Clarity vs my 2015 Mazda3 GT

[Saurabh Rana]

hello to all tree huggers or tax savers,

Glad to part of this growing community. I picked up my White Clarity Touring this morning in Vancouver Canada. Loved every bit of smooth noise free driving. Loved the sound it makes when it’s accelerating. Very Tron-ish.

Unfortunately my 2015 Mazda 3 GT was stolen last month and that is what brought me to this car. So my comparison of the two cars (for someone looking for it) is here.
Here is my version of love-hate-weird list:

Love
- smoothness of drive (smoother than Mazda3)
- environment friendly (M3 was a gas guzzler)
- Honda sense (tried a little bit; amazed how it handled even in my limited trial)
- acceleration (M3 was good; this I felt was better)
- space (HC is bigger, much bigger)

Hate
- No HUD (I loved M3 for it)
- I am not saving any money (whatever I saved in fuel, I will end up paying 2 times more in car price, interest rate and insurance cost)
- moonroof (wtf Honda)
- manual driver seat (wtff)
- level1 charger sucks
- sound quality (bose speakers in mazda were way better)

Weird
- hondalink app requires getting used to
- app gives me miles, same app set up on my wife’s phone with my credentials gives km ?? What’s going on here ??
- gear lever (not a big fan of buttons, not yet)
- what’s with the rear windshield and reflective glass below the main screen.
- other bunch of settings I feel I will end up disabling. Will give it a week

Right now I have mixed feeling about the car. Of course it’s not ideal for me to have bought this car as I would have been happily driving my M3 if it was around. I am definitely not happy that despite the govt discounts, I will still end up paying big monthly. Maybe I should have gone for another M3. 2019 is really nice and also has AWD. Not trying to bring you guys down but that’s my thought after day 1. Maybe the driving will win me over in a few days and bring more CLARITY to my dilemma. Thanks for reading.

 

[Mowcowbell]

Everyone's list would vary depending on needs/wants. For example, your hate list has only one item that would make it to my list... sound quality. Don't care for HUD's, I do save money especially with the $7500 federal tax credit I'll get in January, don't miss the lack of moonroof, once my seat is adjusted the lack of power controls is a non-issue, I upgraded to a Level 2 charger.

 

[LAF]

hello to all tree huggers or tax savers,

Glad to part of this growing community. I picked up my White Clarity Touring this morning in Vancouver Canada. Loved every bit of smooth noise free driving. Loved the sound it makes when it’s accelerating. Very Tron-ish.

Unfortunately my 2015 Mazda 3 GT was stolen last month and that is what brought me to this car. So my comparison of the two cars (for someone looking for it) is here.
Here is my version of love-hate-weird list:

Love
- smoothness of drive (smoother than Mazda3)
- environment friendly (M3 was a gas guzzler)
- Honda sense (tried a little bit; amazed how it handled even in my limited trial)
- acceleration (M3 was good; this I felt was better)
- space (HC is bigger, much bigger)

Hate
- No HUD (I loved M3 for it)
- I am not saving any money (whatever I saved in fuel, I will end up paying 2 times more in car price, interest rate and insurance cost)
- moonroof (wtf Honda)
- manual driver seat (wtff)
- level1 charger sucks
- sound quality (bose speakers in mazda were way better)

Weird
- hondalink app requires getting used to
- app gives me miles, same app set up on my wife’s phone with my credentials gives km ?? What’s going on here ??
- gear lever (not a big fan of buttons, not yet)
- what’s with the rear windshield and reflective glass below the main screen.
- other bunch of settings I feel I will end up disabling. Will give it a week

Right now I have mixed feeling about the car. Of course it’s not ideal for me to have bought this car as I would have been happily driving my M3 if it was around. I am definitely not happy that despite the govt discounts, I will still end up paying big monthly. Maybe I should have gone for another M3. 2019 is really nice and also has AWD. Not trying to bring you guys down but that’s my thought after day 1. Maybe the driving will win me over in a few days and bring more CLARITY to my dilemma. Thanks for reading.

Everyone's list would vary depending on needs/wants. For example, your hate list has only one item that would make it to my list... sound quality. Don't care for HUD's, I do save money especially with the $7500 federal tax credit I'll get in January, don't miss the lack of moonroof, once my seat is adjusted the lack of power controls is a non-issue, I upgraded to a Level 2 charger.

I will bet you will quickly appreciate the smooth,serene EV driving of the Clarity that make your concerns seem minor.

 

[Mark W]

I was very surprised at the cost of insurance for my Clarity. As you said, it really cut into the cost savings.

