Are any of you like me in that you treat your Clarity differently during the Coronavirus lockdown? I’m driving so few miles theses days that when I do go out, I fire up Sport mode every time. Rather than conserve battery with a light pedal, I’m flooring it being careful of course not to engage HV mode.
Clarity during corona
- Thread starter 228ra
- Start date
- Replies 19
- Views 2K
Dan Albrich
Well-Known Member
I went through kind of a long period of time trying to maximize estimated range. Then decided to just drive and enjoy the car. I much prefer the latter.
I can make some savings in EV range though some behavior changes but just doesn't seem worth it. If you do sport mode all the time, and even with a heavy foot your likely saving gas over your last car. Or at least that's the way I look at it now.
Although now that I work from home, i actually go out maybe once per week for groceries -- and that's big excitement.
I can make some savings in EV range though some behavior changes but just doesn't seem worth it. If you do sport mode all the time, and even with a heavy foot your likely saving gas over your last car. Or at least that's the way I look at it now.
Although now that I work from home, i actually go out maybe once per week for groceries -- and that's big excitement.
Kerbe
Well-Known Member
Like Dan I, too, work from home and go out once a week for groceries. As I'm over 60 and immunocompromised (Thanks, Chemo!) I need to do no-contact pickup as there's no delivery option in my area. The closest grocery at which I can do pickup, though, is 50 miles up the interstate. The in-town speed limit is 30 so no leadfooting for me - but I still cross the intersection at every stop light before the other vehicles in my lane have started moving. So the game I play is this: I start every grocery journey with a full charge and drive the 2 miles to the interstate electrically. When I hit the on-ramp I switch to HV and then switch back to EV when I exit the interstate. I drive the 4 miles to the market and back to the interstate electrically, then hit HV on the on-ramp. I check the estimated range and then, when that number matches the distance to my home (usually about 32 miles) I switch to EV and try to deplete the charge before I pull back into my garage. I have yet to win - it seems there's just enough regen between the off-ramp and my home to leave 2-4 miles of range.
I'm still driving in ECON Mode (and I haven't started drinking or smoking yet), but I stopped listening to NPR in my Clarity and started playing music loud. I know the audiophiles on this forum complain about the Clarity PHEV's infotainment system, but I'm impressed.
What? Did you say something, dear?
What? Did you say something, dear?
Dan Albrich
Well-Known Member
I'll add, like everyone, I miss normal life. I mean things like the enjoyment of getting out and driving too. I also appreciate this time in quiet nature (almost no planes flying over head where I live) and the plants and animals are more active. I live at a boundary for forrest so I usually have good wildlife viewing but it's been spectacular for me lately. I also own a Honda Supercub 2020 (scooter, yep I drive an old-man motorcycle) but I love it. I go for rides on the small bike for enjoyment when I can.
I also own a 1982 Honda C70 Passport (similar rig from 40 years ago) which I plan to give to my nephew.
I also own a 1982 Honda C70 Passport (similar rig from 40 years ago) which I plan to give to my nephew.
Hey, that Super Cub is the most advanced Super Cub in Honda's long, long Super Cub history. Instead of the old 50cc engine, it has the monster 125 cc engine that I loved in my old CB125. However, I'm disappointed that Honda didn't bring their 2015 EV Cub prototype to market in 2018 as promised by Takahiro Hachigo. The extremely limited-production electric Benly scooter that Honda is selling in Japan for $6,690 is so ugly in comparison. We're so lucky to have our Clarity PHEVs, considering Honda's tepid approach to electrified vehicles in general (I still want a Honda e). I don't consider the new CR-V Hybrid a big step forward after seeing Honda testing a Pilot Plug-In Hybrid years ago.
Last edited:
Dan Albrich
Well-Known Member
Yes cannot agree more. To me an all electric scooter (or motorcycle) makes a ton of sense. I know there is some limited option in the regard, but would love to see the all electric super-cub at a reasonable price.
Mani Suresh
New Member
That's exactly what I do and it has been fun! Leaving the traffic behind in dust when I start from every traffic light!
So talking about Sport mode... I was driving to a county park to hike. The gas range is 65 miles. The distance is 40 miles round trip. So I thought no need to fill up yet. I went sport mode on steep mountain for about 10 miles. Got to the park with 8 miles left? This is crazy!!! Is it normal? I was really worried that I did not have enough gas going down to gas station. Luckily when I was about to leave the park, we found charger there haha
By “gas range” do you mean HV range?
What was your EV range when you began the trip?
Going uphill for 10 miles will certainly consume for fuel/energy than going 10 miles on flat roads.
From the info you’ve provided, you traveled 20 miles, 10 of which was uphill and potentially driven in a spirited manner. Your HV? range dropped from 65 to 8 on that 20 mile stretch. The range estimate is based on previous driving conditions. Perhaps you’d been averaging 40mpg, so the computer estimated that you could travel 65 miles with the remaining ~1.5 gallons in the tank.
Then the Pikes Peak Challenge began and you burned a gallon of fuel in 20 miles. Now, with a half a gallon left, the computer estimates you have 8 miles of range remaining, based on the previous driving behavior.
I’d recommend putting some fuel in the tank and charging the batteries prior to a trip. Unless you have Honda Roadside Assistance on speed dial. Assuming there is cell service where you get stranded of course.
