Clarity Plug-In Hybrid becoming more popular

Domenick

Domenick

Well-Known Member
I thought it was worth sharing that our members' enthusiasm for the Honda Clarity seems to be spreading. It was the top-selling plug-in hybrid in December.

This caps a year that saw it become the 5th-most popular plug-in for 2018, beat only by Teslas and the Prius Prime. For the year, it beat the Chevy Volt by 300 examples, and since that car will end production in a few months, I imagine a lot of people who might have bought it will instead go for the Clarity.

In other words, the Forum should be pretty hopping in 2019. So, happy new year and may your issues be few and your happily-traveled miles many.

beep beep :)
 
Still surprised at the Volt being discontinued. Maybe they will come out with an CUV or SUV to replace it.

If someone comes out with a CUV or SUV PHEV with 50 some miles of range, it would be a huge seller IMO. The Kia Niro PHEV only has 26 miles of range.
 
SThomas219 said:
Still surprised at the Volt being discontinued. Maybe they will come out with an CUV or SUV to replace it.

If someone comes out with a CUV or SUV PHEV with 50 some miles of range, it would be a huge seller IMO. The Kia Niro PHEV only has 26 miles of range.
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Same here. Seems like they wasted an opportunity to take advantage of the technology it developed.

I had expected them to put Voltec system in a crossover years ago. It would have been a much better move than putting it in the ELR.

(with apologies for going slightly off-topic)
 
SThomas219 said:
Still surprised at the Volt being discontinued. Maybe they will come out with an CUV or SUV to replace it.

If someone comes out with a CUV or SUV PHEV with 50 some miles of range, it would be a huge seller IMO. The Kia Niro PHEV only has 26 miles of range.
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50 MPG would be nice, too :p I had considered a Niro, but couldn't justify the low EV range just to have the cargo room. I need to drive 30 miles in a day more often than I need to haul furniture.
 
SThomas219 said:
Still surprised at the Volt being discontinued. Maybe they will come out with an CUV or SUV to replace it.

If someone comes out with a CUV or SUV PHEV with 50 some miles of range, it would be a huge seller IMO. The Kia Niro PHEV only has 26 miles of range.
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See the article in Motley fool.
Screenshot_20190105-140948_Chrome.webp


Sent from my SM-G955U using Inside EVs mobile app
 
Domenick said:
I thought it was worth sharing that our members' enthusiasm for the Honda Clarity seems to be spreading. It was the top-selling plug-in hybrid in December.

This caps a year that saw it become the 5th-most popular plug-in for 2018, beat only by Teslas and the Prius Prime. For the year, it beat the Chevy Volt by 300 examples, and since that car will end production in a few months, I imagine a lot of people who might have bought it will instead go for the Clarity.

In other words, the Forum should be pretty hopping in 2019. So, happy new year and may your issues be few and your happily-traveled miles many.

beep beep :)
Click to expand...
I test drove a prius prime just before i purchased the Clarity. It was a very nice car overall. But not in the same class with the Clarity. Increased road noise and decreasd range in a smaller, lighter car. Its exciting to have a roomy Clarity with an electric traction motor that feels close to the total power output of my 2010 camry hybrid. I also love the handling, suspension and breaking. It seems Honda copied the volt in design but made improvements in the cabin size.
 
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neal adkins said:
I test drove a prius prime just before i purchased the Clarity. It was a very nice car overall. But not in the same class with the Clarity. Increased road noise and decreasd range in a much lighter car. Its exciting to have a Clarity with an electric traction motor that feels close to the total power output of my 2010 camry hybrid.
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Plus, there's the appearance of the Prius Prime. :confused:

(which, to be honest, I don't mind that much. I think Clarity is a better choice for a number of reasons, though)
 
Yes, I've seen multiple Clarity's on the road in my home town of Eugene, OR. The dealer had about 10 of them on the lot when I purchased. About 1/2 of stock was the 'Touring' trim level which is what I bought (I got the green one).

At the time I was convinced I wanted a Sonota PHEV but literally impossible to find. At my local Honda dealer I could find both trim level I wanted and virtually every color. I didn't like my interactions at my local Honda dealer (dishonest), but I was able to make the deal and get the car.

Anyway, I think it serves all of us if the car succeeds and continues production.
 
neal adkins said:
It seems Honda copied the volt in design
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Other than being a plug-in hybrid, what parts of the Volt design do you consider copied? Honda certainly didn't copy the Volt's extensive information displays. The Clarity's HV mode seems especially distinct from the way the Volt operates. Does the Volt ever combine the power of the ICE and its traction motor (I don't really know)?
 