 

[insightman]

Love
- smoothness of drive (smoother than Mazda3)
- environment friendly (M3 was a gas guzzler)
- Honda sense (tried a little bit; amazed how it handled even in my limited trial)
- acceleration (M3 was good; this I felt was better)
- space (HC is bigger, much bigger)

- Of course, an electric car's power is smoother than even that of a V-12 ICE
- If you drive the Clarity PHEV less than 47 miles/day, it will burn no gas at all, but Car & Driver got a decent 29 mpg from the Mazda 3
- Many on this forum complain that Honda Sense doesn't match that of other cars they've driven
- Clarity may feel faster, but Car & Driver says the manual 2015 Mazda 3 GT gets to 60 in 7.3 seconds vs. 7.7 for the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
- The Clarity is bigger, as are many cars that cost less than the Clarity PHEV

So it seems that your expensive Clarity is giving you smoothness. Everything else you said you love about it could be found in a less-expensive car that didn't have the problems you said you hate about the Clarity. Still, I'll venture that your Clarity will grow on you. I love all of the things you love and the things you hate don't bother me so the Clarity fits the bill for me perfectly.

Well, the HondaLink app sucks, but at least it's free.

 

[thecompdude]

hello to all tree huggers or tax savers,

Glad to part of this growing community. I picked up my White Clarity Touring this morning in Vancouver Canada. Loved every bit of smooth noise free driving. Loved the sound it makes when it’s accelerating. Very Tron-ish.

Unfortunately my 2015 Mazda 3 GT was stolen last month and that is what brought me to this car. So my comparison of the two cars (for someone looking for it) is here.
Here is my version of love-hate-weird list:

Love
- smoothness of drive (smoother than Mazda3)
- environment friendly (M3 was a gas guzzler)
- Honda sense (tried a little bit; amazed how it handled even in my limited trial)
- acceleration (M3 was good; this I felt was better)
- space (HC is bigger, much bigger)

Hate
- No HUD (I loved M3 for it)
- I am not saving any money (whatever I saved in fuel, I will end up paying 2 times more in car price, interest rate and insurance cost)
- moonroof (wtf Honda)
- manual driver seat (wtff)
- level1 charger sucks
- sound quality (bose speakers in mazda were way better)

Weird
- hondalink app requires getting used to
- app gives me miles, same app set up on my wife’s phone with my credentials gives km ?? What’s going on here ??
- gear lever (not a big fan of buttons, not yet)
- what’s with the rear windshield and reflective glass below the main screen.
- other bunch of settings I feel I will end up disabling. Will give it a week

Right now I have mixed feeling about the car. Of course it’s not ideal for me to have bought this car as I would have been happily driving my M3 if it was around. I am definitely not happy that despite the govt discounts, I will still end up paying big monthly. Maybe I should have gone for another M3. 2019 is really nice and also has AWD. Not trying to bring you guys down but that’s my thought after day 1. Maybe the driving will win me over in a few days and bring more CLARITY to my dilemma. Thanks for reading.

The reflective glass before the main rear window may be the protective covering that dealers usually forget to remove.

 

[Saurabh Rana]

Thank you everyone for weighing in. I know my heart says I have made a wise decision, my brain says "you just lost a car, you could have been economical about it. Instead of splurging". I drove Passat as my rental and i was surprised by the fuel efficiency on that thing. My Mazda3 on best days gave me 11 l/100km. I drive within city 99% of the time and only did 40k in 3.5 years. Thatw as roughly 100-140 CAD per month on fuel. I will pay quite a bit more to cover for insurance, price difference and interest rate (i had 0.49% interest rate on M3).

Other thing: I figured out why I got miles and my wife got Kms in hondalink app. my iPhone langauge and region was set as US and hers was Canada. Switched it and voila. All good now.

Everyone's list would vary depending on needs/wants. For example, your hate list has only one item that would make it to my list... sound quality. Don't care for HUD's, I do save money especially with the $7500 federal tax credit I'll get in January, don't miss the lack of moonroof, once my seat is adjusted the lack of power controls is a non-issue, I upgraded to a Level 2 charger.

i got 10k CAD in Vancouver, but even then walkaway price was 43k for a touring, compared to 32k for M3 2019.
I switch my car a lot with my wife depending on who is taking my son to daycare, and thus a big issue with manual seat adjustments. I hate the first couple o minute to pull/ push those manual levers. I drive a 2008 Acura MDX which has captain seats with 10 way adjustments and lumbar support plus memory seats. I would have paid 1k more for those seats.

I will bet you will quickly appreciate the smooth,serene EV driving of the Clarity that make your concerns seem minor.

I am sure. Once these monetary concerns run their length.

I was very surprised at the cost of insurance for my Clarity. As you said, it really cut into the cost savings.

Vancouver ICBC is pretty bad without having to pay more for PHEVs. I was paying 210 on M3 and 290 on this thing. I certainly did not account for it. Lessons learnt.

- Of course, an electric car's power is smoother than even that of a V-12 ICE
- If you drive the Clarity PHEV less than 47 miles/day, it will burn no gas at all, but Car & Driver got a decent 29 mpg from the Mazda 3
- Many on this forum complain that Honda Sense doesn't match that of other cars they've driven
- Clarity may feel faster, but Car & Driver says the manual 2015 Mazda 3 GT gets to 60 in 7.3 seconds vs. 7.7 for the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
- The Clarity is bigger, as are many cars that cost less than the Clarity PHEV

So it seems that your expensive Clarity is giving you smoothness. Everything else you said you love about it could be found in a less-expensive car that didn't have the problems you said you hate about the Clarity. Still, I'll venture that your Clarity will grow on you. I love all of the things you love and the things you hate don't bother me so the Clarity fits the bill for me perfectly.

