Featured Honda Clarity Plug-in

You're right. I just hadn't memorized the gas mileage. I'll pay more attention to see if that number changes. It reads 487 miles at the moment.

 

I just purchased a Clarity plug in on Dec 30, so I haven't driven it much yet. My dealer did not have a charger installed yet so I drove the car home using the engine because the battery was depleted. Once I charged it overnight, I have only run on battery power. The car has a nice electric heater but with the heater and seat heat both on I doubt the car would go the full 47 miles on a charge.

Commenting on the previous post about when the engine would be forced to start, I found in some of the reading I have done that the engine would always start if the temperature is below 14 degrees. Once the engine starts, it will continue to run until it warms up.

 

Hi everyone -

I was seriously considering a Prime Advanced and almost bought one today until I discovered the Clarity (how did I miss this?). I still may go with Prime but am soliciting input from others who have potentially cross-shopped both.

My commute round trip is 32 miles and no charging at work, so I'd get 100% EV with Clarity vs less with Prime.

In researching comparisons of Clarity vs Prime, here's what I've come up with as important to me:

Pros:
- 47 vs 25 mile EV range = 100% electric daily commute
- Rebates/incentives:
- $7500 vs $4500 federal incentive
- $2500-$1500 vs $1500 -$750 Oregon incentive (not solidified yet unfortunately until spring from what I can tell)
- Least-weird styling (eye of the beholder, I know)
- Better acceleration - 0-60 in ~7.5 sec vs ~10+ sec; there are some short on-ramps here and I use PWR mode frequently in current Prius
- Better sound insulation
- CarPlay and Android Auto

Cons:
- Missing real blind spot monitoring on both sides (Clarity uses a camera on passenger side only vs RADAR for both sides on Prius)
- No rear cross traffic alerts
- Trunk vs lift back - I need to fit a small wheelchair in back for my wife - have a travel chair that folds down to carry-on size, but larger opening in the Prius gives most flexibility.

Unknown until I test drive:
- Seat comfort for a big/tall guy (I'm 6'3 and 250 with long legs)

Any feedback from others that have considered similar pros/cons greatly appreciated.

 

@bitbender - Former Prius owner here (2009, 2011, 2013) and current 2018 Clarity Touring. With the exception of your need for wheelchair storage, I would definitely go Clarity over Prius Prime (and I'd bet the wheelchair you described will fit in the trunk with room to spare).

First - apologies to all my Prius friends here at PRIUSchat for saying that, but I wanted to be honest.

Now, for the why(s) and some random thoughts:

1. EV range - I only have 17 mile round trip commute, but with any side trips I'd be bumping up against the PP range, especially in cold weather - 47 miles is a game changer for most of us. I've not used gasoline at all for the last two weeks, and only refilled once after a hybrid drive from Midland to Pecos (about 190 mile round trip).
2. You get the $7500 rebate which significantly closes the price gap between PP Advanced and the Clarity Touring (in fact, dead equal pricing in our neck of the woods because no one even regularly carries the Prius Prime here in West Texas, much less discounts it) - and sorry Prius fans, the Touring is much better appointed and MUCH better interior quality - it has been referred to by car magazines as nearly Acura quality.
3. It's a mid-size sedan - that is huge in room, comfort, ride quality, fit/finish, and on the Touring, almost luxury car interior.
4. Much better acceleration and overall performance - at risk of significantly lower mpg in hybrid mode (42 vs 52).
5. Looks lots better (which is TOTALLY subjective - to me PP looks like a Transformer, while Clarity = Accord).
6. Sound insulation - it's incredible - all I hear are the tires on the street - no engine, no wind, not even other cars.
7. I miss the hatchback - much more convenient storage over a regular Prius, but the Prime has the battery bulge in the back and lower sitting folded seats, so It's not as handy and flat a cargo area as a regular Prius either.
8. You'll really want the Level 2 (240V/32A) charger at home - 12 hours is really 12 HOURS to charge the larger battery on 110V.
9. MUCH prefer Apple CarPlay to Entune.

 

i wonder why honda won't make a decent phev hatch, it's almost like they have a wink wink agreement with toyota.