What was your EV range when you began the trip?
Going uphill for 10 miles will certainly consume for fuel/energy than going 10 miles on flat roads.
From the info you’ve provided, you traveled 20 miles, 10 of which was uphill and potentially driven in a spirited manner. Your HV? range dropped from 65 to 8 on that 20 mile stretch. The range estimate is based on previous driving conditions. Perhaps you’d been averaging 40mpg, so the computer estimated that you could travel 65 miles with the remaining ~1.5 gallons in the tank.
Then the Pikes Peak Challenge began and you burned a gallon of fuel in 20 miles. Now, with a half a gallon left, the computer estimates you have 8 miles of range remaining, based on the previous driving behavior.
I’d recommend putting some fuel in the tank and charging the batteries prior to a trip. Unless you have Honda Roadside Assistance on speed dial. Assuming there is cell service where you get stranded of course.
I only have plug in car for a week, so I’m still learning. It says 65 miles range on odometer, so I assume it is HV range? Also I never charged the car prior to that, so it’s 20% by default? What you said about burning like a gallon on sport mode made sense to me. That one gallon would give me 40 miles in normal circumstance. Keep forgetting that the car only has 7ish gallons of gas. That was only reason I was reluctant to buy it.
There’s EV range, HV range and Total.
If your batteries are depleted, 2 bars on the gauge and 0.0 EV range, they are, by Honda’s standards 0%. In actuality the SOC is somewhere around 15%. At that level the car will operate in HV mode and not allow the batteries to discharge to a point that may cause damage. Even with depleted batteries the car will go into EV mode for brief periods.
I agree that a 10 gallon tank would be a more desirable feature, however the 7 gallon tank has only been a minor inconvenience on trips greater than 300 miles. Some owners have driven thousands of miles on just a few gallons of gas.
If your batteries are depleted, 2 bars on the gauge and 0.0 EV range, they are, by Honda’s standards 0%. In actuality the SOC is somewhere around 15%. At that level the car will operate in HV mode and not allow the batteries to discharge to a point that may cause damage. Even with depleted batteries the car will go into EV mode for brief periods.
I agree that a 10 gallon tank would be a more desirable feature, however the 7 gallon tank has only been a minor inconvenience on trips greater than 300 miles. Some owners have driven thousands of miles on just a few gallons of gas.
Attachments
ClarityBill
Active Member
I drive lots in HV mode, and the last 100 miles of gas normally only lasts about 60 miles.
The good news is that, if you burn through a lot of gas and/or electrons on the way up the hill, you will recapture some of that on the way back down through regen braking, so you may arrive at the bottom with some bonus EV miles.
The beauty of driving electric is that "lead-footing it" isn't as costly as in a pure ICE car, because accelerating to a given speed with a motor uses basically the same energy whether slowly or quickly (vs forcing an engine to run at an inefficiently high RPM), and *some* deceleration is captured by the regenerative braking. Driving faster does use more energy due to wind/road resistance, and flooring it/slamming brakes for every stop sign increases your average speed, but accelerating briskly when you'll be driving at a given speed for a while doesn't hurt range much.
I do the same most of the time but in Econ mode, because it's easy to "floor it" to the detent by feel for max acceleration without firing up the engine (yes, you push the pedal farther, but the performance at a given point on the power meter is the same in any mode). I virtually always beat other cars across the intersection.
I do really need to take it for a long drive, haven't really been more than a couple miles from home more than a few times in the last 3 months. And the one time we took a nice drive for a (socially distant) family walk, we took the Irish Wolfhound, who fits much better in the Highlander than the back of the Clarity with the kids
The Gadgeteer
Active Member
Yes the Lane Departure Warning can be deactivated. That tells you that you have drifted out of your lane. Better to leave that on and activate the Lane Keeping Assist System which is the system that helps keep you in the lane and will probably reduce the warnings since the car will keep you centered in the lane. If you are still drifting out of you lane often even with assistance then there might be some other questions that need to be asked. Like what kind of whiskey do you like?
I found it to be completely annoying for my driving style, drunk or not. Same for RDM.
In urban traffic I “work” the lane to avoid swerving texters or to accommodate a lane-splitting motorcycle. The last thing I desire is a shaking steering wheel and warnings flashing on the dash. Using turn signals deactivates the nanny feature. Using turn signals also tends to encourage the nimrod in the other lane to not let you change lanes. Best to just dart over while there is an opening.
It’s a major pain on curvy roads along with the CMBS which sometimes thinks you’re about to rear end oncoming traffic.
I haven’t put a car in a ditch since I was 19. That was more than a few years ago and on snowy roads in Michigan. It was also before I discovered whiskey.
In urban traffic I “work” the lane to avoid swerving texters or to accommodate a lane-splitting motorcycle. The last thing I desire is a shaking steering wheel and warnings flashing on the dash. Using turn signals deactivates the nanny feature. Using turn signals also tends to encourage the nimrod in the other lane to not let you change lanes. Best to just dart over while there is an opening.
It’s a major pain on curvy roads along with the CMBS which sometimes thinks you’re about to rear end oncoming traffic.
I haven’t put a car in a ditch since I was 19. That was more than a few years ago and on snowy roads in Michigan. It was also before I discovered whiskey.