Why the Honda Clarity PHEV is the best choice right now

[oddhack]

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.

California usually has a cash discount.

 

[DanGest]

Very fun thread, and love the community on top of the car (my wife and I both own one now)
In thinking about what could be improved/not improved, always have to realize a company has to center on the general needs, which is what I think makes this car so amazing.
It would be nice to have a sunroof, but honestly the majority of the general public do not use one (often), and this vehicle is designed for fuel efficiency - no sunroof is the smart choice, and although I love the glass roof of the Tesla, I have concerns about heat in the summer and overall safety.
For distance/bigger gas tank it is a similar argument, 90% of driving is going to be within a fully charged battery range and 99% of driving is going to be within a full tank of gas/battery range - don't ask me for sources I am making those numbers up but I'm pretty sure they are accurate, given that many people have to drive extra to make sure they burn the gas so it doesn't go stale, I think the over extreme 300+ mile driving without stopping should be ignored.
Not sure I would want a hatch back, but the division and the "mafia" window are a little awkward.
Real world range is way more important than the artificial range presented.
Clearly a volume knob would be nice, I am still reaching for one but I'm only a couple hundred miles in, I'm sure that muscle memory will go away.
A safety feature I dangerously miss is backup sensors that beep at different frequency as you get closer to objects, after having a car with this feature, it is very much missed.
An adjustable seat in terms of how far forward or back the back cushion is relative to the butt part of the seat is a stupid oversight.
However this car is just amazing, and really checked all the boxes.
Great reliability (hopefully this continues to be true I am basing it on Honda's track record, I also purchased the first year Civic Hybrid, and I must say even when I had a problem with the car Honda was amazing at fixing it...replaced battery at 30% of cost, replaced transmission for free).
Nearly perfect range, we will always want more battery range, but at some point you have to balance with cost, this car will do 90% of trips on a single charge based on my source from above.
The right amount of acceleration/speed....the one thing I did not love about my civic hybrid was engine power, getting up to speed was not always easy, and steep inclines could be downright scary/unmanageable particularly later in the cars life.
Space! wholly cow, in honesty the car is probably bigger than it should be for the general public, but I'm about to start my family, and knowing I can comfortably fit two car seats and an adult in the back is great.
Price, I thought we were getting a great price on the 2018 at 31k + ttl, and then I was able to get a 2019 at 26K + ttl. Anyone who was even considering one should just buy one now, after fed and Cal incentives my price is cheaper than a Honda fit.

OK that is my 2 cents so far, I'll edit the post as I have more

 

[PHEV Newbie]

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.

Bingo! That's precisely the reason why BEVs will not catch on widely until their ranges match ICE cars (my Outback can go 660 miles, more than twice the longest range BEV) and can be charged in 5 min (for at least 300 miles for those 5 min) without damaging their batteries. For now, PHEVs are the best to combine driving electric around town and be a practical road trip car as well. Increasing the tank size probably wouldn't be much of an issue if that's what consumers demand.

 

[MNSteve]

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.

You are driving 500 miles without a stop and at the same time considering risk associated with exit ramps? I am sincerely concerned about drivers who think that they can remain alert without rest stops because they affect ME. Maybe Honda should tout the fact that you have to stop every 300 miles as a safety feature of the Clarity.

 

[MPower]

knowing I can comfortably fit two car seats and an adult in the back is great.

That's why I didn't replace my 2012 Prius Plugin with the 2018 Prius Prime. When I finally hand my Clarity down to my daughter's family I actually want to be able to drive with them when I visit. Only 4 seats in the Prime was a total deal breaker.

 

[insightman]

With all the nerds on this site, who will be the first to install an auxiliary fuel cell in the trunk?

That would be pretty tricky with the Clarity's pressurized fuel system.

 

[Mowcowbell]

I'd rather have a larger battery for more EV range and a smaller gas tank!

 

[Fast Eddie B]

That would be pretty tricky...

Music to a true nerd’s ears.

To paraphrase a “A League Of Their Own”: “Of course it’s tricky. The tricky is what makes it great! If it wasn’t tricky, then anyone could do it!”

At the risk of a derail, when I decided 9+ gals wasn’t enough for my BMW R100GS/PD:

No longer have the bike, but kept the 5 gal fuel cell. Hmmmm...

 

[Emagin]

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.

@KentuckyKen You have several good points there, which I accept. I currently drive a 1993 VW Eurovan with broken fuel gauge ($$ to fix) and will pick up my new Clarity in 2 days. So Im not in the community yet, but I am very willing to report back on this crazy experiment.

