Why do you like your Clarity?

[dstrauss]

Like every forum I have ever been a part of, they usually evolve into "how do i fix this problem" after a while, because we are the world's largest therapy group (and customer support center - thanks for nothing Honda).

I wanted to find out the number one reason you like your Clarity - yes, I know, there are many interconnected reasons, but which is number one? Feel free to expound as to why I should not have limited this to just your number one choice. For me, it is nearly gasoline free driving. if I don't go on a major trip, I can go weeks/months without ever touching the gas (except for Honda's mandatory startups to keep the ICE in good repair). However, that is closely linked to reason two - NO RANGE ANXIETY - and to see what I mean check out this review of the 2018 Chevy Bolt at GottaBeMobile (one of my computer geek sites) to sense the range anxiety throughout the article. 200 miles is great range, until your round trip drive edges close to 175 miles...

 

[iluvscuba]

You actually answered your own question regarding why we should be able give just #1 answer. My reason is the same as you, EV range, but that applies to all EV cars available now and yet I did not buy an EV (although I almost pull the trigger for the new Leaf) and my very close #2 is No Range Anxiety. I have been watching/reading review and video on almost all EV related stuff and just can't picture myself driving an EV until it's down to less than 10 or even 5 km to get to somewhere where I can charge the car. Even with my ICE car and for all my driving in the last 40 years, I don't think I have ever fill up with less than 50km/miles in the tank even though there are literally a gas station in every 2nd corner. So unless EV charging is as fast and/or as abandon as gas station (hopefully in the next 6-8 years which is about time for my next car), not sure if I will want a pure EV yet

BTW, since that is your computer geek sites, maybe you should post a review of the Clarity and provide some Clarity to your 'geek' friends of the virtue of owning a Clarity

 

[loomis2]

No range anxiety is #1 for me, and that goes for ev and hv. It is why this was the no-brainer choice over the Prius Prime or any other phev with only 20-25 miles ev range: it's just not enough. But 47 is a good number. Higher than that would be better but I had to make my decision on the choices available, not on what I would like to be available.

 

[PHEV Newbie]

For me, it is because it checks off all the many requirements I have for a new car, of any type. Naturally, it would be nice if it handled like Porsche and accelerated like a Corvette but those were very low on my list of wants. Is it perfect? No, but there is no other car out there, period, that fit my needs better than a Clarity.

 

[KentuckyKen]

Dstrauss, you have given me something much worse than range anxiety. Now I have question anxiety!
I want an “All of the above option”!!!

Like PHEV Newbie, I found he Clarity to be almost the “perfect storm” of EV features. The sum of its features ( even with its omissions) hands down beats anything out there currently for the price.
In about 10 years when battery technology makes a paradigm shift and capacity/price becomes significantly better, and the availability of DC fast charging (50-80% in 30 min) becomes conveniently numerous, then I will happily drive a BEV.
But I think we all said, “Why wait, I’ve found a real car (in size, comfort, affordability, dependability) and I’m going to say goodbye (mostly) to gas now!”

 

[dstrauss]

No range anxiety is #1 for me, and that goes for ev and hv. It is why this was the no-brainer choice over the Prius Prime or any other phev with only 20-25 miles ev range: it's just not enough. But 47 is a good number. Higher than that would be better but I had to make my decision on the choices available, not on what I would like to be available.

Although I've petitioned here and elsewhere for Honda to put the BEV battery in our PHEV's and call it a day, I now realize that is fruitless at this point...you lose too much trunk and front engine compartment space - with current battery technology 47 miles is a great compromise (far above all PHEV's except the VOLT)...so thank you Honda engineers

As for you @KentuckyKen - no dice - this is a one answer only poll, DESPITE you and others being right that it is the perfect storm for PHEV's - come on Honda marketing, get behind this (not so) little miracle!

 

[Tailwind]

Ive become a complete noodge about fuel cost (gas mileage and fuel grade requirements). My cars have gone from a 2009 Civic Si (premium fuel at a rated 30 MPG highway) to a 2014 Civic EX-L (39 MPG using regular) to my 2018 Clarity. On the second month anniversary of it’s acquisition, I filled the tank for the first time. 5.4 gallons of regular after 1680 miles driven. That was $15.00.

Trying not to bore you with all the minutia (if you want to see it, I can post it), I calculate that my cost for energy to drive has dropped by about $0.0156/mile from the Civic EX to the Clarity. That takes into account the cost of electricity to charge my car. At my avaerage 12,000 miles per year, my annualized savings are $187.20. I will retire in 21 months and expect that I won’t have any miles driven on the ICE post retirement.

So, probably the best reason for buying my Clarity was to reduce my cost of driving. Mission accomplished.

