StickWare
Active Member
As many of you know, I’ve been driving Lyft with my Clarity for the past 2.5 yrs, 154K miles. I just purchased a BMW 530e, another Plug in Hybrid
please don’t criticize me for doing Lyft
I thought I would just write some things that I observed while comparing the vehicles
engine: My BMW actually has some balls when punching the accelerator. It really picks up and you hear the engine. You also feel it shift through all eight gears on the transmission. The Clarity is much quieter. It does pick up nicely but not nearly as quickly as the 530e
I really miss the right turn signal camera!!! No camera under mirror on BMW
EV Range: My Clarity used to get 48 miles , sometimes 53 when I got it. Now it’s more like 27-30. My BMW is advertised as 21 miles, but it seems I get 17-20. However the way it uses this is different than the Clarity
EV usage: With the Clarity, it defaults to EV mode if there is a charge and the engine remains off unless you go crazy. The 530 is totally different and I’m still figuring it out. It does have an EV mode, and the car runs at a much slower pace than Hybrid mode. It’s a drastic difference compared to Clarity using electric vs HV.
In Hybrid mode (which it has two. Normal Hybrid and Hybrid Eco Pro), it actually uses your battery EV when you are at slower RPMs. The display is shaded blue in this range and is wider the more battery power you have.
When I first got it, I drove in hybrid mode and it used all my battery power surprisingly.
The BMW has a “battery control” mode which you set at the percent you want your battery to be at, and it will charge to that point. It’s like HV Charge. It charges to 100% though
Gas Tank:
clarity 7 gallons. BMW 12 gallons
fuel consumption: I get about 36-42 mpg on my Clarity. The BMW IS advertised as 25mpg. I’ve been getting 28-30
I have the four wheel drive version on the BMW
Rear Camera ; The rear camera is good on the Clarity but much clearer on the BMW.
warnings : The BMW has much better warnings on what is around you when parking The clarity does a better job warning of vehicles in front of you.
paddles: The Clarity the paddles control regenerative braking. On the BMW, they manually change the transmission gear. So you can manually downshift with them.
cruise Control: the ACC on the Clarity, I feel is it’s best driving feature. The BMW just has normal cruise control but it’s a bit different
If you slightly tap up/down it will increase /decrease by 1mph like any car. However if you hit it good, it jumps to the nearest 5mph increment. This is handy when going from a 55mph zone to 45mph zone. Tap it twice and you lowered your speed by 10 mph
I talked about how I use cruise control to slow down. The BMW slows down much faster!! Both have brake lights on when you do this. I do this all the time.
engine compartment: I’ve changed the battery in my Clarity easily. I can’t even find the battery in my BMW. I’m nervous about repair costs.
Dashboard; I find the BMW has a better dashboard display. It always shows my EV range and total range. You can select various things In the window just like the Clarity
when I think of more I’ll write it.
( I had this whole post typed and it didn’t post and deleted most of it, so I had to retype)
please don’t criticize me for doing Lyft
I thought I would just write some things that I observed while comparing the vehicles
engine: My BMW actually has some balls when punching the accelerator. It really picks up and you hear the engine. You also feel it shift through all eight gears on the transmission. The Clarity is much quieter. It does pick up nicely but not nearly as quickly as the 530e
I really miss the right turn signal camera!!! No camera under mirror on BMW
EV Range: My Clarity used to get 48 miles , sometimes 53 when I got it. Now it’s more like 27-30. My BMW is advertised as 21 miles, but it seems I get 17-20. However the way it uses this is different than the Clarity
EV usage: With the Clarity, it defaults to EV mode if there is a charge and the engine remains off unless you go crazy. The 530 is totally different and I’m still figuring it out. It does have an EV mode, and the car runs at a much slower pace than Hybrid mode. It’s a drastic difference compared to Clarity using electric vs HV.
In Hybrid mode (which it has two. Normal Hybrid and Hybrid Eco Pro), it actually uses your battery EV when you are at slower RPMs. The display is shaded blue in this range and is wider the more battery power you have.
When I first got it, I drove in hybrid mode and it used all my battery power surprisingly.
The BMW has a “battery control” mode which you set at the percent you want your battery to be at, and it will charge to that point. It’s like HV Charge. It charges to 100% though
Gas Tank:
clarity 7 gallons. BMW 12 gallons
fuel consumption: I get about 36-42 mpg on my Clarity. The BMW IS advertised as 25mpg. I’ve been getting 28-30
I have the four wheel drive version on the BMW
Rear Camera ; The rear camera is good on the Clarity but much clearer on the BMW.
warnings : The BMW has much better warnings on what is around you when parking The clarity does a better job warning of vehicles in front of you.
paddles: The Clarity the paddles control regenerative braking. On the BMW, they manually change the transmission gear. So you can manually downshift with them.
cruise Control: the ACC on the Clarity, I feel is it’s best driving feature. The BMW just has normal cruise control but it’s a bit different
If you slightly tap up/down it will increase /decrease by 1mph like any car. However if you hit it good, it jumps to the nearest 5mph increment. This is handy when going from a 55mph zone to 45mph zone. Tap it twice and you lowered your speed by 10 mph
I talked about how I use cruise control to slow down. The BMW slows down much faster!! Both have brake lights on when you do this. I do this all the time.
engine compartment: I’ve changed the battery in my Clarity easily. I can’t even find the battery in my BMW. I’m nervous about repair costs.
Dashboard; I find the BMW has a better dashboard display. It always shows my EV range and total range. You can select various things In the window just like the Clarity
when I think of more I’ll write it.
( I had this whole post typed and it didn’t post and deleted most of it, so I had to retype)
