A viable alternative to Clarity

Tek_Freek said:
I dropped both into a paint program and the similarity is very close.
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LOL! I did that, too. But I used a gen-1 Volt because I thought it was closer in profile than the Chevy Cruze/Volt 2.

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insightman said:
LOL! I did that, too. But I used a gen-1 Volt because I thought it was closer in profile than the Chevy Cruze/Volt 2.

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Thanks for posting the comparison! Similar but you can clearly see the windshield and hood angles are almost the same in the Prius versus the clear kink in the Volt. This is more like the old GM minivans that were heavily criticized for their impractical windshield angle. Actually it looks like the Prius is even closer to horizontal than GM.
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Thanks for the Volt compare picture. Back when I bought a Clarity, I did test drive a Volt. When I test drove Volt, I felt the front seats were arguably OK but not awesome (didn't hit me as claustrophobic) but the back seat on the Volt to me seemed too small for adults (maybe fine for kids). The Clarity can comfortably seat 4 adults. And actually I did test drive the 2018 Prius Prime at the time. Again the cabin space felt small to me. It felt exactly like the difference between what some call an economy car and a standard sedan.
 
Dan Albrich said:
Thanks for the Volt compare picture. Back when I bought a Clarity, I did test drive a Volt.
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I did the same thing in 2018. In addition to being a s&#tbox compared to the Clarity, I believe then the Prius Prime also actually cost more than the Clarity due to minimal incentive and it was not eligible for the full federal rebate.
 
I imagine the front visibility would be a concern on the new Prius . A pillar is so far forward , it would block so much angle. It’s like looking through a pipe . dash reflection also gets bad with how low the windshield is. New Hondas have made the windows more straight up, which I believe to address this. 2016 Fit A pillar was so bad. All my Subarus were wonderful that way.
 
David Towle said:
Towards more panel are

More self powering. Higher efficiency cells, more area (hood, trunk), might get to 15-20 miles of range per day someday.
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Conventional solar panels have a theoretical maximum efficiency of 33.7%. Some manufacturers currently claim figures as high as 30%. These figures are based on ideal laboratory conditions, 77F, the sun at a 90* angle to the panel, etc. Put simply, it isn’t possible to realize a 5-fold gain in the area of converting solar energy into useable electricity.

A more effective approach to increasing EV range, regardless of the charging source, would be to utilize the least powerful motor necessary to propel the vehicle. This, of course, would result in the indignity of having to endure 0-60mph times of 30-60 seconds.
 
Landshark said:
A more effective approach to increasing EV range, regardless of the charging source, would be to utilize the least powerful motor necessary to propel the vehicle. This, of course, would result in the indignity of having to endure 0-60mph times of 30-60 seconds.
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Accelerating a 4000 lb vehicle from 0 to 60 mph requires about 0.2 kWh of energy. In theory, it doesn't matter if you do that in 5 seconds or in 60 seconds. Of course in practice it matters because electrical losses will be greater with the much higher currents in the conductors. The size of the motor might not have as large of an impact on EV range as you might expect.
 
Mark W said:
When I go on road trips, I don't want to worry about charging.
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We loved our 2018 Clarity for the 3 years we owned it, and it’s still in the family. Not having to “worry about charging” seemed like an obvious advantage on road trips.

We moved to a 2022 Tesla Model 3 Long Range in February of this year. Just over 22,000 miles on it to date, including multiple road trips from our E TN home - several to FL, a couple each to DC and Indiana, and a recent one taking us as far north as Ottawa. Never once on any of those trips did we find ourselves “worrying about charging”. The car’s navigation system really takes the “worry” out of it, and we’ve yet had to wait for a Supercharger to become available. Stipulated it may be different in different parts of the country or in a non-Tesla EV, but that’s our story and we’re sticking to it!
 
Clarity was our way to get accustomed to a BEV. When our kids reach driving age, we plan to give them this car (and whatever range it has left) and then get a BEV. Hoping the Prologue is going to be good. We like Hondas.
 
leehinde said:
How you.d you compare ride quality & fit and finish?
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The fit and finish on ours has been perfect. Only exception is like our Clarity, the paint seems a little “soft”, showing minor blemishes from bird poop, sap or whatever. The paint on our 2005 Element - which is still soldiering on - seems much more resilient to those sorts of insults.