Dan Albrich said:
Yes, I've seen multiple Clarity's on the road in my home town of Eugene, OR. The dealer had about 10 of them on the lot when I purchased. About 1/2 of stock was the 'Touring' trim level which is what I bought (I got the green one).

At the time I was convinced I wanted a Sonota PHEV but literally impossible to find. At my local Honda dealer I could find both trim level I wanted and virtually every color. I didn't like my interactions at my local Honda dealer (dishonest), but I was able to make the deal and get the car.

Anyway, I think it serves all of us if the car succeeds and continues production.
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IMO the Clarity is a better car than the Sonata. We had the Sonata PHEV and although a very nice car, the Clarity is better. Better electric range, better room, better sound insulation and a more solid feel. You did just fine. :)
 
For folks looking at Accord hybrid, Camry hybrid, sonata hybrid and eligible for full credit, clarity is the perfect car. Very hard to beat it's value.
 
SThomas219 said:
Still surprised at the Volt being discontinued. Maybe they will come out with an CUV or SUV to replace it.

If someone comes out with a CUV or SUV PHEV with 50 some miles of range, it would be a huge seller IMO. The Kia Niro PHEV only has 26 miles of range.
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Sounds like the upcoming Honda Pilot PHEV.
 
insightman said:
Other than being a plug-in hybrid, what parts of the Volt design do you consider copied? Honda certainly didn't copy the Volt's extensive information displays. The Clarity's HV mode seems especially distinct from the way the Volt operates. Does the Volt ever combine the power of the ICE and its traction motor (I don't really know)?
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I don't know if Honda engineers actually copied how Voltec works, but it certainly seems that they arrived at the same end, in how the various operating modes of the drivetrain power the car. Yes, Voltec has a clutch which allows the ICEngine to be mechanically engaged to drive the wheels, altho if my understanding is correct, that mode isn't used very often, and is never used until the battery pack is drained to the maintenance level (~30% state of charge).

On the other hand, I've read that the gearing is quite different; that the Clarity doesn't use a planetary gear set, as Voltec does. So altho the outcome may be similar, it seems that the approaches GM and Honda used to get there are somewhat different.

One thing which is quite different in operation is the way the cars interact with the driver. Voltec tries to make the transition from EV mode to combined hybrid mode to direct ICE engaged mode as seamless and unnoticeable as possible. Contrariwise, the Clarity gives the driver more positive control over when the ICEngine burns gas and when it doesn't -- most notably with the detent in the accelerator which warns the driver when he's about to force the drivetrain to engage the ICEngine for more power.

It has been said the Clarity is an engineer's car, and I presume this is the reason: That it allows the operator (driver) to have more control over the operation.
​
 
insightman said:
Other than being a plug-in hybrid, what parts of the Volt design do you consider copied? Honda certainly didn't copy the Volt's extensive information displays. The Clarity's HV mode seems especially distinct from the way the Volt operates. Does the Volt ever combine the power of the ICE and its traction motor (I don't really know)?
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In my silverado pickup it has the chevy emblem on the display and says my link when you turn on the ignition. The honda link app connects like the my chevrolet app. Not exact but similar. Since the volt came out first and was a very reliable phev it would only be wise and feasible to use the same engineering in a proven vehicle. Such as the system that keeps the ev battery cool. I should have said that Honda may have copied certain aspects of how the volt is engineered. I was charging beside a volt and looked inside and noticed some similarities in the interior appearance. As ev technology has evolved, i suspect they are paying close attention to what works well in other evs. Not really being critical of Honda but seems all automakers do this. The lkas, lane departure, collision mitigation, acc is now on many cars also with striking similarities. None the less i think Honda has made improvements on the overall performance and size of the Clarity.
 
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neal adkins said:
Since the volt came out first and was a very reliable phev it would only be wise and feasible to use the same engineering in a proven vehicle.
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I believe Honda didn't want to be paying patent dollars to either Toyota or GM and designed their own system rather than using the same engineering.
 
Pushmi-Pullyu said:
Voltec tries to make the transition from EV mode to combined hybrid mode to direct ICE engaged mode as seamless and unnoticeable as possible.
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Correction: I should have said serial hybrid mode, not "combined hybrid" mode. The latter would be when electric motors and the ICEngine are both directly engaged in the drivetrain.
​
 
So does the Voltec system ever use the ICE and electric motor together like a Clarity PHEV? Because Volt owners deride the Clarity PHEV for using its ICE too often, I've always assumed a Volt runs on battery power alone until the battery is depleted, then it switches to the ICE, which always operates with no help from the traction motor.
 
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