KBB - 2019 Clarity Long Term Review Update

Cool review.

What really stands out to me is where the driver did a test by driving in HV on interstate and EV around town for trips where he exceeded electric range, assuming it would save fuel, as darn near everyone on this forum does and recommends.

And it failed.

He got substantially better MPG by just ignoring the buttons, driving the car until HV was forced on by dead battery, and basically letting the car do all the decision making, and this is what he recommends...NOT turning on HV manually in longer road trips. Just leave it in EV and drive the car.

I wonder how repeatable and consistent that is. Frankly his result doesn’t surprise me much. I don’t have a consistent commute, so I will never know or have good opportunity to test it, but it wouldn’t surprise me much if this car is smarter with buttons ignored than the majority of drivers (including myself) who actually think they are saving fuel by manually choosing modes coming on and off the interstate or whatever.

 

That test is seriously flawed. He didn't mention how much of a charge was left after both tests. If he never depleted the battery while toggling HV manually, that means there were "free miles" unaccounted for.
Whenever I calculate the MPG after topping up, I always deduct the EV range in order to get the real HV range mileage. I've found that if you do not plan to charge your car all that often, it is better to toggle the HV mode with a healthy chunk of battery range left, rather than running it with a "depleted" battery. The latest MPG figure I've achieved is 57MPG, after accounting for battery use. No creature comforts forfeited either

 

I hope that is a typo and he means the HV button. Also like AlAl mentions we don't now if he account for the charge left in the battery.

So you deduct the EV range from the Range shown next to the gas range? When I check ranges, depending on the screen I can see EV range, a combined EV and Gas range, and a range that I assume is gas only since it's next to the gas level. So you just subtract remaining EV range from that or the combined number?

 

I wish he were right. I really want an EV button that means, in effect, forget that there’s an ICE no matter what I do. There are many times when what I want is to accelerate as fast as possible without turning on the engine, and I accidentally push it too far.

OT, but I found it funny that the reviewer complains about lack of lumbar support and then praises the lumber support.

 

ECON Mode keeps the Clarity PHEV in EV Drive mode as long as you don't press the accelerator past the click point. That's as fast as the car can accelerate without firing up the ICE. I believe Honda created the Clarity with a click point and no EV button to provide an easy way to keep the ICE dormant while still ensuring maximum acceleration is always available when needed without forcing the driver to search for and turn off the EV button.

 

I log the EV range when the gas is full, deduct the difference at the time of next fillup; that way I'm only observing HV mpg, and not some co-mingled figure.
I resist the temptation of charging the car for the tanks I attempt to log mpg.
Example:
Starting EV range/SoC = 53mi/89%
EV range/SoC after fillup = 42mi/77%
EV difference = 11mi
TripA = 352mi
Total Gallons to fill = 6.2Gal
So:
(352mi-11mi)/6.2Gal = 55mpg