Why the Honda Clarity PHEV is the best choice right now

AhmadPDX said:
I went from a Porsche Cayenne turbo to the Clarity. I do miss the insane power and heft of everything, however, the Honda is a very good car for the price and will age well ( I hope)
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Coming from AWD cars (BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover), what I really miss is the 4WD traction.
But then I have stopped going to ski the past few years due to my age....
 
AhmadPDX said:
I went from a Porsche Cayenne turbo to the Clarity. I do miss the insane power and heft of everything, however, the Honda is a very good car for the price and will age well ( I hope)
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I bet you won't miss those insane depreciation and maintenance costs.
 
Having only owned my new Clarity for 2 days, I don't have any long-term feedback yet. However, I find the 7 gallon tank more than adequate. On long highway trips, I take a break every 2 hours or so. Making sure I plan those breaks where there is gas available works perfectly for me. My typical weekly commute is only about 30 miles a day total, so I'll probably never need a larger fuel tank.
 
KClark said:
... But long trips in a Clarity mean using the ICE and that noise intrudes on the serenity while the tiny gas tank intrudes on the long distances you can drive without thinking about where the next gas station is located. It's certainly doable in a Clarity but for me not the most enjoyable way to do it.
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Was wondering about long trips too, not so happy with the 330ish range. But a 3 gal can of gas in the trunk would help that a lot, no?
 
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Emagin said:
Was wondering about long trips too, not so happy with the 330ish range. But a 3 gal can of gas in the trunk would help that a lot, no?
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What, you're going to pass gas station after gas station, then pull over when your Clarity runs out of gas and refuel it by the side of the road from your 3-gallon gas can? I don't believe there are any stretches of road in the lower 48 with more than 200 miles between gas stations so the Clarity's nominal 294-mile HV range should be sufficient. Or are you planning a trip across the Kalahari?

The Clarity PHEV's 7-gallon tank makes for a quick pit-stop--you can fill 'er up faster than your passengers can grab the key to the rest room, do their thing, and get back to the car.
 
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I think the longest stretch of any highway in the lower 48 states without a gas station is a little over 100 miles... 107 miles to be exact along I-70 between Green River, UT and Salina, UT. I've driven that stretch, and driving into the San Rafael Swell is stunning.

The Clarity has about 4 hours of cruising time on 7 gals, that is way more than most folks are willing to do without a rest stop.
 
I bigger tank would be nice just so I can fit a $20 bill's worth of gas without being close to empty. 10 gallon tank would be perfect for long trips. Even an extra 1 gallon would be nice but, yes, one can manage with 7 gallons.
 
The Gadgeteer said:
I bigger tank would be nice just so I can fit a $20 bill's worth of gas without being close to empty. 10 gallon tank would be perfect for long trips. Even an extra 1 gallon would be nice but, yes, one can manage with 7 gallons.
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You pay cash for gas? I haven't used cash since the invention of card readers on gas pumps.
 
In many places (just about all in NJ) there is a substantial cash discount vs credit. .10 a gallon or more. Plus there are other reason you give the mandatory NJ gas pumping attendant cash rather than your credit card.
 
Ahh... living in NJ or OR would make sense to pay cash. Been to both states, thought it was so strange that I couldn't pump my own gas. Everywhere else credit is same price as cash.
 
RickSE said:
Of course when you are only buying 7 gallons every few months that extra doesn’t really add up. :)
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Ain't that the truth? If I didn't go visit family every few weeks, I wouldn't use any gas at all. If it wasn't for the gas hungry Jeep that my wife drives, I would get all out of practice for pumping gas. :)
 
I stay within speed limits so 7 gallons gives me more than 5 hours driving time. I need to stop every 3-4 hours even with my Subaru, which has a 660 mile range, so 7 gallons is more than enough.
 
insightman said:
What, you're going to pass gas station after gas station, then pull over when your Clarity runs out of gas and refuel it by the side of the road from your 3-gallon gas can? I

The Clarity PHEV's 7-gallon tank makes for a quick pit-stop--you can fill 'er up faster than your passengers can grab the key to the rest room, do their thing, and get back to the car.
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Believe it or not, there are those if us who want to drive 500mi straight through w/out stopping because it wastes time and increases total trip time. So a quick stop on side of hwy to throw in that extra 200 miles would shave 5min off the trip easy and reduce distractions.
Every time you off/onramp to stop you are increasing accident risk, flat tires, safety risk, time,etc.

Anyhow, it is what it is, can't complain about it. Guess an Insight would be better for such type of longer highway driving.
 
Oh thought our gas tanks where 10Gal and not seven. I guess that makes sense since I last filled it up it was a bit over 20 bucks.
 
As a consumer I would pay more for more range. There are others like me whether we really need it, use it, or not. In the case of the Clarity I find it hard to believe room for 3 more gallons would be hard to design even it meant loosing a small amount of the vast trunk.

I still believe the Clarity and Volt are the best PHEVs around because they have the most EV range ~50 miles. Personally I like the Honda package a little bit more.
 
Emagin said:
So a quick stop on side of hwy to throw in that extra 200 miles would shave 5min off the trip easy and reduce distractions.
Every time you off/onramp to stop you are increasing accident risk, flat tires, safety risk, time,etc.[/
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Not on my life would I pull to the side of the road to pour 5 gal of gas into the the driver’s side filler with traffic whizzing by at 70+ mph. I would also not be happy with 5 gal of gas in a portable container in the trunk. And I would argue that the odds of a flat tire are higher on the side of the road that doesn’t get much traffic as opposed to the longer ramp and access road to the pump that has cars driving on it all the time. Also, I can’t see the logic that it’s safer to pull to the side of a busy highway instead of taking an exit directly to a filling station. And certainly not for a measly 5 min on 7+ hour trip. So this dog won’t hunt for me. But, as always, YMMV and to each his own. My prayers go out to @Emagin, the Road Warrior of our Clarity community.
 
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