 

[KentuckyKen]

Sorry Dstrauss, I had to try. With your gun to my head, so to speak, I voted for EV range/little gas.

 

[Ben007]

I have been driving my Clarity for 20 days and I think it is simply fantastic car. My number 1 reason would certainly be the EV driving AND no range anxiety for longer trip. Over 1000 km now and not a single drop a fuel. Perfect balance of battery size-range and space for passengers and cargo.

Combine this with a luxury feel car and smooth driving. My previous car was a Lexus 300h and I was a bit afraid in terms of comfort I would take a step down with the Clarity... not even. The interior finish does really feel like a Acura.


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[Hobbesgsr]

I’d like my Clarity better if Honda was able to deliver it.

 

[bfd]

I'm impressed by the quiet, the torque, the EV range, and the room. When I think of how much I paid for the original 2012 Prius Plug-in - the one with 15 miles of EV range (unless I went past 62.5 mph, happened to step just a little too hard on the gas, or heaven forbid - just turned on the heater in the cold of a So Cal winter) Well, I'm even more soundly impressed by the Clarity.

 

[daar]

We were looking to replace an older Honda Accord with a reliable, quiet and full size sedan for a family of 4. After a test ride and looking at the EV range of 47 miles along with a 280+ HV range; Honda Clarity met all our needs. Our typical daily commute is less than 30 miles. With that low a daily range, we are expecting fewer trips to the gas station, lower maintenance expenses due to fewer oil changes, less wear and tear of engine, brakes and simpler transmission. Add to it the fit, finish and ride quality is very impressive. So far, we are enjoying the car...

 

[dstrauss]

I ran across this article, and wonder if I will EVER consider a BEV - thanking my lucky stars for my Clarity PHEV: hybridcars.com. This Chevy Bolt driver's "adventure" limping from charger to charger is the epitome of my range anxiety nightmare

 

[loomis2]

I ran across this article, and wonder if I will EVER consider a BEV - thanking my lucky stars for my Clarity PHEV: hybridcars.com. This Chevy Bolt driver's "adventure" limping from charger to charger is the epitome of my range anxiety nightmare

A bev is perfect if you have a second car for longer trips. And I can almost guarantee that the bev will be your main car and the ice car will be relegated to vacations and such. Now we have a bev and a phev, and the main reason why we bought a phev is because we already had the level 2 charger for our bev. Bev's and the charging infrastructure won't really take off until batteries make some sort of breakthrough where the charging time gets drastically reduced and/or the range gets drastically increased. Watch the world change right before your eyes when that happens.

 

[jdonalds]

There really isn't a single answer. I selected EV Range for the poll but that was far from a stand-alone decision maker.

EV Range turns out to be a lot more important than I knew. I didn't realize the wide swings in EV Range depending on the ambient temperature. I've already experienced mid 30s EV Range estimates in our cool winters. Now we're getting EV estimates in the mid to high 40's. I'm now curious about how our very hot (105-112) summer days will effect the range. The range, even including these variations, is sufficient to cover all of our daily needs, reserving gas engine use for out-of-town trips only. Had we purchased one of the several alternative PHEVs that are EPA rated in the 25-30 mile range we would have been using the ICE around town quite a bit. But EV range wasn't enough to buy the car.

PHEV of course was the only type of car I was looking for. It was important to me that we could have the chance to use nothing but battery power as near to 100% around town as possible, yet have no range anxiety. Also no waiting to charge a BEV on long trips. Even a Tesla would not be convenient for 1,000 mile trips. The Clarity fills that desire almost perfectly for us.

Cargo space was a very big issue for us. With more than 20 Cu Ft in our Prius we often filled it to the max on hot summer days when we headed for the beach. Anything less was going to cramp our style. But what I learned was most PHEVs give up the spare tire space and more for the larger battery. We had to make the decision to give up cargo space and a spare tire, compared to the Prius, to buy the Clarity. However the Clarity was near the top of the cargo space for PHEVs so the compromise was reduced. It would be nice if the car had true 60/40 split, not the much less useful pass through. All in all I wish the Clarity was a hatch back.

Interior factors like the gauge cluster and tablet were very important. After 8 years of driving Prius cars I still hated the centered gauges. Also our 2015 Prius gauges were dim and sometimes hard to read. The Clarity gauges are bright, easy to read, and rich with information. I'm so happy to have the information I want back in front of me instead of off to the right.

Power Memory Seats were a very big attraction for us. My wife would leave the driver's seat adjusted for her. I almost could not enter the Prius and had to grope for the seat release and pull it up before I could fully enter the car. Then I would have to adjust the forward/backward position of the seat, and tilt the back of the seat. This is all now automatic with the Clarity and is very much appreciated.

