Did you consider the Honda Clarity before your Prius Prime?

But after you exhaust the battery, you'll be lucky to get 80% of the mpg of the Prius. So, there's a tradeoff.

Clarity on gas: 44 city/40 highway/42 combined MPG
Prime on gas: 55 city/53 highway/54 combined

 

That's an interesting thought, it's almost a ~29% difference in MPG's. Not to mention it's an UGLY car !

 

YMMV is more true for PHEVs than any other car. The Clarity has worse ICE fuel economy, but the longer EV range means the ICE never fires up during daily use for more people.

Gallons used per day, week, or month for an individual better illustrates the fuel use than the MPG on the window sticker.

 

And, the Clarity only has an 8-gallon gas tank, so total range is much lower.

 

My main concern is reliability. It would be very expensive to repair PHEV.

 

I need a car that can both get around town on EV only but also have good legs for long trips. If I were going to drive locally only, I would get a full EV. With the Prius, I can go 583 miles on a tank of fuel (conservative 11 gals of the specified 11.4 gal tank at 53 mpg), in the Clarity that's only 280 miles with the specified tank size of 7 gals and 40 mpg highway). I can go farther than 280 miles in my 2006 Miata, and I think that has short legs.

 

According to the 2019 Clarity PHEV owner's manual, it's a 7 gallon tank:

 

I drive 90 miles per day, 45 each way in Los Angeles rush hour traffic both ways. In the Prime I averaged 1 gallon per day of gas. In the Clarity I average about .7 gallons. We are getting chargers at my work next month and then I will use a half gallon in the prius and none in the clarity. No doubt in HV mode the Prius beats anything. But It loses to just about EVERYTHING in EV range.

The clarity is nicer inside and out, in my commute it's more efficient, it has more space for the whole family, and I got it for less than I paid for the Prius Prime Premium. It was an easy choice.

2018 Prime Premium $27k
2018 Clarity Touring $26k

 

You got Touring for 26K? I know CA has crazy incentives right now, but still, 26?

 

My DH & I are Honda fans from way back when we bought our first Civic Wagon in 1989. The Clarity would have made sense for my daily commute, as I could do my 27ish mile round trip on EV only - even in winter.

Here are the reasons I just couldn't pull that trigger:
1. Honda has been very inconsistent with its hybrid vehicles - availability, discontinuing, resurrecting, etc.
2. Toyota has a better track record with hybrid technology, reliability, consistency, etc.
3. Clarity Touring was way more expensive than my 2017 leftover Prime Advanced in mid-2018, even with the higher tax credit.
4. The tiny gas tank on the Clarity really isn't conducive to taking a long trip, which for me are often alone on country roads with gas stations few & far between.
5. Not economically feasible to install a Level 2 charger in my garage at this moment, and 110 V charging time was too long.

Some day, maybe, if it's still around when we're looking to replace my DH's Fit.

 

I'm curious about #5, do you have an existing 240v connection (receptacle) currently in your garage ?


Rob43

 

I agree with all of the points above. And for me, there is one more reason I could not change the ship.

6. A sedan with a trunk is just not as useful as a hatchback, even with larger interior with rear middle seat.

 

No, I don't. I think there's one in the kitchen, but that doesn't help

I stand corrected!

 

OK, that's too bad, I was going to give you a Super Cheap L2 charging solution if you had that 240v receptacle.


Rob43

 

Do you go further than 500 miles non-stop? 250?

I get having to fill up more often can be a nuisance, but gas stations are practically everywhere. Plus, Level 2 chargers could be available at longer stops for some. As I said, it's a YMMV thing. For some, using a little more gas and filling up more often more than makes up for using less.

 

Yes I sure did. My payoff when I walked out the door was $25900 and I put $899 down. On top of all the discounts I got a 0.2% interest loan from Honda.

My toyota prius prime loan was either get the .9% interest or get $1000 off. One or the other. I took the cash.

 

I typically go 400 plus non-stop. Prefer to fill up when I choose to, not when I have to. I can loop 500 miles through Canada and not have to buy fuel there. Same with expensive US states.

 

I did consider the Clarity before I got my Prime. But the base model was not available at that time and based on my Ontario's Province ending the cap and trade deadline, Clarity was a supply and demand, no incentives high lease/finance rate. It is like take it or leave it.

With Prime I had a choice and ordered my Plus version shipped from Japan (4 weeks waiting period).

Before I decided to go with either Clarity vs Prime, I did join FB forum for both to get an idea and review comments/feedback. I am still active on them and I see a lot of Computer/Firmware issues with Clarity and very little with Prime.

I think I made a very good choice with my purchase and I hope I can drive this until RIP for at least 10 years/200k km without any major issues.

 

Yep. Same reason I replaced my totalled '04 with a used '09 in 2012. HATE that Gen III arch. Nothing underneath is accessible while driving and it intrudes on leg space. I see in the Clarity that the entire freaking "flying bridge" houses nothing more that the push button shifter. All that could have been run horizontally along the top where the Park button is located and the "bridge" removed. What a horrendous waste of space.

And how often one has to fill up with gas always depends on how far they have to drive. With the Clarity it better be mostly electric (nice range!) since the non EV range is only 300 miles with a 7 gallon tank.

And yep, at this point I won't buy anything but a hatchback or wagon. Just can't give up that versatility.

I think all Prii versions are built in Japan.

You are assuming the charging cord provided with the Clarity is capable of taking 240V. Or maybe you know that it can.
Does it come with a 110V charging cord? Must take all night to charge.

Yep.