Official Honda Clarity FCEV/BEV/PHEV thread

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Via GCR:
2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid: weekend drive review
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1116239_2018-honda-clarity-plug-in-hybrid-weekend-drive-review

. . . We first drove the plug-in Clarity in December, and now we've had a chance to spend four days with it, covering 570 miles.

By and large, our impressions of the Clarity Plug-In remain those we registered after our first drive event. Honda also thinks it's figured out how to explain the virtues of its plug-in hybrid; let's hope it's right.

It's a large mid-size four-door sedan with a very pleasant and quiet interior, the range rating is fairly realistic, and its plug-in hybrid powertrain delivers a remarkable mix of electric smoothness and low fuel consumption for a car this big.

We're not fans of the exterior styling, which stems from its origins as a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. That led to its high, bulbous tail, which had to accommodate large, transverse high-pressure hydrogen fuel tanks. . . .

While December's first drive was in the temperate Napa Valley wine country, our four days with a white plug-in Clarity saw temperatures from 30 degrees F into the mid-50s F, including two unexpected snowstorms.

We were still able to get 30 to 48 miles out of a fully charged battery, depending on temperature but even more on speed, with highway speeds chewing up miles far faster than indicated range. . . .

Miscellaneous impressions from the drive included these:

  • We continue to love the tan Ultrasuede interior fabric; we don't know how it'll age, but it's great to see and touch
    The big sedan suffers in handling and roadholding against its Accord sibling; it wallows and floats occasionally, while the Accord has sport-sedan handling
    While the engine will switch on if you floor it on an uphill road (then stay on for 10 minutes), it's easy to keep the Clarity in all-electric mode if the battery's got charge
    Under full power, the motorboat sound of the engine up front somewhere can get loud, but that was rare
    The regen paddles (left to increase, right to decrease) didn't seem as aggressive as the Volt's
    The charging door switch is almost invisible, on the lower dash at the height of the driver's knee
    We did get used to the looks, or learned to ignore them

Overall, we covered almost exactly 40 percent of our 507.4 miles on grid power, despite having not one but two 115-mile highway runs. . . .
 
Standard service for the Honda Clarity H2 FCV is expensive, hard to get and not covered by the lease payments:
Edmunds said:
We expected the lease period of our long-term 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell to come with some surprises. It delivered a good one last month. After getting our car back from the dealer for routine maintenance, we received a bill for $365.
Edmunds said:
There are six Clarity-authorized service centers in the greater Los Angeles area, and none that we called stocked the right parts. One dealer estimated two to three weeks before it could get us in, but a service adviser at Norm Reeves Honda in Cerritos said there was a shipment inbound. We set up an appointment and dropped off the car a week later.

We picked up the car shortly afterward and received a bill for $364.93. Labor accounted for $75; the rest was parts.
 
Edmunds said:
We picked up the car shortly afterward and received a bill for $364.93. Labor accounted for $75; the rest was parts.

l have yet to pay that much in total on my Leaf. Wipers, washer fluid, tire rotations (free), TCU upgrade... Pretty sure is less than $300 all told.
 
I loved the title of this wired article...
The Crazy, Complicated Engineering Inside Honda's New Clarity Hybrid
In the world of automotive propulsion, the hierarchy of complication goes something like this: Pure electric cars are simple; internal combustion engines, with many more parts and those explosions, are complex. Hybrids, which make the two work in concert, are extra complex.

Honda’s Clarity Plug-In Hybrid calls for a new category: so-complex-it-makes-your-head-spin.
 
Here's the lead image from the article:

Honda-Clarity-Hybrid.jpg


Ha ha! That reminds me of cars of the mid-to-late-1970s and early 1980s when smog controls first came into being. The underhood scene was quite daunting. Reliability has improved greatly since that time, but simplicity is the hallmark of reliability. Simply put, reliability will be one of the many benefits that BEVs will hold over all comers. At the end of the day, there will be very little left for other technologies to leverage in order to compete.
 
I do not find the Clarity PHEV complicated to use. Even the drive train makes most sense of all hybrids, only one clutch from motor to wheels. Basically the car is an BEV and an ICE with a generator attached to it.

We have a 1000 miles round trip next month. I am glad we do not have to rent a less eficient car, or wait hours for charging.
 
Yeah, the higher complexity level is one reason I went ahead and got the extended warranty on this while I didn't when I bought the Leaf. Good idea to factor that into price comparisons. I fully expect the total cost of ownership to be definitely higher with the PHEV vs the BEV. But with my commute, the affordable BEV options aren't there yet. Leaf 2.0 is almost there, but then no room for battery degradation...
 
While this doesn't eliminate gas, it reduced it substantially. I'm now burning about 1/5 the gas I used to in my ICE for my weekly commute.
 
