Dan Albrich
Well-Known Member
I bought mine in September 2018 (It's a 2018 model) touring trim. I paid $35,000 but with rebates which I did receive, I got back $10,300. At the time there was a non-refundable federal tax rebate of $7500 and my home state of Oregon did $2500 rebate for "clean cars." The $300 was from my electric provider which could be granted for either the car purchase or the purchase of a level 2 home charger. Anyway, the net was about $24,700 after rebates. I realize this doesn't include title and registration but that part is a low-expense here in Oregon and we don't have sales tax.
I feel like someone took a look at higher end cars and decided to put just a few of those features in the Clarity Touring trim, which I'd say is awesome for an economy car. The main things I value are the driver seat memory (I'm 6'2", wife is maybe 5'6") so having the seat auto-adjust is really cool. HondaLink such as it is, does provide scheduled cabin temp, so in my enclosed unheated garage I can pre-heat the car cabin before my drive to work in the winter, and with zero risk of the combustion engine turning on. It has built in map (garmin) that doesn't require internet to work. Adaptive cruise control is great, lane centering is OK for long trips. And even the odd-ball "break hold" is nice when going up hill or through a drive through for fast food.
The HondaLink on Clarity is free, and allows me to find the car, see charging state, and remotely turn on climate. i.e. cool the car on a hot day before I get into it.
A family member in 2025 bought a brand new Toyota RAV4 hybrid. Base trim, but cost her $15K more than my Clarity. And yes, all newer cars are more money now. But I was shocked to not only find the features hondalink supplies are all at additional monthly cost. That part in and of itself is forgiveable, but for someone not wanting to pay, you get constantly reminded that you can purchase the features on each startup, so you have to dismiss this crap repeatedly. As far as front seat experience, there's actually less room for a big person in the RAV than Clarity. I felt like a sardine getting in and out. Anyway, not expected because its physically a bigger vehicle. So you get to pay more, get less cabin space, drive and park a bigger vehicle, and have to dismiss the nagware asking you to upgrade for each ride. With RAV4 you do get built-in wireless car-play, but I tend to just use bluetooth audio myself.
Anyway, spending a little time in a RAV4 reminded me how much better I like my Clarity. And oddly, my smaller car is more physically comfortable to ride in.
I feel like someone took a look at higher end cars and decided to put just a few of those features in the Clarity Touring trim, which I'd say is awesome for an economy car. The main things I value are the driver seat memory (I'm 6'2", wife is maybe 5'6") so having the seat auto-adjust is really cool. HondaLink such as it is, does provide scheduled cabin temp, so in my enclosed unheated garage I can pre-heat the car cabin before my drive to work in the winter, and with zero risk of the combustion engine turning on. It has built in map (garmin) that doesn't require internet to work. Adaptive cruise control is great, lane centering is OK for long trips. And even the odd-ball "break hold" is nice when going up hill or through a drive through for fast food.
The HondaLink on Clarity is free, and allows me to find the car, see charging state, and remotely turn on climate. i.e. cool the car on a hot day before I get into it.
A family member in 2025 bought a brand new Toyota RAV4 hybrid. Base trim, but cost her $15K more than my Clarity. And yes, all newer cars are more money now. But I was shocked to not only find the features hondalink supplies are all at additional monthly cost. That part in and of itself is forgiveable, but for someone not wanting to pay, you get constantly reminded that you can purchase the features on each startup, so you have to dismiss this crap repeatedly. As far as front seat experience, there's actually less room for a big person in the RAV than Clarity. I felt like a sardine getting in and out. Anyway, not expected because its physically a bigger vehicle. So you get to pay more, get less cabin space, drive and park a bigger vehicle, and have to dismiss the nagware asking you to upgrade for each ride. With RAV4 you do get built-in wireless car-play, but I tend to just use bluetooth audio myself.
Anyway, spending a little time in a RAV4 reminded me how much better I like my Clarity. And oddly, my smaller car is more physically comfortable to ride in.
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