Dan Albrich
Well-Known Member
First I have to say that I love this car. That being said, I wrote up some ideas about what I think is the good and bad of driving a partially electric car. Also I realize this may be an eclectic list of items which may not be generally held. i.e. I'm not trying to document every feature or concern, just the ones that come to my mind.
Electic Car / PHEV- Clarity – Excellent Benefits (some/many apply to all PHEVs)
Fuel economy: This car is easily 4 or more times less costly to operate from a fuel perspective than my last vehicle. I spend about $.80/ day commuting in this vehicle (about 20 miles). I can go two days on a single charge (about 40 miles of range), and that’s about 14.5 KWH at $.11 per KWH, or about $1.60 per full-charge. My gas car would cost me about 1 gallon of gas per-day for a normal commute (20 miles), so currently that’s $3.29 per day here in Oregon (or $6.60 for two days). Yep about 4 times more expensive commute daily. So the savings on fuel are very tangible, and quite awesome. The car also adapts to conditions and sometimes I’m able to get incredible fuel economy, for example with a lot of stop and go, it increases opportunity for regenerative breaking, and there are times when my economy is even better. I don't think I can over-state how cool this benefit is.
Few gas station visits: I can “fill up the tank” every day at home in the garage and it just takes a moment to plugin. In the safety of my quiet garage. No need to wait in line at a gas station or deal with anything that comes with that. I especially appreciate this during the winter months around the holidays when it seems everyone needs gas at the same time, and you really end up waiting. In Oregon, we cannot pump our own gas by law, so even if a pump is free, one still must wait for an attendant. Also cost of electricity is reasonable here, and gas prices are easily more than $1 above the national average. For us, the savings are substantial.
Quiet: I’ve always associated a quiet ride with luxury car. My car in electric mode is extremely quiet. It’s to the point that the hands-free cellular stuff works awesome, because there is very little background noise. If this car runs on a high quality paved road, it’s almost eerily quiet.
I love going through a drive-through (fast food) and my car is totally silent at the window. I also love the built-in break-hold feature for drive-through or other stopped situations.
Heating and Cooling without engine: If I’m waiting for my wife to shop or for some reason ‘stuck’ in the car on a cold or hot day, I can turn the car on and run the heating and cooling without the gas engine. It’s really nice on a hot summer day to use air conditioning while waiting in the car without turning on any motor. This feature on the Honda does want you to have a key-fob (as accessory mode doesn’t quite cut it for a long time doing this). But for the way my wife and I use the car (we both have a fob), it works perfectly.
Power, especially up steep hills: Electric motors generate very high torque, and especially at low speeds. Going up my really steep hill daily basis is a breeze, and no need to slow down. My car literally handles going up our hill better than my V8 pickup which now feels loud and clunky compared to our electric car. Also, the Honda in sport mode has good acceleration for normal driving including ability to use passing lanes. It’s way more powerful than the Subaru Outback (4cyl) I had last and just no competition. At freeway speeds, I can still pass folks without issue.
Convenience: My touring edition auto-adjusts the seats when my wife or I get in. All of the windows do ‘auto’ up and down. I can manually select re-circ or outside air. The foot plus vent option is my favorite. The car has an ‘auto’ environment setting to help you not have to manually select stuff when in a hurry. Adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, lane-keep assist, backup camera, right-turn camera, radio that pulls in even weak stations, automatic warning of possible collision (or configurable going off-road). Walk-away auto-lock. Handle-touch unlock. Many possible adjustments (i.e. headlight auto-on sensitivity etc.) Good performance, easy to get the car up to 80 or more miles per hour. Comfortable freeway driving. Full-size car feel, instead of small economy.
Generally: The Clarity is well thought out and works the way I would want my car to work. The safety features like a blinking “BRAKE” when getting too close to the next vehicle is much appreciated. There’s really too many features to list. The overall package feels very refined to me.
Clarity, potential downsides:
Road Debris: Probably my biggest concern when driving on the highway or major road is hitting road debris at high speed. Every so often someone loses a hard or metal object on the freeway that doesn’t get adequately cleaned up (i.e. after a crash or similar). Hitting a piece of metal that gets repeatedly crunched under my car is a real concern. The car uses a large lithium ion battery and while it’s protected, manufacturers don’t normally assume some steel object with puncture capability will come at you from under the car. Our honda is very low to the ground to conserve fuel, but this also means the car is more likely to trap debris if one drives over it. So, it’s a different kind of threat. I’d never consider the same concern on a normal gas mobile.
Water: While you never want to land any car in a river, if one crashes their car maybe even down an embankment into a river, it would be concerning to have a 17.5KWH battery back in the water with potential damage. If one is in hurricane country, having any electric car sit in salt water (conductive) is a no-no.
Low Volume Vehicle: The fact that these are low-volume cars can make parts harder to get and more expensive. Many new cars include a windshield camera for things like lane-keeping, but if one breaks a windshield, a new windshield on such a car is much more expensive because it requires re-mounting the camera and calibration.
Charging and winter weather: Perhaps not a real concern- I tend to run to the garage and unplug my car from the 240v system in a storm with lightening. I have no data to back this up, just seems like a better call than leaving it plugged in during the storm.
Complexity: I actually believe my ‘dual-fuel’ vehicle will have long life and relatively low maintenance cost (if no accidents). There is some risk in complex systems being more expensive or difficult to maintain as they age. The reliability is yet to be seen.
