Honda Clarity R.I.P.

[FastEddieB]

You may recall we bought a new 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV in late 2018. It was a unique year for us in that we had enough taxable income to benefit from the full $7,500 tax credit, bringing the net cost down considerably.

We now have over 54,000 trouble-free miles on it. EV range has dropped a tiny bit, but we still get an honest 35 to 52 miles on battery before going hybrid, depending on temperature and driving conditions. (Honda advertises 47 EV miles average). Then, it gets about 42 mpg, great for a car of this size and weight.

Sadly, today it’s apparently official - Honda is pulling the plug on all models of the Clarity in August.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/honda-clarity-fuel-cell-plug-in-hybrid-end-production

They cite poor sales, but sales seemed doomed when Honda did essentially zero advertising of the marque. It’s apparent they didn’t actually want to sell them in large numbers - at the U.S. selling price they likely lost money on every sale. The working hypothesis is they just wanted to get a small number out in the wild to get data from owners and perhaps to slightly improve their fleet’s overall fuel economy figures.

In any case we still love the car and plan on keeping it for at least several more years. We always suspected that PHEV’s would end up a transitional step to an all EV future. Eventually we’ll have to consider the landscape of Tesla’s and other EV’s from Honda and others.

Regardless, we got a great car for a great price and are very satisfied Clarity owners.

 

[Dave Theisen]

Never heard of it, no wonder I didn’t buy one.

 

[wsuffa]

Never heard of it. I expect that the hydrogen-fueled cars will meet the same fate.

 

[FastEddieB]

Never heard of it, no wonder I didn’t buy one.

We never had either in 2018, and had road tested a Chevy Volt. Going to YouTube for Volt road tests, we stumbled upon Volt vs Clarity comparison tests where the Clarity seemed to pretty consistently come out on top. It was certainly a LOT roomier. That, combined with the excellent service we had and continue to have on our 2005 Element pushed us towards the Clarity.

 

[FastEddieB]

As an aside, we’ve spotted exactly 14 other Clarity’s in 54,000 miles and 2 1/2 years.

Part of this is where we live. They’re apparently more common on the west coast and in the northeast. But not much more.

But they do have a small but dedicated following…

Incidentally, that’s our Clarity on the splash page, taken on the Foothills Parkway above Knoxville, TN.

 

[Warmi]

I think 35k price tag for a smallish and underpowered car with limited range that did do not anything better than a comparable conventional sedan for 10k less, had more to do with its demise rather than lack of advertising.
It is funny how it works out though - people who can least afford it and are forced to buy conventional cars ultimately end up subsidizing tax credits for higher end electric toys purchased mostly by well-to-do people.

I have to admit though - aesthetically , it does look much better than Tesla offerings.

 

[Bill]

I think 35k price tag for a smallish and underpowered car with limited range that did do not anything better than a comparable conventional sedan for 10k less, had more to do with its demise rather than lack of advertising.
It is funny how it works out though - people who can least afford it and are forced to buy conventional cars ultimately end up subsidizing tax credits for higher end electric toys purchased mostly by well-to-do people.

I have to admit though - aesthetically , it does look much better than Tesla offerings.

Yes, we ended up buying the $10k cheaper Civic Si sedan, mainly because the Si is a 6sp manual. It's not shabby in mileage for a non hybrid, in swift driving I regularly get 38-40 around town, and that's plenty good for us.

 

[FastEddieB]

I think 35k price tag for a smallish and underpowered car with limited range that did do not anything better than a comparable conventional sedan for 10k less, had more to do with its demise rather than lack of advertising.

Respectfully disagree. Ours worked out to $31,500 out the door, tax, tag, title and delivery included. Subtract the very real $7,500 off our taxes in 2018 and that makes it a $24,000 car. An uninformed buyer, or even one aware of the Clarity, was pushed towards an Accord Hybrid or other Honda offering at dealerships while Clarity’s languished on back lots, often uncharged. Salespeople were woefully uninformed of its features. It seems like when people see or drive one they like it. The gas engine is modest at 1.5L but when you floor the car acceleration comes almost exclusively from the electric motor and is quite adequate. It normally is not connected to the wheels, which makes it a bit odd - though usually quiet, engine speed is not directly coupled to road speed. We go for weeks sometime without putting in gas, and then usually 5 or 6 gals. (The gas tank itself is 7 gals and good for about 280 miles). Range with EV plus hybrid is about 330 miles - but we like to stop every few hours regardless to snack and stretch.

I have to admit though - aesthetically , it does look much better than Tesla offerings.

Funny, many abhor the styling, especially the vestigial wheel pants in the rear. I don’t mind it, and those wheel pants are the most efficient way to tell it from an Accord or a Civic.

Anyway, no doubt better is coming from Honda and other manufacturers. We still love ours for what it is.

