Featured Honda Clarity Plug-in

If the salesperson knows so little, what will service be like?

I heard somewhere that the Bolt couldn't be sold by a Chevy dealer until a service guy had been trained. Is that still true? Does the dealer have to have a charger too? (Not trying to direct you to another car but the requirements do seem a bit basic common sense. I recently experienced the issue of service familiarity on my 5 year old v when the dealer tech had to reach out to regional specialists. My wife keeps advocating against buying the first year of any car citing my long sad history of buying same.)

 

In the case of service I assume they go by a book so I'm less concerned. Also Honda reliability is up there near Toyota reliability. After 9 years of Prius ownership we never had to bring the car in for service outside of normal maintenance.

Our dealer does have a charger.

 

Sounds like we're on the very same slippery slope! Our 6.6kW system passed inspection just today so it should be online within the next week or two. As part of that project we upgraded the panel and added two 240v/40A outlets (we have one EV besides my Pip).

The upgrades to your electrical could conceivably add to your solar PV tax credit - so talk to a tax person. That credit can include whatever is needed for your solar PV system - which in our case included an upgraded panel and a 10kW battery so we can beat SDG&Es new net metering 2.0 and TOU rate nonsense just a little. We tagged the two new outlets onto the panel upgrade - so it's all one invoice.

Now if I could just find myself a Clarity - they're out there, but they're elusive. Supposedly our local dealer will have two Crimson models in tonight/tomorrow. She's going to call me - we'll see.

 

Our local electricity supplier will refund some amount for the charge station install. I'm sure that will include the 240V 40A circuit, but I'm not sure if it will include the charge station as it is portable and plugs into the wall rather than hard wired. We don't need to update the panel.

I will be able to add the re-roof project that just completed as it was necessary to do that before installing the solar.

California will refund $1,500 but I've filed for the higher amount of $3,500 based on our low household income.

My problem will be juggling my taxable income at the end of the year to best match the tax credits that will fall in 2017. If the solar completes I'll have to jack up my income. If it doesn't complete in 2017 I'll have to carefully owe $7,500 in federal taxes to exactly match the credit. That won't be easy.

Our schedule is very tight and I just can't imagine it being completed with Christmas just around the corner.

 

I think you can roll either one or both of those credits over into future years if you don't have enough tax liability this year. Plus, as I understand the law, as long as the job is started in 2017, the credit can be taken this year. Doesn't need to be online in 2017. Conceivably, signing a contract and putting a deposit on the project might be considered starting the job since it's not defined elsewhere.

 

So it looks like the tax refund for electric vehicles is staying after this year. I'm actually surprised. I still have a hold on a black Clarity as soon as it gets to the dealer that I plan to buy, but at least that is one less thing to worry about in case it gets here later than expected.

 

Do you happen to know what the charging rate is for your new Clarity? It would probably be something like 3.3kW or 6.6kW @ 240v (I'm hoping it's this one). It might be that you won't know this until you get your 240v installed and have a chance to look at it while it's charging. No one at Honda seems to know - all they have is the press information which is reported as 2.5 hours. Doesn't say whether it'll accept 40A or is limited to less.

The Prius PHEV (2012) will only accept 2.2kW, so even at L2 (240v/40A) it's still limited. A 16A EVSE provides that. I am hoping that the Clarity will accept a higher rate, but it remains another unknown right now.

 

Yes, that seems like the best news I've heard so far about that bill. I feel like there's now a little time to do some shopping - or waiting - for the car I want rather than having to go with something I'm less interested in just because the clock is ticking.

 

The one thing I can tell you is this from the manual:
"There are two ways to charge the High Voltage battery; by using the Level 1 120 volt
(15 amp) charger supplied with the vehicle plugged into a standard three-prong wall
outlet, or by using a professionally installed Level 2 240 volt (32 amp) charger."

Then there is this comment in the lengthy review by http://www.insightman.com/Clarity/index.htm

" the Clarity Plug-In Hybrid's 6 kW on-board charger requires only 2.5 hours for a full recharge"

 

The car tax credit can't be rolled over but a solar roof can for up to five years. I really want the tax credit to be applied as much as possible to 2017. I have a big tax liability this year.

 

Makes sense that they're recommending a 32A EVSE then - A 40A can deliver 10kW, but if the on-board charger only accepts 6kW then 40A isn't needed. Still, a 40A unit might serve as future-proofing. Adds a little to the price over a 32A unit. Thanks!

 

Specifications, including the charger, here: 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid Specifications & Features - Honda.com

 

Just got my 240V/40A today - pretty quick upgrade since it was near the service panel. My electrician explained the 40A circuit requirement is to stay within the 80% load factor (thus drawing 32A on a 40A line). Don't think it is really future proofing...

Can't roll over the federal $7500 - it's use it (all) or lose it.