DarthPuppy said:
While this doesn't eliminate gas, it reduced it substantially. I'm now burning about 1/5 the gas I used to in my ICE for my weekly commute.

Look at it this way - if 5 people buy a PHEV and each use 1/5th the gas, the net is the same as 4 people buying BEVs and the 5th continuing to drive on gas. Given that PHEVs are much more palatable to the non-enthusiast crowd, I think they are a wonderful thing!
 
Via IEVS, "Alex on Autos" video review of the Clarity PHEV: https://insideevs.com/alex-on-autos-reviews-honda-clarity-plug-in-hybrid/

. . . Alex seems extremely impressed with the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid. . . .

The Clarity Plug-in Hybrid comes with a 17 kWh battery pack, so it qualifies for the entire $7,500 U.S. federal EV tax credit.

At 47 miles of electric-only range (the closest competitor to the Chevrolet Volt), 110 MPGe, and 42 MPG, the EPA says it will cost you $4,250 less in “fuel” over five years than the average vehicle. This is a $1,000 savings over the same calculation for the Accord Hybrid.

The standard, gas-powered Accord doesn’t even compare when it comes to fuel savings, and it’s also priced fairly close to the Clarity when factoring in the rebate. Once you consider the fuel savings, the choice is really a no-brainer.

  • Honda seems to be done playing it safe in the world of hybrids, proof of that is the new Clarity Plug In Hybrid which is the first no-compromises plug-in family sedan. With interior room and comfort like an Accord or Camry, 42 miles per gallon and nearly 50 miles of electric range, this is finally the car that will do everything your current sedan will do with a focus on fuel economy and lower operating costs. Oh, and you’ll get to drive in the HOV lane in some states too. What do I mean by no compromises? I mean an honest to goodness trunk, 212 horsepower, a wide and comfortable back seat, standard active safety tech and a price tag just $800 more than an Accord Hybrid (after tax credits). Why would you buy anything else? I’m not sure either.
The short answer to that last question is that you can't stand the looks, you don't qualify for the full rebate or you don't want a sedan. The Volt remains the closest competitor, IMO winning on looks, driving dynamics, slightly better range and flexibility, but losing on the fifth seat and rear seat headroom.
 
GRA said:
The short answer to that last question is that you can't stand the looks, you don't qualify for the full rebate or you don't want a sedan. The Volt remains the closest competitor, IMO winning on looks, driving dynamics, slightly better range and flexibility, but losing on the fifth seat and rear seat headroom.
Except that looks are subjective. I really like both the Clarity and the Volt, so not an issue for me.

However, there is also the price difference. To be apples to apples to my Touring version of the Clarity, the Volt has to add options to the Premier trim to get comparably equipped. Once you do that, the Volt is $3k more expensive. Granted, if someone is seriously going for the fully featured premium trim $37k car, odds are an extra $3k isn't going to sink the deal. But the price difference should still be in the comparison.
 
GRA said:
Via IEVS, "Alex on Autos" video review of the Clarity PHEV: https://insideevs.com/alex-on-autos-reviews-honda-clarity-plug-in-hybrid/

. . . Alex seems extremely impressed with the Clarity Plug-in Hybrid. . . .
<snip>
Once you consider the fuel savings, the choice is really a no-brainer.

  • Honda seems to be done playing it safe in the world of hybrids,...
    <snip>
    What do I mean by no compromises? I mean an honest to goodness trunk, 212 horsepower, a wide and comfortable back seat, standard active safety tech and a price tag just $800 more than an Accord Hybrid (after tax credits). Why would you buy anything else? I’m not sure either.
The short answer to that last question is that you can't stand the looks, you don't qualify for the full rebate or you don't want a sedan. The Volt remains the closest competitor, IMO winning on looks, driving dynamics, slightly better range and flexibility, but losing on the fifth seat and rear seat headroom.
The Honda Clarity PHEV looks like a very nice car, but it seems to me that both you and Alex are missing a few important points:

1) $37,000 is more than many people are willing or able to spend on an automobile.
2) Do you call it "playing it safe" when you build hybrids which have batteries that wear out after 100,000 miles and then double-down on the next generation and make them even worse? (And, yes, Nissan seems to have done the same thing with the 30-kWh LEAF.) We still love our 16-year-old Honda Civic Hybrid, but many people swore off Honda hybrids because they showed no interest in making the product better while Toyota fixed most of their battery woes. In other words, Honda has yet to prove that they can build a reliable battery system in ANY car.
3) How can a PHEV be a "no-brainer" when there are outstanding BEVs out there with much more all-electric range in the same price range? Sorry, but many of us feel that the extra complexity that is required to cling to the tit of the petroleum companies is not a good trade-off.
 