No mechanical issues to date, other than the rear defroster going inop for unknown reasons. Tesla reluctantly replaced the rear glass after trying to tie the failure into a hit & run accident which the body shop said should not have caused the problem. Like the Clarity, once in a while the infotainment/navigation system does something wonky, but a forced reset invariably takes care of it. Also, regular OTA software updates continue to add functionality, which is nice.

The ride quality is sportier than the Clarity. We drive a lot on curvy mountain roads and the Clarity seemed to “wallow” a bit. Though to be fair, once it settled into a turn there was not excessive body roll and we could hustle right along - quite impressive for a car that size. The Tesla’s ride is firmer, and more like a sports car. That’s not a complaint - we like it. And that’s with the stock 18” wheels. The larger wheel options cut down a bit on range, leave the rims more vulnerable to potholes and the like and make for a harsher ride, so it seemed silly to spend more money for less range, more vulnerable wheels and a worse ride. The road noise on other than very smooth roads with the stock tires is maybe slightly higher than the Clarity, which itself we found kind of noisy. But overall the firmer, sportier feel of the Tesla, at least our Model 3, is welcome on the roads we travel locally, and not bothersome on road trips.
 
turtleturtle said:
Clarity was our way to get accustomed to a BEV. When our kids reach driving age, we plan to give them this car (and whatever range it has left) and then get a BEV. Hoping the Prologue is going to be good. We like Hondas.
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PHEV’s remain an excellent choice, and back on point the new Prius seems worthy of consideration. But as BEV range increases, I think it’s probably inevitable that they’ll take over and PHEV’s will best be seen as “transitional” vehicles - or “gateway drugs” as in our case.

If an EV had 250 miles of range, let’s say, we could easily have “range anxiety” on a typical mission. We have two homes about 100 miles apart. We could envision driving to our N GA home, then getting a call about some kind of emergency back in TN. With higher terrain to be traversed in between, or cold weather sapping range, we could see returning home with very little charge, and there are no Superchargers on the route. Though to be fair, there are 2 in nearby Knoxville, available for a quick charge. Raise the range to the (nominal) 358 miles of our Tesla, and that mission becomes easily doable with plenty of reserve.

Sorry for the detail, but I hope it has some value. I’m not dissing PHEV’s - they’re perfect for many use cases. I would like to see them with more EV range - 60 to 80 miles would seem ideal - but for many that would just mean higher costs and weight for EV range that’s rarely needed.
 
Coincidentally, we’re dogsitting for the kids, and they usually take their Pilot on road trips for the add’l room. So here’s a side-by-side this morning at their house:

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I had been warned that at age 73 the Model 3 sits pretty low, which it does. Still limber enough it’s not an issue, but if that was a factor, the Model Y does sit higher, roughly the height of the Clarity.
 
Fast Eddie B said:
We loved our 2018 Clarity for the 3 years we owned it, and it’s still in the family. Not having to “worry about charging” seemed like an obvious advantage on road trips.

We moved to a 2022 Tesla Model 3 Long Range in February of this year. Just over 22,000 miles on it to date, including multiple road trips from our E TN home - several to FL, a couple each to DC and Indiana, and a recent one taking us as far north as Ottawa. Never once on any of those trips did we find ourselves “worrying about charging”. The car’s navigation system really takes the “worry” out of it, and we’ve yet had to wait for a Supercharger to become available. Stipulated it may be different in different parts of the country or in a non-Tesla EV, but that’s our story and we’re sticking to it!
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Yeah, I did use the word "worry". Wrong word. I should have said, I don't want to "bother with", or "plan around" charging. Now granted, with a Model 3 LR, that has enough range and charges fast enough where there is just not much bother to speak of, and that combined with the supercharger network means charging is not much of an issue. Especially for me, since we rarely go on very long road trips.

Unfortunately for me though, any LR Tesla is way out of my budget.
 
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