NOW - GENERAL ONE WEEK IMPRESSIONS:
> This is an EXCELLENT ride; smooth, quiet, comfortable, roomy, fast (yes, for a hybrid)
> Daily commutes fit well within the 47 mile range - not one drop of gas
> One fuel refill for a 190 mile round trip - 37mpg based on hand calculation
> Fit and finish (Touring) is far beyond my Prii and our Toyota Highlander for that matter
> Just love this car

Things that Honda needs to address with next model:
> Get rid of the flying bridge - small selector panel and give more storage space (cup holders are under your elbow)
> Vol/Tune DIALS on every radio
> Vehicle side traffic alert flasher - not relying on camera/bifocal mirror
> Wireless phone charger

 

I bought my green Honda plugin Touring on December 4th. So far I'm happy, and haven't used a drop of gas since I got it home. I traded in a 2014 Avalon hybrid. I am retired, so the car is used for errands only. It has plenty of time to recharge, usually 18 hours or so. Each day after charging, it shows about 38 miles of range available.

I called the dealer, wondering why it didn't show closer to 47, and he said the limited range is due to cold weather. I live in the Portland Oregon area, and temperatures average 45F/35F in December/January. My garage is typically mid to high forties this time of year. I'm using level 1 charging on a 15 amp outlet. I realize lithium batteries are temperature sensitive, but I'm a little suspicious that my range is 38 every day, regardless of minor fluctuations in temp. Can anyone tell me what range they show immediately after charging and what the temperature is?

 

Another thing we've noticed Clarity vs Prius: The Prius makes all kinds of clicks, buzzes, and hums even after it is shut down while parked in the garage. Clarity is quiet. Before we sold the Prius I was able to compare the two cars. What a huge difference. The Clarity is in a whole different class.

I agree on the flying bridge. Honda just wasn't paying attention to the volume of complaints about the Prius flying bridge. Dedicating that much space to the drive buttons isn't an attractive design. The drive button console looks like a patch, almost like they forgot that requirement until the last minute then added it.

I agree on the volume knob. I didn't know how much I would miss it until I didn't have it.

 

Finally saw a green Clarity in the sunlight, and it's great - I was able to disinvest myself in the Crimson model. And that made it much easier to drive home in a green touring model today. The dealer wasn't much help, didn't know how all the bells and whistles worked - no big deal, though. But it does make me wonder how they will sell these cars. The place had 4 Clarity vehicles, and not one of them was charged. 5 years have passed since I bought the Prius PHEV (which now resides at the Honda dealer - bon voyage to 9.6 EV miles), and dealers still don't have a clue how to sell PHEVs. It's pretty sad when you think about it. If I wasn't already sold on the PHEV idea, I'd never get sold on one by any of the dealers I visited.

I have read about the volume knob conundrum - it'll take a little time to get used to. The Tesla doesn't have a volume knob, either, and I'm constantly reaching over to turn a phantom knob - but at least I already have a head start.

According to juicebox data, it's sending 7.25 kW to the charger. Thanks to jdonalds for the spec sheet. What I'm looking most forward to is being able to stay in EV and have a reasonable amount of power. If it's anything like the EV model, it'll be great.

The flying bridge might've been a good place for phones. Two narrow slots on each side would do the trick. If they could build inductive charging into that bridge with the new phone slots, they'd have an instant winner.

 

The wife and I sat in a new Prius just to see how the seats felt and she tried out the inductive charger with her Note 8. It didn't connect very well. If you really want your phone to charge in the car your best bet is still to plug it in. Those wireless chargers require the phone to be place *just so* which is hard in a moving vehicle.

 

I had a wireless charger installed in my Galaxy S5 but it was very slow. Also in the car if your passenger picks up the phone charging stops. I've since removed the charging back from my phone.

Instead we use these for all of our phones

. They are pretty reliable and super easy to make the connection to the phone. You can handle the phone and it continues to charge. Cable charging is faster too.

We also use a magnetic mount for the phone. Very handy. This is expensive but the best we've found. It mounts easily on the wings of the shift console.

​

We get in the car, slap the phone onto the magnetic mount, and easily attach the magnetic cable.

Code:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MA6JT6K/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

. I also found them cheaper on eBay.

 

Is this what happens with a Clarity in the hands of an experienced Prius driver



I know these are only estimates, at best, but to see it this morning come off the charger at more than the rated range was a real kick.

@Robert Hunter - being from Texas, can't speak to the cold capacity (60 in garage this morning), but have read somewhere that is to be expected in colder climes.

@jdonalds - since I am such an "experienced" car designer, I'd tackle that flying bridge in a fashion similar to Honda's own 2018 Odyssey, and go a bit further - move the dash vents to the sides of the radio, move the radio further up the dash, and stick a Prius-like selector where the radio is now. That way you could expand the cup holder/bin forward more (it's nearly worthless for storage), get your coffee cup from out under your elbow, and still have the space in front of it for tablets, purses, etc.

On that phone mount you are on to something that they may as well make standard in ALL vehicles - a dash "pocket" with user replaceable inserts for your specific phone charger, so you can just drop it down on the connector like a desktop dock.

Honda - that will be $500 for my "consulting fee."