RegGuheert said:
The Honda Clarity PHEV looks like a very nice car, but it seems to me that both you and Alex are missing a few important points:

1) $37,000 is more than many people are willing or able to spend on an automobile.
2) Do you call it "playing it safe" when you build hybrids which have batteries that wear out after 100,000 miles and then double-down on the next generation and make them even worse? (And, yes, Nissan seems to have done the same thing with the 30-kWh LEAF.) We still love our 16-year-old Honda Civic Hybrid, but many people swore off Honda hybrids because they showed no interest in making the product better while Toyota fixed most of their battery woes. In other words, Honda has yet to prove that they can build a reliable battery system in ANY car.
3) How can a PHEV be a "no-brainer" when there are outstanding BEVs out there with much more all-electric range in the same price range? Sorry, but many of us feel that the extra complexity that is required to cling to the tit of the petroleum companies is not a good trade-off.
1. Fortunately, the Prime, Ionic and other sub-$30k PHEVs are also available.

2.Whether people are concerned about a Honda's potential battery degradation is up to them, but then that's a smaller issue for a PHEV than it is a BEV, as the car remains usable for the same trips (using more gas, to be sure).

3.Anyone who feels that way should buy themselves a BEV. For the other 99+% of the population who aren't yet willing to do so, a PHEV gets them into a car that will allow them to do some or all of their routine local driving ZEV, while eliminating range anxiety and also eliminating the need to have a second car for longer trips. More options are a good thing.
 
Via GCR:
2018 Honda Clarity Electric hits dealerships in California and Oregon with $199 lease deal
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...-in-california-and-oregon-with-199-lease-deal
The 2018 Honda Clarity Electric car rolled into California and Oregon dealerships this week, but nobody can buy it. It's only available for lease for $199 a month for 36 months with $1,499 due at signing. That figure reflects the $7,500 federal tax credit, which Honda finance will keep as part of the capitalized cost reduction of the lease.

The Clarity Electric, however, also qualifies for a $2,500 tax rebate in each of the states where it's sold. Counting the state tax credit, consumers can drive home the Clarity Electric for $199 a month for 36 months and end up with $1,000 in their pockets to boot. . . .

Honda may need such motivation for to get buyers to pony up at all for a mid-size battery electric sedan with only 89 miles of range from its 25.5-kwh battery, when most other new electric models offer more for 2018. . . .
Yup.
 
GRA said:
[Updated] Via IEVS, April Clarity sales are:

PHEV, 1,150.
FCEV, 156.
BEV, 52.
It's interesting their BEV number is quite different from the 7 reported at http://www.hybridcars.com/april-2018-sales-dashboard/. In either case, the number is puny for the BEV.
 
cwerdna said:
GRA said:
[Updated] Via IEVS, April Clarity sales are:

PHEV, 1,150.
FCEV, 156.
BEV, 52.
It's interesting their BEV number is quite different from the 7 reported at http://www.hybridcars.com/april-2018-sales-dashboard/. In either case, the number is puny for the BEV.
I've given up trying to reconcile different sources because they almost never agree, so am sticking to IEVS numbers from now on unless they simply aren't available.
 
Per IEVS, May Clarity sales/leases are [previous month in ( )]:

PHEV, 1,639 (1,150).
FCEV, 30 (156).
BEV, 37 (52).

The PHEV continues to increase sales. The FCEV suffered a big drop (guessing it's due to lack of inventory), less than a third of the Mirai's 102 when the Clarity FCEV had been consistently outselling it. IIRR, for the first time ever when both have been on sale the Clarity BEV total was higher than the FCEV, although continuing its downward trend (as expected, as its range @ price simply isn't competitive with contemporary BEVs).
 
Finally, per IEVS, June Clarity sales/leases are [previous month in ( )]:

PHEV, 1,445 (1,639).
FCEV, 35 (30).
BEV, 95 (37).

Sales are somewhat down M-O-M for most of the top ten PEV best-sellers except the three Tesla models, which show the usual quarter-ending surge. Surprisingly, the Clarity BEV showed a bit more life, while the FCEV stayed well below its results prior to last month, and the Mirai outsold it (103). How much of that may be due to restricted availability and how much to the now widespread availability of the PHEV, I couldn't say, as I haven't seen any info on numbers at dealers or shipments. With the delay in the increase of H2 stations in California and the less-expensive PHEV being here, the latter looks to be a much more viable option for now for people who want to be able to take convenient road trips while still doing most of their routine driving ZEV.
 
I'm now seeing Clarity's on the road in So. Cal. on a more regular basis. :D

I don't think I've seen the FCEV version yet, but kind of hard to tell them apart unless close enough to read the labeling or see the driver's side to see which fuel ports are there. (FCEV has a single rear door, EV has a single front door, and PHEV has one of each.)
 
Back
Top