Clarity PHEV 2019?

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by JayR, Apr 27, 2018.

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  1. JayR

    JayR New Member

    Hi everyone,

    I am very interested in the Honda Clarity. It sounds like it has everything I want in a PHEV - very decent range for my needs (daily work round trip is 40 miles) and from all accounts sounds comfortable to drive. I even signed up for a long test drive via Honda's Clarity Drive event in my local area (Boston).

    Yet, I'm not ready to pull the trigger on this particular model year. One reason is those wheel wells - I just can't get over them. If you get the right color, they aren't as noticeable but still. I understand their function as a 'side air curtain' but I can't get over the looks. The other reason is the trunk, while certainly bigger than the Volt, the opening is inadequate (and I realize this is because it was adapted from the FC Clarity). The last reason is the tech in the car - it's dated 2016 technology and I'd prefer the tech in the new Accord, in particular KNOBS and buttons.

    I have no idea what Honda's plans are for the Clarity for MY 2019. I've been searching the internet and don't see much yet. I know it's too early since the car was released in December.
    I really hope Honda takes consumer feedback for the next MY Clarity and improves it significantly.
     
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  3. PHEV Newbie

    PHEV Newbie Well-Known Member

    There's no information available out there for 2019 but Honda tends not to immediately update the tech when available. The 2018 Honda Civic still has the same last generation tech features like the Clarity and there was time for them to update to what the Accord has. They sell a heck of a lot more Civics than Claritys so I would imagine the Civic would be their priority if given a choice. Based on past behavior, I don't expect the tech to change on the 2019 but you never know.
     
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  4. ab13

    ab13 Active Member

    You will not see any big change in one or two models years, especially with the body as that is expensive to change. Since they only planned to make about 75k units, don't expect any noticable outside changes. Maybe they will offer a options package in future years for additional features like parking sensors and better info system, but probably a minor chance.
     
  5. loomis2

    loomis2 Well-Known Member

    Unless you are talking about the trunk passthrough opening being inadequate I don't know how the actual trunk opening is inadequate in any way. It passed my wheeled hockey bag test so it is plenty big.

    I wouldn't get your hopes up with any kind of body changes for a few years. Learn to love the wheel wells! If you're lucky they may give it the new Accord head unit for next year so it will have volume and tuning knobs, but even that isn't a guarantee.
     
    Carro con enchufe likes this.
  6. Viking79

    Viking79 Well-Known Member

    Sounds like you have to decide if the only long electric range PHEV on the market is worth the shortcomings. I wouldn't expect any changes in the Clarity PHEV for a couple years, maybe an option or two, but surely the wheel skirts will stay. If you really don't need the all electric range, get an Accord Hybrid.

    It is possible the radio would change for 2019, but I find it unlikely. It has Android Auto and that sees the most use. I don't like the infotainment system, but it does what I need it to.

    My hunch is we won't see too many long range PHEVs as manufacturers will likely focus on BEVs or shorter range PHEVs (mid 20 mile EPA range to meet China's 50 km minimum for PHEV credit there).

    Eric
     
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  8. ab13

    ab13 Active Member

    Ford has bowed out. They will stop selling the Fusion among most cars in the US. They will only sell the Mustang and new Focus here, along with trucks, vans, SUVs, and crossovers.
     
  9. kkiran

    kkiran Member

    Would it be possible that they give us the option of a slightly bigger battery or is 47miles the magic number?

    Android Auto/CarPlay is all the tech I wanted!

    Folding mirrors, rain sensing sensor, bigger battery and I will gladly upgrade.


    Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
     
  10. dstrauss

    dstrauss Well-Known Member

    I want somebody, JUST ONCE, to explain why those partial wheel covers are "fugly." Please, explain what it is that so offends the eye? What is so pleasing about a car tire that you have to see the entire circumference? From every post I have ever read it makes no more sense than saying blue is ugly and red is beautiful. A color is a color...
     
  11. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    I’m w dstrauss.
    I’m more a Buckminster Fuller kind of guy: form follows function. I bought the car to get me comfortably, reliably, and efficiently form point A to Point B not to look at and go ahh, how beautiful. As long as it doesn’t look like a tarted up cheap wh*re or lipstick on a pig, I could care less.
    If I want a piece of art, I’ll go buy an overpriced painting.
     