Based on my vehicle, you may conclude that I am a camper, very happy with low tech and tweaking things here and there to make them more efficient.
My roadside experience comes from many stops in the VW to throw in an extra gallon to get to the appropriate GasBuddy station so that I can save .30/gal on a 20 gal tank. Admittedly a bit miserly, but you can't reach FIRE without some sacrifice and good index funds.

My next insight come from driving a rental Ford Fusion from SF to Eugene OR.
It was my first drive in a hybrid and I was blown away by the range. One shot all the way up -- 510 miles. Fusion has a 14g tank at 40mpg hwy. Nothing hypergalactic, but the experience impressed me and thus began my hunt for hybrid / PHEV vehicle.

A year later, I'm here, joining your community -- after much review of my personal usage profile, I have concluded the Clarity is indeed a great PHEV choice for me. However, I just can't shake my DIY, roadside fillups. The one big gap in this car for me is the range (forget vol knobs, hatches, ugly rear, and all the other complaints - I love this car!). So I thought I'd find a way to compensate for that.

I admit I must be an edge case -- will report back after my first roadside fillup and how it felt.
I plan to do this in coordination with GasBuddy data and Google Maps mileage calcs on how far I have left to go, etc. I'll be trying it at rest stops or large pullouts with well traveled pavement (no glass) where I am safely away from traffic. Thank you for your concerns! OH, and I also like peeing in nature, not at disgusting gas stations. Another edge case requirement!

Perhaps someone can calculate how much efficiency I'll lose with the added weight of 3gal of gas in my trunk?

 

[Emagin]

You are driving 500 miles without a stop and at the same time considering risk associated with exit ramps? I am sincerely concerned about drivers who think that they can remain alert without rest stops because they affect ME. Maybe Honda should tout the fact that you have to stop every 300 miles as a safety feature of the Clarity.

@MNSteve, I appreciate your consideration of driving 500 straight a potential risk. However, that is a fairly limited view of humanity. Alertness while driving depends on age, physical fitness, emotional state, gumption, and so many other factors. Certainly products will be designed to fit the needs of an intended audience, so maybe the Clarity is targeted at humans who don't like to drive past 300. I'm pretty sure the small tank was driven more by body design, air resistance, fuel efficiency. With more and more hybrids getting 500+ miles on a tank, you can see that for that market, longer range does not seem to be a drawback. And I think Hybrid / PHVE buyers are not that different from each other, and different enough in age, gumption, etc. to make this a fair question.

Anyhow, I hope they can figure out a way to give us longer range in the future. It is nice foe people to have that choice.

Also, your argument would probably require an overhaul of our entire society, as gas stations and truck stops sell alcohol, sleeping pills, and many other drugs which are 'legal' but seriously impair driving. By your rationale, those should not even be choices because they are potentially dangerous.

 

[insightman]

I've driven 850 miles on a 10.6-gallon tankful in my gen-1 Insight, but here I sit writing letters to American Honda, begging them to sell me their gorgeous new electric car that goes a whopping 124 miles on a charge. After Honda finally concedes (yeah, right) I'll sell the ol' Insight and we'll use our Clarity for the long hauls.

 

[jdonalds]

Yesterday we drove about 550 miles round trip and I was reminded once again how nice this car is for road trips.

The ACC is great. I don't have to lock my eyes on the car in front of me to see if it is slowing (sometimes without brake lights), the ACC takes care of that. Then when we got close to the San Francisco bay area we hit several traffic jams on the freeway and once again the ACC just took care of it. I had my foot pulled back away from the brake and accelerator for miles of stop and go conditions.

Also this was the first time we used Sport mode and it completely erases my complaints about resuming speed after pulling left from a slow vehicle.

The LKAS is another saver. While it can't handle even mild curves it does keep the car in the lane without much effort from me. As soon as I turn it on my arms can relax and I can just keep a light hold on the steering wheel. All it takes is an occasional movement to keep the warning message and beep from coming up.

Beyond that the car is quiet, smooth, and comfortable.

I think this car reduces road fatigue by at lease 1/2 for these long trips.

 

[MPower]

it can't handle even mild curves

I have not found that to be the case. It does seem to start to steer into the curve a little later than i do myself but if I hold back for a second it takes the curve perfectly adequately.

I think this car reduces road fatigue by at lease 1/2 for these long trips.

I agree. When i drove the 1500 mile trip to take my 2012 Prius Plugin out to my daughter's, I had decided I was too old to continue doing it in 3 days and took 4 days. When I did the same trip at Christmas in my Clarity, I easily did it in 3 days and was less tired than when I did it in tnne Prius in 4 days.

 

[jdonalds]

I have not found that to be the case. It does seem to start to steer into the curve a little later than i do myself but if I hold back for a second it takes the curve perfectly adequately.

Well I guess it all revolves around the angle of the curve. I agree for some curves it can navigate by itself.