Driving Assist features were something I desired but would have bought a car without them. The only one that really interested me was the ACC. Now that we have the car I would easily be willing to give up all but the ACC. The other features seem like a toy to me, not fully there yet and they make a lot of errors in decisions.

All of those above desires were what I wanted when looking for a car. But the Clarity sold itself when I took the test drive.

QUIET surprised me quite a bit. This car is amazing and it is only partially due to running in electric mode. Honda obviously put a lot of design work into making this car quiet. I've never ridden in or driven a car this quiet.

Luxury was unexpected. We'd driven two Prius cars for 8 years. A Prius is far from a luxury car. We were happy with the Prius. I always wanted a luxurious, smooth running, smooth riding, good cornering vehicle. Clarity caught me by surprise in how luxurious it is. I used to think my 2005 Toyota 4Runner Limited was comfortable and smooth riding. Now when I drive the 4Runner I realize what it is... a truck.

There are a few bits of things about the Clarity which I would change were I the lead designer. But they really are little things. The more I drive the Clarity the more I like it.

One of the driving forces behind buying a new car was the fact that back in December we had roof solar installed. The system was sized (by the city) to support a large portion of the house electricity consumption. It was not sized for the car. So as we charge the Clarity daily in the garage I consider it free from the sun electricity. Had we not installed solar I would not have bought a new car. The energy cost advantage of grid electricity vs gas is not that great. In fact it will never pay for the cost of the car. But free solar is so darned attractive I couldn't resist. So far the only place we've charged the car is in our garage.

Exterior looks aren't very important to us (obviously as we owned 2 Prius cars) but I think the Clarity is a very nice looking car.

 

[jdonalds]

I had to drive our 4Runner today. Normally we share the Clarity and the 4Runner stays parked (13 mpg around town) but occasionally we must drive both cars.

My first impression is of the noisy V8 engine firing up, what a racket! The 2005 4Runner lacks all of the driver assist features except cruise control, but I've added features so it has a backup camera, Bluetooth, and a few other things. But the one thing I really missed today was the Break Hold feature of the Clarity. I really like that feature.

 

[HariN]

My story..
The plug-in hybrid concept has been interest to me for a while. I considered volt but never pulled the trigger.
I reserved Tesla Model 3 first day of reveal, more than 2 years,ago, but got delayed so much..
Then, suddenly I saw Honda clarity in December 3rd week, impressed with the spec, checked out at the dealer and purchased in the last week of December. I typically do lot of research before any big purchase. This is one of the time I pulled trigger too quick, but no regrets. Mine was first clarity sold in Idaho!!! Got good price as well for touring version
What I like ..
Good EV Range for my need- it replace 17mpg Mazda CX-9, still have it
Ride quality-luxurious ride, quite and smooth
Excellent interior quality
I enjoyed using remote climate during winters,
Good value than Chevy Volt with all safety features

My nitpicks..
The panel gaps are not up to mark,
Audio quality is so so.., I have Bose in my CX-9 and 10 speaker in my BMW 325X might have spoiled me
I wish Honda used blind spot monitor instead of lame watch
Backside styling could have been something like new Accord.

Overall, I am really enjoying my clarity, with weather warm up, I am getting 60mile EV range, mostly driving in sports mode with full regen. Driving kids to soccer practice is less of chore![emoji3]









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[loomis2]

But the one thing I really missed today was the Break Hold feature of the Clarity. I really like that feature.

I agree. Brake Hold should be turned on by default and the button should be to turn it off, or at least give us the option in settings to make it that way. Now whenever I am stopped in my Leaf, like at a light or a drive-thru, I really miss the brake hold feature.

 

[Omgswify]

There are so many pros with this car that I could only gather up these cons:
1. Should have been a hatchback to maximize cargo space with seats folded flat.
2. Honda Lanewatch
3. Those rear wheel covers
4. Lowered EV range in cold weather

It was hard to pick one advantage as to why I chose this car. Tesla model 3 was 80k CAD after tax when I had it spec’d to my needs. The Bolt’s waiting time would have been way too long. And although the bolt had long range, I didn’t want range anxiety. During my research, The Charging stations for popular road trips that I would have needed were shown to be unreliable. Some worked, and those that did had issues of overcrowding. And I relegated my need for a big suv to the SO for when she upgrades her car (I was originally car shopping for a Cx-9).

After going through the forum I am more motivated to wait for my clarity.

 

[iluvscuba]

--> 4. Lowered EV range in cold weather

How can this be a con for this car, this happens to all EV and to a lesser extent, all ICE vehicle