 

[FastEddieB]

Yes, we ended up buying the $10k cheaper Civic Si sedan, mainly because the Si is a 6sp manual. It's not shabby in mileage for a non hybrid, in swift driving I regularly get 38-40 around town, and that's plenty good for us.

We really like the Civic, and also prefer manuals, but with 3 grandkids now the increased size of the Clarity was one of the deciding features, and mainly why it won out over the Chevy Volt, which is also a very nice car with a loyal following.

 

[steingar]

My car has been out of production for 17 years. Don't bother me none.

 

[FastEddieB]

For those on a technical/engineering bent, or just curious, here are the various modes that propel the Clarity down the road:

For the most part, its all completely transparent as you drive along. All the various systems help explain why the Clarity was a $50k car in Japan, and why it’s assumed they lost money on those sold at US prices.

 

[weilke]

I love my Hondas, but when it comes to anything electric, the company just does the most idiotic things. The Accord hybrid had worse mileage than the gas model. How do you even do that ?

 

[Lindberg]

I'm glad you feel like you got our money's worth. My 2007 Toyota Matrix has 160,000 miles on it, gets more than 30 mpg, has a range over 300 miles, and cost me less than your tax credit when I bought it used 10 years ago.

 

[FastEddieB]

I'm glad you feel like you got our money's worth. My 2007 Toyota Matrix has 160,000 miles on it, gets more than 30 mpg, has a range over 300 miles, and cost me less than your tax credit when I bought it used 10 years ago.

Well, my 2006 Honda Ridgeline has 204,000+ miles on it and also cost me less than my tax credit when I bought it used 4 years ago.

So, what’s your point???

 

[Jim K]

We replaced our town & country with a Pacifica phev a couple years ago. The t&c was not that old, but the tax credit and fuel savings paid for the new car. It's worked really well for us, although it has typical Chrysler wonky electronics, and no one knows how to work on it because the dealers around don't stock them. I wish honda or Toyota would build a phev van.

I miss driving cars. The van is uber-practical, but once we get the kids out of carseats, or least where they can buckle themselves, the mercedes e450 wagon looks pretty sexy....
It even has a rear- facing third row

 

[Lindberg]

Well, my 2006 Honda Ridgeline has 204,000+ miles on it and also cost me less than my tax credit when I bought it used 4 years ago.

So, what’s your point???

That things can seem like better deals than they are when someone else is picking up part of the tab. It's the reason why even Tesla is what it is today, along with the others. Some people see that as a good thing, some don't.

 

[Groundpounder]

Damn that's one ugly car.

 

[FormerHangie]

You may recall we bought a new 2018 Honda Clarity PHEV in late 2018. It was a unique year for us in that we had enough taxable income to benefit from the full $7,500 tax credit, bringing the net cost down considerably.

We now have over 54,000 trouble-free miles on it. EV range has dropped a tiny bit, but we still get an honest 35 to 52 miles on battery before going hybrid, depending on temperature and driving conditions. (Honda advertises 47 EV miles average). Then, it gets about 42 mpg, great for a car of this size and weight.

Sadly, today it’s apparently official - Honda is pulling the plug on all models of the Clarity in August.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/honda-clarity-fuel-cell-plug-in-hybrid-end-production

They cite poor sales, but sales seemed doomed when Honda did essentially zero advertising of the marque. It’s apparent they didn’t actually want to sell them in large numbers - at the U.S. selling price they likely lost money on every sale. The working hypothesis is they just wanted to get a small number out in the wild to get data from owners and perhaps to slightly improve their fleet’s overall fuel economy figures.

In any case we still love the car and plan on keeping it for at least several more years. We always suspected that PHEV’s would end up a transitional step to an all EV future. Eventually we’ll have to consider the landscape of Tesla’s and other EV’s from Honda and others.

Regardless, we got a great car for a great price and are very satisfied Clarity owners.

I'm not surprised. It appears to me that the Clarity, with its various drivetrains, mostly existed to get some real word data on how they behaved. I have a 2014 Fusion PHEV, and it periodically reminds me that it's sending my driving habits to Ford.

I think 35k price tag for a smallish and underpowered car with limited range that did do not anything better than a comparable conventional sedan for 10k less, had more to do with its demise rather than lack of advertising.
It is funny how it works out though - people who can least afford it and are forced to buy conventional cars ultimately end up subsidizing tax credits for higher end electric toys purchased mostly by well-to-do people.

I have to admit though - aesthetically , it does look much better than Tesla offerings.

The Clarity is Eddie's daily driver, it's incorrect to tag it as a "higher end electric toy(s)". I see Teslas on a daily basis, they are used as daily drivers, they're not toys.

Yes, we ended up buying the $10k cheaper Civic Si sedan, mainly because the Si is a 6sp manual. It's not shabby in mileage for a non hybrid, in swift driving I regularly get 38-40 around town, and that's plenty good for us.

If you're getting that kind of MPG out of a Civic SI, you're not driving it correctly.