Loved my Prime, but battery range pushed me to Honda Clarity

The OP chose a vehicle with about double the minimum EV range he needs so he should be covered even with the winter range deduction is taken into account.

 

Both my cars have resistance heaters. If you preheat while plugged in and ,while driving, adjust the heat just enough to keep the windows clear and the chill out, the consumption's not that bad.

 

o/p needed a lap quilt in his prime

 

what i don't understand is o/p's complaint about prime a/c. my pip is still a popsicle after 7 years. is prime a/c not very good?

 

Which is why I think PHEVs like we have today will remain a niche segment as BEVs increase share. Then the added cost of a heat pump is easier to justify when there isn't a waste heat source.

Sounds like hot weather overwhelmed the system. Perhaps he had it set to Econ.

 

ya, maybe that was it. i live in the same area, and always run eco. but prime maybe different.

 

I run our Prime at 77 F and it does this effortlessly (2 bars once the cabin initially cooled down) .

Could I run it cooler: absolutely

Do I want to run it cooler: Nope

Getting 32 miles on a charge with outside temps over 90 and a 38 mile one way commute say 77 is good enough and I’m comfortable to boot .

 

Same temperature setting I use, same temperatures, same range. How about that?! I keep it in eco unless it's extra hot and I have my wife with me or it's struggling to keep up.

 

Tint will help it from struggling .

Another reason for tint.

 

It's already pretty dark. I suspect the original owner may have had it tinted. I'll be over at Todd's shop today to get something for my wife's '07. He has a couple Primes in stock. I'll try to remember to compare.

 

With our windshield tinted at 80% with Llumar ceramic tint, it rejects 43% of the heat.

Definitely noticeable when in the car and driving.

Next to the back hatch, that’s the largest surface and the one you’ll be near the most. Worth considering .

 

My Prime is set at 70F AUTO on Eco mode. I don't usually touch this setting. If I set mine at 77F, the heater will come on every morning. In fact, even at 70F, the heater comes on most mornings, so I always make sure to turn the climate control OFF when I get home from work. Today, I left home a few hours later than usual, and sun was up and temperature climbed above 70F quickly this morning. For the first time this summer I had to turn on the AC during my morning commute. AC load % jumped to 20s, and now seeing reduced EV range.

 

I set the temp to 77 when the AC is required for comfort .

In the morning, I have the temp set below what the outside temp is (say 68 or so and lower in the winter months). This is just to have the fan on to circulate air in the cabin.

EV range is affected by the ac, but worth it when it is warm to hot outside .

 

Some states also do not have any additional registration fees on PHEV (Nebraska is one). For every mile you drive on EV you save the fuel tax with no offsetting registration charge. This favors the Clarity, since with the longer EV range it will likely be driven more on EV, depending on daily driving habits.

 

Similar temp ranges here, so I don't use the auto feature. During cooler morning commutes (up to about 75F), I generally open the front windows about 1/3 of the way, saving the energy-eating AC for the hot ride home.

 

Same here, open windows work for most of summer, except on rainy day and highway drives. I keep my climate control on AUTO to minimize using the 11 screen, for I have it OFF most of the time. With AUTO setting, I can change the temp without turning on the large screen.

 

What is the real world hybrid mode MPG for a Clarity? I drive 110 miles avg a day 8 out of every 10 days and 300 miles the other 2 days. I get 59 MPG in hybrid mode. I haven’t found a more economical car than the prime for me but I’m always looking.

 

I considered the Clarity, but heard about issues with people losing power. Didn't want any part of that. Also, it has a smaller gas tank than the Prime.
Clarity Issues | Page 26 | Inside EVS Forum

 

Yeah..my biggest fear of non-Toyota hybrids is the lack of trust of the long term reliability of the hybrid system. Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive is a solid, tested platform that I trust and understand. At this point, I'm not willing to make a switch until I possibly go full BEV at some point. However, that will be a loooong time.

Thanks for all clarity and insight of other brands though! Very interesting discussion.

 

Personally as a PHEV owner and now a Clarity owner, I find this issue to be a tad overblown.

A software service update was applied early on but I also found some of these reports were by first time owners who didn't understand how the powertrain works. They thought the car was not operating correctly because the ICE generator was running "too hard" and didn't respond to the gas pedal ( "racing" ) in high power demand situations with a depleted battery (going up a steep hill for example). The car is so dang quiet in EV mode (of course) and even in HV mode in low power situations (city or steady highway cruising) that I get it that newbies get flustered when the genset ramps up and runs faster/louder than they think it should. FWIW