PHEVs - competitors to the Honda Clarity?

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YurkshireLad

New Member
Hi guys, it's been a few years since I owned a hybrid so I thought I would catch up with the EV/hybrid/PHEV world. I've been reading about and watching videos on the Honda Clarity. I love the concept of the Clarity - an EV with range extender, which could work for me. I think the Clarity is similar to the Volt, which I think was also an EV with a range extender. I also loved the Volt but it was far too small and uncomfortable for me. So what are the competitors to the Clarity? Thanks
 
YurkshireLad said:
I've seen the Prime in the automotive news. It looks impressive but darn expensive and I prefer cars over SUVs. :)
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I believe you may be in the UK, so I'm a little less familiar with PHEVs located there. The Clarity is a pretty good choice, though. We have a lot of Clarity owners here and they seem pretty happy.
 
YurkshireLad said:
I'm in Canada- sorry, I forgot to set my location in my profile.
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Ah, there are PHEV versions of lots of Volvos and BMWs, though those can be pricey.

In the more -affordable category, there's the Hyundai Ioniq PHEV with 29 all-electric miles of range and the Kia Optima PHEV with 28 miles of all-electric range.
 
I forgot about the Optima. Is it a range extender or a more typical (parallel?) hybrid? I'll do some reading.

I'm wondering if there's anything that is similar in functionality to the Clarity but perhaps a touch stronger acceleration. I don't need a Tesla, but say 7.5s, for example, would be useful for me.
 
Unless you can buy or lease the car for less then the HEV model, I can't see any other reason for anyone buying/leasing a Kia/Hyundai PHEV if you are living outside of California. The cars use the gas engine to heat the cabin, the electric range is too low, the traction battery is air cooled, and the they have made the car more complicated then a PHEV needs to be.

I have a Sonata PHEV and I don't like the car for all of the above reasons. If I had know the Honda was coming out, I would have waited.

I think the Honda Clarity has the best design for a large PHEV.
 
The Ford Escape PHEV is also coming out this year, but it's probably too small for you. Mitsubishi also sells the Outlander in a PHEV, but again too small pehhaps.
 
YurkshireLad said:
I forgot about the Optima. Is it a range extender or a more typical (parallel?) hybrid? I'll do some reading.

I'm wondering if there's anything that is similar in functionality to the Clarity but perhaps a touch stronger acceleration. I don't need a Tesla, but say 7.5s, for example, would be useful for me.
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I think the Clarity sort of stands alone with its range and sedan-ness. Also, it does 0-to-60 in 7.6 seconds, so it's not exactly a slouch. Not mind-blowing, of course. I haven't driven it, so I'm not sure where the best acceleration happens, but I'm sure our owner community would be happy to help with that.
 
Thanks

I've watched various videos on the Clarity but none of them show a 7.6s time. They don't always make it clear what mode they're in or what settings they're using.

I know 0-60 isn't everything but it's a simple indication of the potential. I had a 2012 Camry Hybrid, which was around 7.5s and that was perfectly fine for my needs. I don't need powerful acceleration for 95% of my daily driving - at least pre-COVID! - but there are occasions when I need to floor it a bit. A car with 0-60 times of 6s is a waste of time for my usual commute but something like the Clarity would be perfect, assuming it's not too slow.
 
YurkshireLad said:
Thanks. I don't like the Outlander and I won't buy a Mitsubishi. I'm surprised they're still around.
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They seem to be one of the more popular PHEVs in Europe. However, if it's not for you, then it's not for you.

I saw one a couple of years ago at the Drive Electric Week show. The owner seemed to be happy with it at the time. I thought it looked nice.

At another show, I talked to the owners of a Niro PHEV and they where a bit disappointed with the gas engine needing to be on for cabin heat. I feel the same way with my Sonata PHEV. For California buying/leasing things look a bit different with the tax incentives, rebates and a HOV sticker.
 
YurkshireLad said:
Hi guys, it's been a few years since I owned a hybrid so I thought I would catch up with the EV/hybrid/PHEV world. I've been reading about and watching videos on the Honda Clarity. I love the concept of the Clarity - an EV with range extender, which could work for me. I think the Clarity is similar to the Volt, which I think was also an EV with a range extender. I also loved the Volt but it was far too small and uncomfortable for me. So what are the competitors to the Clarity? Thanks
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Right now, I believe that Clarity has the best range when it comes to PHEV's. If I was looking for a PHEV, I would be looking at a used, late model Volt.. You can get them extremely cheap and they are great cars.. The later ones had over 50 miles of EV range.. not too bad for a PHEV.. I could get a 2017 Volt with under 40k miles for $13999...

https://www.offleaseonly.com/used-car/chevrolet-volt-hybrid-lt-hatchback-fwd-1g1ra6s52hu109668.htm
 
The Clarity's acceleration from 0-30 is more than adequate. 30-60 is adequate. 60-80 (never had it over 80mph) is less than adequate for me. Certainly not a deal breaker tho. Unfortunately if you stomp on the go pedal the ICE will come on which does not help too much with the acceleration.

I love my Clarity and am hoping to get a Rav4 prime to replace my gas guzzling Explorer. The Rav4 prime (except for the lack of storage volume that the explorer has) sounds like it will be the perfect vehicle for our lifestyle (and it's 0-60 is impressive).
Domenick said:
I think the Clarity sort of stands alone with its range and sedan-ness. Also, it does 0-to-60 in 7.6 seconds, so it's not exactly a slouch. Not mind-blowing, of course. I haven't driven it, so I'm not sure where the best acceleration happens, but I'm sure our owner community would be happy to help with that.
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Sent from my SM-G955U using Inside EVs mobile app
 
Something just occurred to me. I've been quoting 0-60 times, but that's mph. Here in Canada we use km/h, so the speed limits on my daily work commute are 40-80km/h. And that's on a good day, otherwise it's stop and go for quite a bit of it. So for my daily commute the 0-60mph time isn't so important. Other driving (e.g. evening,weekend or road trips) needs better acceleration. I guess that's the point of something like the Clarity - its perfect for 80% (rough example) of your driving requirements.
 
I have been wondering if there’s a better PHEV than my 2018 Honda Clarity. For total and EV range and quality ride, I can’t find one. Any PHEV suggestions that have more than 47 miles of EV range? Ty.


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