Honda Clarity, the Volt Challenger

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Ben Washburn said:
You're the only person I'm aware of that bought it in 2017. Did the IRS give you any monkey business about the credit, or was it really as simple as fill out the form with your taxes and get the refund in the mail?

I have the same color, btw, love it!
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The feds offer a tax credit, not a refund. We bought our Clarity, which arrived on December 2nd, and experienced no problems whatsoever with the tax credit. We converted regular IRAs to Roth IRAs to create a tax event equal to the $7,500 tax credit.
 
insightman said:
The feds offer a tax credit, not a refund. We bought our Clarity, which arrived on December 2nd, and experienced no problems whatsoever with the tax credit. We converted regular IRAs to Roth IRAs to create a tax event equal to the $7,500 tax credit.
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I understand it's a credit, not a refund; i was just speaking in terms of the normal course of events. But it is an important point.

I actually had to buy the car this year because I won't have a tax liability of $7,500 next year. And it's funny, I actually considered similar options if I waited--either selling a bunch of stock and cleaning out out a bunch of capital gains, or just taking massive withdrawals from my 401K and reinvesting them. Your idea is better though.
 
Ben Washburn said:
You're the only person I'm aware of that bought it in 2017. Did the IRS give you any monkey business about the credit, or was it really as simple as fill out the form with your taxes and get the refund in the mail?

I have the same color, btw, love it!
Click to expand...

We bought our in 2017 too, primarily for the tax credit. The GOP tax overhaul was happening and I thought the tax credit for environmentally clean cars would definitely go to pay for tax breaks for coal and oil companies. Somehow in their rush, they missed this. With the tax credit, state incentives and huge dealer discounts, you can buy a large super high tech luxury car (and great for the environment to boot!) for the price of a Toyota Corolla. Why people aren't lining up to buy the Clarity, I have no idea.
 
PHEV Newbie said:
We bought our in 2017 too, primarily for the tax credit. The GOP tax overhaul was happening and I thought the tax credit for environmentally clean cars would definitely go to pay for tax breaks for coal and oil companies. Somehow in their rush, they missed this. With the tax credit, state incentives and huge dealer discounts, you can buy a large super high tech luxury car (and great for the environment to boot!) for the price of a Toyota Corolla. Why people aren't lining up to buy the Clarity, I have no idea.
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That's the reason I bought one. Cheaper after the tax credit than an Accord and I can L2 charge for free at work. No state credits but living in a ZEV state gave me the additional dealer incentives.

I had estimated one L1 charge per week (and so far that's what I've done) and a full tank once per month. This last I've been way off as in almost 2 months, I've only used 1/4 tank. At first I was going to lease, but after looking at these estimates and the potential to drive it more on the weekends than originally thought (instead of driving the Odyssey), ended up purchasing it. Oh and that 0.9 for 5 years helped too.
 
My 2 cents

New Clarity owner, but tested Chevrolet Volt 2018, Prius Prime 2018, and of course Clarity PHEV (Actually tested Touring, but bought a base model) before deciding on the Clarity.

Volt
Pros - highest EV only mileage at 54 miles (EPA rating), more than double Prime and ~10 more over Clarity.
Supposedly, (gas) engine never turns on as long as your battery has one drop of energy.

Con - Lowest ceiling of the 3 (literally hit side of my head the two times I entered them - once on the floor sample, and on the one I actually drove) and I'm "only" 5'9" though my gut probably didn't help :p
Never got the chance to drive it on gas (afaik), but with the electric motor propelling the car, there is a Definite drag feel to the car; as I said to the dealer guy, felt like I just got back from Costco with 3 months worth of supplies kind of feel. This was present from the first feet up forward to when I was going 95 mph. This was the first electric car I drove, so I thought it "was normal" and the handling is otherwise quite remarkable (see 95 mph). This was more noticeable when on the On ramp (literal inclined ramp) going on the freeway.
In the middle of the back seat floor where your legs would be if you sat 5 people in (this care is rated 5 seater with seat belts for 5) is a fairly high "hump" where part of the battery is. As in any one sitting there better have short legs (as in kid on a car seat legs), or knows how to man spread (even if they're female). I thought this was exaggerated in the pictures, but when I saw RL, it's almost as high as the seat itself
Most expensive of the three, at about 3K more on base model to base model with Clarity (and ~7K vs Prime)