 

The thing is the Prime and Clarity are in two different classes. It's like comparing a Chevy Nova with a Lexus. As a 2008 and 2015 previous Prius owner the only thing I miss is the hatchback/trunk space. In all other respects the Clarity is a superior vehicle.

Like dstrauss said our basic daily round trip is shorter than reality. We take our son to school 24 miles round trip. But we normally put closer to 30 miles on the Clarity due to side trips. Heating the car can also reduce EV miles. So the 44-50 mile EV range of the Clarity makes a big difference. As time passes we really appreciate the longer EV range.

The charge time is also short. When we get home after a 30 mile trip the battery still has some charge. We plug it in and bring it back up to 100% in a mater of an hour and a half or so - ready for another drive. The only time we use gas is when we take trips out-of-town which might be once a month.

One thing I appreciated about the Prius line was the fact that there was really no transmission. The Synergy drive is brilliant. We took a serious look at the Hyundai Ioniq PHEV (which is still an interesting car) but I didn't like their choice of the Dual Clutch Transmission. The Clarity is even better. There is no transmission and you don't have the high rev'ing of the Prius when you apply the accelerator.

Two different cars. Period.

Drive a Clarity. You'll be astounded at how quiet it is. Check out how well the wheel chair fits in the trunk.

 

Two thumbs up on this one. We have owned two Prius III (2009 and 2011) and a Prius V (2013), and I test drove the 2017 models of both (never got in the Prius Prime, and have only seen one on the road), but I would say the Clarity is a real step up from the Prius.

There area a few things that Honda should "steal" from the Prius design, however:

• Hatchback - I realize it is based on the needs of the Clarity Fuel Cell, but this would be a KILLER hatchback
• Sun roof - it is really a nice convenience in warm (hot West Texas) climates
• Regen braking at all times without resorting to paddle shifters
• More powerful high-beams (don't notice much difference on my Clarity)
• Ditch the flying bridge and consolidate the shifter on the dash (more like their own Odyssey)

My guess is the Clarity and Prius Prime are going to slowly move towards one another as the Camry and Accord go PHEV...

 

clarity doesn't regen when you let off the gas, or brake?

 

In my Clarity, if I coast downhill without engaging the paddles, I still get an increase in electric range of a few tenths.

 

sounds right.

 

The problem I'm finding is the HV miles is adjusted by the car, so the reading of 487 miles, which I expected to drop a little, has actually dropped to 449 miles now during a period when we have not used anything but EV. I'm quite sure we haven't used 38 miles of ICE. So that is not a dependable gas-used indicator.

In fact I did stop at a gas station Tuesday and filled the car which only took 0.2 gallons. That 0.2 gallons may very well have been the one time I tried Sport mode and floored the accelerator to try out the extra power.

 

Question. Sometimes when I plug the car in to charge (Level 2) the car beeps. Sometimes it does not. Does anyone have a clue why it beeps?

 

Yes it does regen.

 

thanks, can you pass that along to the member in post #167?

 

To follow up on the PIP vs Clarity, I just traded my 2012 PIP for a 2018 Clarity. I'd choose the Clarity hands down for all the reasons
posted above with the only regret being its not a hatchback. BTW I was able to negotiate 1500 off MSRP, and with the 7500 credit
this was an amazing deal. Very happy with the car. Getting on average 50-54 miles on EV. On a couple
of cold days in Dallas (20s) the EV range with the heater on went down to about 40 miles.

Superb acceleration compared to the Prius, VERY quiet. Can't say how pleased I am.

 

I'm just jealous about your discount...yours is the first I've heard of. My experience has been the same regarding performance, and the size, ride comfort, and quality are hands down superior to the other PHEV's out there.

 

No discount here. I wanted the Clarity, and I wanted it right away to make sure my tax credit landed in 2017. I was concerned the new federal budget would kill the $7,500 credit. So the salesman (who was actually low key) had no job to do selling me the car. I had zero bargaining capability. On the other hand the dealership didn't tack on anything like door guards or special seat treatment. It was a clean deal.

 

Ours was not as great, but we did get a $1,000 discount from MSRP.

 

My same exact scenario - no hassles, no haggle, told there were no discounts, $7500 tax credit

TAKE MY MONEY!

And best of all, I am thrilled with it!