Car and Driver reviews Ioniq PHEV (and other variants)

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Just in (visit https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2018-hyundai-ioniq-in-depth-model-review ). There's some interesting nuggets in there for comparison to the Clarity. This quote for example:

"The Ioniq plug-in did about as well as its closest competitors in our set of highway tests, but it failed to live up to the promise of its EPA ratings. We estimate 20 miles of electric-only highway range compared with the EPA-estimated 27 miles, and achieving that is a struggle—it takes a very light foot on the accelerator to keep the Ioniq from turning to its gas engine for power. Once the battery was depleted, we earned a paltry 39 mpg. Not only is that 13 mpg lower than the EPA’s highway estimate for the Ioniq, but several non-hybrid vehicles have beaten that number in our testing."

The important thing to note here is that the Ioniq is a subcompact (smaller than the compact Civic) while the Clarity is about the same size as the full sized Toyota Avalon. Also, the 0-60 time measured by C&D is 8.9 seconds compared to the Clarity's 7.6 seconds (also measured by C&D). Based on my own experience and that reported on this board, the Clarity gets better HV mileage in real world conditions. Clarity is clearly the superior vehicle and yet it doesn't sell. That is just crazy.
 
I researched every vehicle out there and ended up with the Clarity. Honda is either deliberately not advertising this car due to lower margins (think of fewer services this car needs) or they are having a tough time sourcing batteries. In either case, I will market the Clarity whenever I get a chance - at work or family/friends! I started fielding questions about it and not one person knew such a car from Honda existed!
 
People look at MPG but they do not pay attention that EV only range is more important than MPG, because, we are not generally making long trips every day. Day to day is commute to work and home only.
 
In SoCal, I've been seeing quite a few billboards along the highway advertising the Clarity, and a number of Volta charging stations are sponsored by the Clarity.

Might be a regional thing, but then again I don't see as many on the roads as I would expect.
 
When you read that review, and compare it to Car & Driver's first drive of the Honda Clarity PHEV, it's like we are talking about two different species.

I just don't get the auto press:
  • The Ioniq is a mediocre hybrid with a 20 mile battery bolted on (using quarter inch bolts)...
  • The Prius Prime is a great hybrid with a mediocre 25 mile EV mode (at least you can keep it in that mode)
  • The Volt is the closest to the Clarity, but it is a compact (some say sub-compact) at best
It's like comparing the three bear's porridge, and the only one that is "just right" is the Clarity which is head and shoulders above the rest.

COME ON HONDA - get behind your own car and smoke the rest of them - it's almost as if they are LOSING money on selling PHEV, just like the ridiculously low leases and $15,000 hydrogen fuel card with the FCEV model...:confused::eek::rolleyes:
 
The FCEV fuel card I understand. Those buyers are basically guinea pigs and they need actual people with real cars to use the hydrogen stations. It is a win-win for a proof of concept.
 
loomis2 said:
The FCEV fuel card I understand. Those buyers are basically guinea pigs and they need actual people with real cars to use the hydrogen stations. It is a win-win for a proof of concept.
Click to expand...
But how much of a proof of concept is it when you give away $15,000 worth of fuel? If you are talking purely about "will a hydrogen vehicle work" sure it is, but if you are talking about "will this ever be a viable means of nationwide transportation" you might as well be proposing coal fired steam engines for cars - the creation of enough hydrogen to fuel these vehicles nationwide would require a miraculous scientific breakthrough akin to turning lead to gold.
 
Hydrogen fuel car will not work for normal people like us from finance/cost saving prospective. All the big companies will charge us for Hydrogen fuel in lieu of Gas , so no saving will be passed on to us in long run. For electric cars, we can charge at home and it will take long time for Government to increase prices for electricity which is unsustainable because it is well regulated commodity as compare to fuel.
 
Most future scenarios for Hydrogen production envision solar powered electrolysis of water but fail to account for
-present solar cell efficiency is too low to make this economically viable
-water is becoming an ever scarcer commodity
-lack of infrastructure
-safety and public acceptance of cryogenic/compressed H2 on every corner and in every car. In one word, BOOM!
 
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