Prius Prime
Highest HV mpg at 54 (vs ~44 for both Clarity and Volt) for those times when you really want a Hybrid and not a plug in. Not really a pro or a con, IMO.
Pro- cheapest of the bunch. You can get the mid level for about $26K (Base Clarity at 31K, and Volt at about 34K)
Highest ceiling of the 3. Leg room could use some help but didn't feel claustrophobic at all

Weird thing; per the dealer rep that took me on my test drive, they don't normally charge new cars, so I ended up driving it as a Hybrid car (vis a vis EV mode). Can't really compare after that

Clarity - reasons why I went for it (not necessarily in order of importance)
Roomiest of them all. Ceiling not as high as Prime, but more legroom over all
There's still that hump like the Volt but not as pronounced. I probably still won't let 5 Adults seat in the car though
Higher than Prime's EV only miles, and more than enough to cover my daily commute (primary reason for getting a Plug in, as opposed to a Hybrid) without using gas. Dealer did warn me that Gas engine Could turn on even on EV mode (as opposed to Volt's) if I'm too heavy on the gas. But other wise, still better than Prime's 25 miles EV and without the Volt's draggy feeling (that I noticed was missing on both Clarity and Prime) And I don't hit my head :D
Mid priced compared to the other two; did not even consider Touring once I found out what exactly my additional $3500 would get me
Looks. Eye of the Beholder and all, but both Prime and Volt are considered hatchbacks, while Clarity is a sedan and the looks matches those names.
 
I don't know if you're aware but my dealer just advised me that two "safety recalls" were to be done when I go in to have the winter tires installed:
:N44 -ManufacturerCampaignId:N44 eVTC and 3-Way Valve Software
:N45 -ManufacturerCampaignId:N45 Climate Control Unit Replacement.

I've already had the estimated mileage update software done on Service bulletin: TSB J-20-18. Now both the EV and HV projections are more realistic.
 
Ragman said:
I don't know if you're aware but my dealer just advised me that two "safety recalls" were to be done when I go in to have the winter tires installed:
:N44 -ManufacturerCampaignId:N44 eVTC and 3-Way Valve Software
:N45 -ManufacturerCampaignId:N45 Climate Control Unit Replacement.

I've already had the estimated mileage update software done on Service bulletin: TSB J-20-18. Now both the EV and HV projections are more realistic.
Click to expand...
I didn't know the EV projections were a problem and thought they were pretty accurate already. I assume "more realistic" disappointingly means "lower."
 
Ragman said:
I don't know if you're aware but my dealer just advised me that two "safety recalls" were to be done when I go in to have the winter tires installed:
:N44 -ManufacturerCampaignId:N44 eVTC and 3-Way Valve Software
:N45 -ManufacturerCampaignId:N45 Climate Control Unit Replacement.

I've already had the estimated mileage update software done on Service bulletin: TSB J-20-18. Now both the EV and HV projections are more realistic.
Click to expand...

They aren't safety recalls unless you can find them here: http://owners.honda.com/service-maintenance/recalls
 
su_A_ve said:
That's the reason I bought one. Cheaper after the tax credit than an Accord and I can L2 charge for free at work. No state credits but living in a ZEV state gave me the additional dealer incentives.

I had estimated one L1 charge per week (and so far that's what I've done) and a full tank once per month. This last I've been way off as in almost 2 months, I've only used 1/4 tank. At first I was going to lease, but after looking at these estimates and the potential to drive it more on the weekends than originally thought (instead of driving the Odyssey), ended up purchasing it. Oh and that 0.9 for 5 years helped too.
Click to expand...
Me too. My actual purchase price for the Touring after all credits and discounts was $23,005. That's just stoopid. I was lucky to get a $1,700 credit from Maryland and another $500 for military.

I actually just wrote a paper about this--I had literally no intent to buy or even consider any sort of hybrid or electric car. But once I saw all the credits it pretty much make only PHEV's options because nothing else could even get close to the value proposition with no range anxiety. And given the limited ranges on all the other PHEVs that meant it really came down to the same two cars, the Volt or the Clarity. I'm 6'4", and we wanted a premium interior. It was a no-brainer.
 
Mariner91 said:
My 2 cents

New Clarity owner, but tested Chevrolet Volt 2018, Prius Prime 2018, and of course Clarity PHEV (Actually tested Touring, but bought a base model) before deciding on the Clarity.

Volt
Pros - highest EV only mileage at 54 miles (EPA rating), more than double Prime and ~10 more over Clarity.
Supposedly, (gas) engine never turns on as long as your battery has one drop of energy.

