center screen looked cool, but no Android Auto/Carplay really killed it for me. I want to use Google Maps, not whatever is built in and will go out of date in a few years. In a world where the Clarity doesn't exist the Prime would be my fallback option, but lucky for me the Clarity existed at just the right time.

 

The two cars are very different and fill different niches. For us, the Prime is just too small. We like to take road trips so our adult sized teenagers would be very uncomfortable in a Prime. The Prius is significantly smaller than the compact Toyota Corolla while a Clarity is a bit bigger than the full size Toyota Avalon. So if cabin comfort is important, go for the Clarity. If you can use the car in mostly EV mode, the Clarity provides a much longer range, without much loss to energy efficiency. If your daily driving is very long and mostly HV, then the Prius will provide better mileage. Everyone's individual circumstances are different so it's nice to have choices. Out of all the cars out there (of any type of propulsion), we found the Clarity to be ideal for our needs (daily drives are 100% EV). And if, God forbid, you should be in a serious accident, you'll fare better in the much larger Clarity.

 

Another issue with the Prime - all Prius PHEVs for that matter - is the limiter on EV speed. With their system, at 62.5mph (100kmh), the ICE automatically kicks in (at least on the 2012-2016). For the Prime it's 75mph. That's misleading, though, because the torque just isn't there in either vehicle - for whatever the reasons. So try getting onto the freeway without the ICE popping on (in SoCal and other big urban areas, it probably doesn't matter since freeway speed is often less than what's found in a school zone).

The Clarity, OTOH, particularly in Sport mode, gets up to speed in about 8 sec. Not Tesla-Gs, but not Prius piddling, either.

 

Both Toyota and Honda cars are great. We've had heat experiences with both.

I do miss the Prius hatchback and superior fold down seats. But the Prime trunk and weird floor design turned us off. Prime space wasn't too big a deal but seating for only four was unacceptable.

Now that we have the Clarity it is obvious we made the right choice .For us the EV range is such that, barring the occasional long trip out of town, we won't be visiting gas stations more than once a year. The Clarity is far quieter than the Prius and the extra space is much appreciated.

Looks are subjective but for us the Clarity is much better looking than the Prime. My wife wouldn't even get into the Prime after looking through the window.

I must say though that the 2015 high beans were fantastic and I'm disappointed in the Clarity high beams. We have a hill to climb one mile from home where we must watch for deer crossing on the curvy road .

 

Well, maybe. Do you have a family? The the Clarity is better. Do you commute a long way every day? The the Prius might be better. Do you really like Android Auto or Carplay? The you have to get the Clarity (although apparently Toyota finally caved so in a few years it may be a toss up).

The Clarity makes a strong argument, but I can see some cases for the Prime.

 

The Civic is a remarkable achievement for Honda and the sales reflect that. The line is the best combination of value, performance, and quality today. The Clarity is a big car that weighs over 2 tons (big battery). It certainly won't be as nimble as your Civic. However, it's not a slouch either. Car and Driver measured a 0-60 time of 7.6 seconds, just a fraction slower than the turbo Civic ( https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2018-honda-clarity-plug-in-hybrid-first-drive-review ). A recent review by Car Gurus described handling of the Clarity like a slot car ( https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/2018-Honda-Clarity-Plug-In-Hybrid-Overview-c26825 ).

From my own experience, the Clarity has minimal body roll on curves and the steering is quick and precise. What is negatively impacting the car's handling is the OEM tires, which are designed to maximize fuel efficiency but they've received negative reviews for handling, bad weather traction, and braking. They are expensive tires so no doubt Honda chose them to maximize mileage and EV range. Once I replace them with decent tires, I have no doubt the Clarity's overall experience will shine on all points. Of course, high performance tires will impact the mileage negatively.

 

I would be interested to hear your experience when you do this.

 

It'll be a while. The OEM tires are OK and I'm not one to waste a new set of tires unless I feel they're really bad (Like the General OEM tires I had on a mini-van years ago. They were the lowest ranked tires in Consumer Reports and I found them to be squirrelly and giving long stopping distances. I changed them immediately and it was like night and day). Actually, the Clarity's Michelins are pretty good compared to other "green" tires. As a class, they just don't perform as well as regular A/S tires.

 

The Civic is very fuel efficient already. I say keep the Civic.