Cup-Holders: The two in the front are good and have size adjustment, but I would of really preferred more than 2. It’s odd that my Totota Tundra Truck 2004 has at least six cup holders easy to reach from the driver’s seat (which is actually more than I want).
Electic Car / PHEV- Clarity – Excellent Benefits (some/many apply to all PHEVs)
Fuel economy: This car is easily 4 or more times less costly to operate from a fuel perspective than my last vehicle. I spend about $.80/ day commuting in this vehicle (about 20 miles). I can go two days on a single charge (about 40 miles of range), and that’s about 14.5 KWH at $.11 per KWH, or about $1.60 per full-charge. My gas car would cost me about 1 gallon of gas per-day for a normal commute (20 miles), so currently that’s $3.29 per day here in Oregon (or $6.60 for two days). Yep about 4 times more expensive commute daily. So the savings on fuel are very tangible, and quite awesome. The car also adapts to conditions and sometimes I’m able to get incredible fuel economy, for example with a lot of stop and go, it increases opportunity for regenerative breaking, and there are times when my economy is even better. I don't think I can over-state how cool this benefit is.
Few gas station visits: I can “fill up the tank” every day at home in the garage and it just takes a moment to plugin. In the safety of my quiet garage. No need to wait in line at a gas station or deal with anything that comes with that. I especially appreciate this during the winter months around the holidays when it seems everyone needs gas at the same time, and you really end up waiting. In Oregon, we cannot pump our own gas by law, so even if a pump is free, one still must wait for an attendant. Also cost of electricity is reasonable here, and gas prices are easily more than $1 above the national average. For us, the savings are substantial.
Quiet: I’ve always associated a quiet ride with luxury car. My car in electric mode is extremely quiet. It’s to the point that the hands-free cellular stuff works awesome, because there is very little background noise. If this car runs on a high quality paved road, it’s almost eerily quiet.
I love going through a drive-through (fast food) and my car is totally silent at the window. I also love the built-in break-hold feature for drive-through or other stopped situations.
Heating and Cooling without engine: If I’m waiting for my wife to shop or for some reason ‘stuck’ in the car on a cold or hot day, I can turn the car on and run the heating and cooling without the gas engine. It’s really nice on a hot summer day to use air conditioning while waiting in the car without turning on any motor. This feature on the Honda does want you to have a key-fob (as accessory mode doesn’t quite cut it for a long time doing this). But for the way my wife and I use the car (we both have a fob), it works perfectly.
Power, especially up steep hills: Electric motors generate very high torque, and especially at low speeds. Going up my really steep hill daily basis is a breeze, and no need to slow down. My car literally handles going up our hill better than my V8 pickup which now feels loud and clunky compared to our electric car. Also, the Honda in sport mode has good acceleration for normal driving including ability to use passing lanes. It’s way more powerful than the Subaru Outback (4cyl) I had last and just no competition. At freeway speeds, I can still pass folks without issue.
Convenience: My touring edition auto-adjusts the seats when my wife or I get in. All of the windows do ‘auto’ up and down. I can manually select re-circ or outside air. The foot plus vent option is my favorite. The car has an ‘auto’ environment setting to help you not have to manually select stuff when in a hurry. Adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow, lane-keep assist, backup camera, right-turn camera, radio that pulls in even weak stations, automatic warning of possible collision (or configurable going off-road). Walk-away auto-lock. Handle-touch unlock. Many possible adjustments (i.e. headlight auto-on sensitivity etc.) Good performance, easy to get the car up to 80 or more miles per hour. Comfortable freeway driving. Full-size car feel, instead of small economy.
Generally: The Clarity is well thought out and works the way I would want my car to work. The safety features like a blinking “BRAKE” when getting too close to the next vehicle is much appreciated. There’s really too many features to list. The overall package feels very refined to me.
Clarity, potential downsides:
Road Debris: Probably my biggest concern when driving on the highway or major road is hitting road debris at high speed. Every so often someone loses a hard or metal object on the freeway that doesn’t get adequately cleaned up (i.e. after a crash or similar). Hitting a piece of metal that gets repeatedly crunched under my car is a real concern. The car uses a large lithium ion battery and while it’s protected, manufacturers don’t normally assume some steel object with puncture capability will come at you from under the car. Our honda is very low to the ground to conserve fuel, but this also means the car is more likely to trap debris if one drives over it. So, it’s a different kind of threat. I’d never consider the same concern on a normal gas mobile.
Water: While you never want to land any car in a river, if one crashes their car maybe even down an embankment into a river, it would be concerning to have a 17.5KWH battery back in the water with potential damage. If one is in hurricane country, having any electric car sit in salt water (conductive) is a no-no.
Low Volume Vehicle: The fact that these are low-volume cars can make parts harder to get and more expensive. Many new cars include a windshield camera for things like lane-keeping, but if one breaks a windshield, a new windshield on such a car is much more expensive because it requires re-mounting the camera and calibration.
Charging and winter weather: Perhaps not a real concern- I tend to run to the garage and unplug my car from the 240v system in a storm with lightening. I have no data to back this up, just seems like a better call than leaving it plugged in during the storm.
Complexity: I actually believe my ‘dual-fuel’ vehicle will have long life and relatively low maintenance cost (if no accidents). There is some risk in complex systems being more expensive or difficult to maintain as they age. The reliability is yet to be seen.
Cup-Holders: The two in the front are good and have size adjustment, but I would of really preferred more than 2. It’s odd that my Totota Tundra Truck 2004 has at least six cup holders easy to reach from the driver’s seat (which is actually more than I want).