Con - Lowest ceiling of the 3 (literally hit side of my head the two times I entered them - once on the floor sample, and on the one I actually drove) and I'm "only" 5'9" though my gut probably didn't help :p
Never got the chance to drive it on gas (afaik), but with the electric motor propelling the car, there is a Definite drag feel to the car; as I said to the dealer guy, felt like I just got back from Costco with 3 months worth of supplies kind of feel. This was present from the first feet up forward to when I was going 95 mph. This was the first electric car I drove, so I thought it "was normal" and the handling is otherwise quite remarkable (see 95 mph). This was more noticeable when on the On ramp (literal inclined ramp) going on the freeway.
In the middle of the back seat floor where your legs would be if you sat 5 people in (this care is rated 5 seater with seat belts for 5) is a fairly high "hump" where part of the battery is. As in any one sitting there better have short legs (as in kid on a car seat legs), or knows how to man spread (even if they're female). I thought this was exaggerated in the pictures, but when I saw RL, it's almost as high as the seat itself
Most expensive of the three, at about 3K more on base model to base model with Clarity (and ~7K vs Prime)

Prius Prime
Highest HV mpg at 54 (vs ~44 for both Clarity and Volt) for those times when you really want a Hybrid and not a plug in. Not really a pro or a con, IMO.
Pro- cheapest of the bunch. You can get the mid level for about $26K (Base Clarity at 31K, and Volt at about 34K)
Highest ceiling of the 3. Leg room could use some help but didn't feel claustrophobic at all

Weird thing; per the dealer rep that took me on my test drive, they don't normally charge new cars, so I ended up driving it as a Hybrid car (vis a vis EV mode). Can't really compare after that

Clarity - reasons why I went for it (not necessarily in order of importance)
Roomiest of them all. Ceiling not as high as Prime, but more legroom over all
There's still that hump like the Volt but not as pronounced. I probably still won't let 5 Adults seat in the car though
Higher than Prime's EV only miles, and more than enough to cover my daily commute (primary reason for getting a Plug in, as opposed to a Hybrid) without using gas. Dealer did warn me that Gas engine Could turn on even on EV mode (as opposed to Volt's) if I'm too heavy on the gas. But other wise, still better than Prime's 25 miles EV and without the Volt's draggy feeling (that I noticed was missing on both Clarity and Prime) And I don't hit my head :D
Mid priced compared to the other two; did not even consider Touring once I found out what exactly my additional $3500 would get me
Looks. Eye of the Beholder and all, but both Prime and Volt are considered hatchbacks, while Clarity is a sedan and the looks matches those names.
Click to expand...
Remember one thing though, the Prius Prime only qualifies for $4,500 federal tax credit, so it loses $3,000 of the price differential there. And in my case or other states, another $650 or so in reduced state credit.
 
KentuckyKen said:
OK, after reading everybody’s posts here, can we get the op @bwilson4web to agree to ask @Domenick to rename this thread
“Honda Clarity, the Volt Champion”?
Click to expand...
Calm my friend. Thread drift is common enough. Let me suggest starting a fresh thread:
  • Requirement #1
    • Clarity spec
    • Volt spec
  • Requirement #2
    • Clarity spec
    • Volt spec
Title it Clarity vs Volt. The value added engineering is a list of requirements to compare and contrast.

Bob Wilson
 
Ben Washburn said:
Remember one thing though, the Prius Prime only qualifies for $4,500 federal tax credit, so it loses $3,000 of the price differential there. And in my case or other states, another $650 or so in reduced state credit.
Click to expand...

YMMV, but I could have gotten the mid level prime (Premium) for $26K, which would have been $5400 less than what I could get for the Clarity base model (Prime advanced or Clarity Touring would have meant about the same amount of additional cost, ~$3500). Like I said, YMMV, but $5400 > $3000 Fed differential. I don't know what the diff would be in State, but max for me with Clarity is only $1500 so $3000+1500 < $5400.
 
I put this Pro/Con list together for my wife. We are getting a Clarity in the next few weeks. We have had 2 volts, each for 3 years. Ask me anything.


Pro:

5-seats (that fit adults)

Garage door opener

Power/Memory seats

Rear seat A/C vents

Dual zone A/C

Cons:

Motor will run at the bottom of the hill every day when fully charged

Harder to drive in EV only - Just drive and the Volt will not use the ICE

Regen button not as efficient - Serious Volt regen but it is all or nothing

No Wi-Fi - sure you can use your phone

No emergency cell phone

No heated steering wheel

No blind spot radar (just passenger camera)

No passenger seat height adjustment

Can't remote start from Alexa
 
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