Well, the HondaLink app sucks, but at least it's free.

The reflective glass before the main rear window may be the protective covering that dealers usually forget to remove.

Well said. my M3 didnt have bells and whistles (it used to come as technology package back then which i didnt take). So Honda Sense is pretty new to me and nothing to compare against.

 

[JohnT]

hello to all tree huggers or tax savers,

Glad to part of this growing community. I picked up my White Clarity Touring this morning in Vancouver Canada. Loved every bit of smooth noise free driving. Loved the sound it makes when it’s accelerating. Very Tron-ish.

Unfortunately my 2015 Mazda 3 GT was stolen last month and that is what brought me to this car. So my comparison of the two cars (for someone looking for it) is here.
Here is my version of love-hate-weird list:

Love
- smoothness of drive (smoother than Mazda3)
- environment friendly (M3 was a gas guzzler)
- Honda sense (tried a little bit; amazed how it handled even in my limited trial)
- acceleration (M3 was good; this I felt was better)
- space (HC is bigger, much bigger)

Hate
- No HUD (I loved M3 for it)
- I am not saving any money (whatever I saved in fuel, I will end up paying 2 times more in car price, interest rate and insurance cost)
- moonroof (wtf Honda)
- manual driver seat (wtff)
- level1 charger sucks
- sound quality (bose speakers in mazda were way better)

Weird
- hondalink app requires getting used to
- app gives me miles, same app set up on my wife’s phone with my credentials gives km ?? What’s going on here ??
- gear lever (not a big fan of buttons, not yet)
- what’s with the rear windshield and reflective glass below the main screen.
- other bunch of settings I feel I will end up disabling. Will give it a week

Right now I have mixed feeling about the car. Of course it’s not ideal for me to have bought this car as I would have been happily driving my M3 if it was around. I am definitely not happy that despite the govt discounts, I will still end up paying big monthly. Maybe I should have gone for another M3. 2019 is really nice and also has AWD. Not trying to bring you guys down but that’s my thought after day 1. Maybe the driving will win me over in a few days and bring more CLARITY to my dilemma. Thanks for reading.

Congrats on getting a Clarity... on your Hate points I agree on manual seats (electric the USofA) - just use a Level 2 charger but the main reason for replying to your post is:

"- app gives me miles, same app set up on my wife’s phone with my credentials gives km ?? What’s going on here ?? "

I have wasted HOURS with the dumbnuts at Honda... like you - my world phone Android with Canada English gives miles only...
deleting all incl cache/data/app etc and turning off phone and then doing the same thing with
UK English, Denmark Danish, France French = ALL kilometer only countries and languages - and those languages are then the default on the phone - making it tough to operate and the result is still only miles on the stupid app.....
However; my Android Huawei tablet Canada English is in kilometers !!!! same car, same app... frustrated beyond belief at them - and then they go hit our Administrator with legal bullshit for their crap.

Rant over.

 

[Saurabh Rana]

Congrats on getting a Clarity... on your Hate points I agree on manual seats (electric the USofA) - just use a Level 2 charger but the main reason for replying to your post is:

"- app gives me miles, same app set up on my wife’s phone with my credentials gives km ?? What’s going on here ?? "

I have wasted HOURS with the dumbnuts at Honda... like you - my world phone Android with Canada English gives miles only...
deleting all incl cache/data/app etc and turning off phone and then doing the same thing with
UK English, Denmark Danish, France French = ALL kilometer only countries and languages - and those languages are then the default on the phone - making it tough to operate and the result is still only miles on the stupid app.....
However; my Android Huawei tablet Canada English is in kilometers !!!! same car, same app... frustrated beyond belief at them - and then they go hit our Administrator with legal bullshit for their crap.

Rant over.

actually I did end up solving it. See my note above. pasted it here again:

Other thing: I figured out why I got miles and my wife got Kms in hondalink app. my iPhone language and region was set as US and her's was Canada. Switched it and voila. All good now.

Remember its not the address. But specific setting to select region and language. Not sure about Huawei though.

 

[jorgie393]

In a somewhat odd coincidence , I also have a Clarity and my wife has a 2015 Mazda 3 GT.

So I have to ask:what color are your clarity and was your Mazda? I have forest green/red respectively.

Now, I wasn’t driving the Mazda. I came from an accord. But when I do drive my wife’s car,I find it unbearably noisy. I don’t miss the heads up display, but I could see if you were used to it it would be nice.

I like my car better, but I don’t mind having a bigger cruiser.

As for the insurance: can’t help there, but shop around. Also, a few people report that their insurance agent put in the clarity EV into their calculator, not the clarity PHEV. The insurance on the clarity EV is reportedly much higher. Please have them double check that.




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