Featured Honda Clarity Plug-in

doesn't mean it's the right or wrong decision. sales will sort it all out. our opinions only matter here, but over in honda chat, people may be lining up for them.

i don't know what configuration will be most popular, hunday might have done the best packaging job. but i still think a slightly larger car with room for battery, 5 people comfortably, a large hatch and gas tank would be the winner.

 

I want a small vehicle that barely fits 5 people so that I get the best fuel economy while having the capacity to carry 5 people in a pinch. I don't care for the hatch size as long as it has a flat floor with the rear seats folded. The Prius C is a good example of the car size I want.

I want the battery to have a useable capacity of ~15 kWh. The car sits at home next to a 110 outlet for half a day, everyday. It might as well be charging. Any smaller and I will be wasting gasoline on my commute. Any larger and I need to install a 240 outlet. Around 15 kWh is good so I don't have to modify anything.

6.6 gallon gas tank is acceptable. 2.5 gallon in the BMW i3 Rex is not. I don't know what the minimum acceptable fuel tank size for me is but its closer to 6 gallons than 3.

Right now, the Volt and Clarity fits the bill for me. The Pacifica, i3 Rex, and Prius Prime do not.

 

And choice is good.

 

First, I don't think people actually get that mpg in the accord hybrid - I would expect the hybrid logic in the clarity phev wasn't tuned for the test. If we look at gen I volt drivers to get an impression we are looking at less than 5000 miles a year. The difference between 42 mpg and 56 mpg should be less than 30 gallons a year - YMMV. I don't think that will make that much difference to most people.

Second, this beast was partially designed in a rush to compete with the poorly selling mirai. I'm sure there were many decisions that would have been made differently if it was a ground up phev instead of a fuel cell/phev platform. Chasis and suspension are probably heavier and more expensive than they need to be to support the fuel cell that hurts rolling resistance along with the added weight of the batteries. IMHO highway mpg is key in a phev like this. This is probably worse because of an undersized engine, again from the ground up, they would have had room for the accord hybrid's 2L instead of a 1.5L. It's 40 mpg highway versus 47 mpg for the accord hybrid. Frontal area of the accord hybrid is a little smaller but really in the scheme of things that difference won't change many things.

To me this clarity phev is the mirai killer, but I think that car should have committed suicide just from pure uglyness. This should allow gm/honda to develop fuel cell tech cheaper than toyota in the future. I don't think fuel cells have much of a shot though, and a phev cute ute designed from the ground up would probably be better for honda. Probably a little bit more aerodynamic than the crv, with electronic awd, would probably sell well in Japan and the US.

 

Pip is almost perfect for me, but I'm likely the exception. Almost everyone here wants more ev.

 

You must be a youngster - these vehicles should be evaluated in bladder and back muscle spasm distances, not simple mileage.

Whoa now folks - I'm a Prius Prime fan, but if ever a car was beat to death with the ugly stick it is the Prime, not the Clarity.

 

Hmmm......

 

The Clarity took a few lumps too......

There should be a higher bar out there than:
"Not as ugly as......"

 

it looks like a tricked out accord with sloping roofline.

 

It looks like what a designer in the '80s thought a car of the 2000's would look like.

 

Hey! I just noticed the ioniq's 125 MPGe & the Volt's 120's MPGe isn't on the chart. Must have not been enough room.

.

 

Honda's on a real coyote ugly streak. No offense to coyote, of course.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I like the new Civic. Have to see more of the new Accord before deciding. With the Odyssey, I had a split instant impression of hearse that I can't shake. The CR-V, like the Rav4 and most others in that class, just look like a droopy butt wagon to me.

At least Honda knows how to do a proper front grill.

 

What? You don't love the mandibles on the Prime's front grill !?!


Inconceivable! They're sci-fi cool




.

 

Oh, I didn't mean the clarity was one of the uggliest cars ever made, I meant the mirai. Clarity is not pretty, but not ugly enough to hurt sales. The mirai, well, despite toyota losing money on every one, and the japanese and the US government spending billions to make it popular, it well, would be too ugly to sell well even if it performed well and made sense environmentally. The clarity phev does make some environmental sense, but its pricing will keep numbers low, but a order of magnitude above the clarity fuel cell and mirai.

 

I was thinking more of the new Camry with its simply huuuge grill.
The Prime is alright, and the hourglass honeycomb of the old Camry isn't as bad in person. Seeing the new one in person lowered my opinion of it.

 

Now that the mothership is here, I see a lot more of the big TNGA front grilles around. I like them. They crowd out less desirable vehicles, like boom cars.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Well, time to say adieu to all of the great folks at this forum. My local Toyota dealer(s) couldn't snag a Prius Prime Advanced for me, and I kept reading up on the Honda Clarity - and a metallic gray Touring will be here next week. The 47 mile PHEV will mean very few gasoline days in our neighborhood commutes (even with side trips), and even if we hit the interstate, 250-300 miles should just about match bladder capacity (not talking about my former Prius). A true five seat mid-size sedan with usable town commuting EV only distances has a leg up on the Prime in my book.

PS - you folks are the best - enjoy your Primes...