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  13. PHEV Newbie

    PHEV Newbie Well-Known Member

    Right on! I only find styling somewhat offensive when it is fake (like all those big fake vents at the bottom front corners of nearly every vehicle on the road--Civic Si, hatch, and Type R even have big ones in the back, which make no sense at all). Those side vents and wheel well design are completely functional for aerodynamic efficiency, the point of the vehicle. When design is functional, I find whatever it looks like OK, even attractive. When other cars have bulging fenders, they're described as aggressive and muscular. On the Clarity, the reviewers describe them as ugly wide or fat hips (which smacks a bit of misogyny to me). I think these guys simply want something to criticize that they think will be popular, like the volume knob. Seriously, why is that so important when you can also adjust from the even more ergonomic steering wheel??!!!
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2018
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  14. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    OK, one more rant to get it off my chest and I’ll quit.
    I would much rather have air scoops/vents and wheel pants that are actually functional for aerodynamics than fake hood scoops that do nothing (Tacoma sport, I’m calling you out!).
    And don’t even get me started on fake engine sounds piped into the passenger compartment by speaker (like my 3yr old son’s Big Wheel!)!
    Fake scoops and fake sounds = total lack of logic and common sense.
    Well that changed nothing but at least I feel better now.
     
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  15. Omgswify

    Omgswify Member

    I agree with most posters that the wheel cover will likely stay. But the radio knob could be implemented like they are in the newer Honda’s. If you dislike design aspects then why not look into the volt, or Ioniq phev?
     
    Johnhaydev likes this.
  16. jdonalds

    jdonalds Well-Known Member

    Honda and Toyota have long reputations for model updates every three or four years. They may make tweaks each year but most are hidden from view.
    The Clarity is a low volume seller, Honda only expected to sell 75,000 over five years. As an example the Accord sold over 322,000 in 2017 alone. I doubt Honda is going to pump much money into updating the Clarity based on the small return they may experience.
     
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  17. ab13

    ab13 Active Member

    There was a presentation in the recent Honda financial quarter report, there was a chart showing approximate times for hybrid/ev car releases. North America will stay with the Clarity and hybrid Accord and Insight. Europe, Japan, and China will have the hybrid CRV. I think 2 ev cars were going to China.

    FY2018 Financial Results Presentation, page 7

    http://world.honda.com/content/dam/site/world/investors/cq_img/library/presentation/FY201803_4Q_financial_presentation_e_3.pdf


    There were some other things I don't recall. The interesting thing was that the Clarity was going to be released in Japan later this year. Maybe the same time the Insight is released. So I would imagine they want to fix all known issues by then.
     
    Last edited: May 1, 2018
  18. dstrauss

    dstrauss Well-Known Member

    I agree with @jdonalds - my bet is the 2020 Clarity is going to look a lot like our 2018 - which isn't all bad because the average consumer can't tell a 2008 Prius from 2018. I do think parts availability will help us, like getting volume and tuning knobs, better firmware, possibly more battery capacity in the same volume (more doubtful about this one as volume production of lighter more energy dense battery packs is at least five years off).
     
  19. Tangible

    Tangible Active Member

    While we're dreaming:

    Rear cross traffic alerts

    Vented seats

    Heads up display

    Wireless CarPlay

    EV-only mode

    Anything but ultrasuede on interior surfaces
     
  20. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Is a tuning knob really a big deal? A volume knob would be nice, but I haven't used the tuning knob in my Insight since I set my favorite stations 12 years ago. Even when I go out of town, I use the Seek function instead of the tuning knob.

    I like the ultrasuede a lot better than the hard plastic so many other cars have in those places. It makes our Clarity seem like the most luxurious car we've ever owned.

    Wireless phone charging, like the Accord offers, would be a nice addition. Why stop there? Memory mirrors, heated steering wheel, and a special display screen option with all the data that informed, involved drivers might desire. I wonder how much all the wished-for options people have mentioned would increase the list price?

    I'd give a couple hundred for the secret code to bring up that special display screen. I'd pay even more if I could design it. It might make for a fun exercise to have people on this great forum submit their own designs for such a display.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2018
  21. Tangible

    Tangible Active Member

    The esthetics are a personal choice, of course, but I'm worried about what the ultrasuede will look like after a year or two of encounters with the real world.
     
  22. Omgswify

    Omgswify Member

    The heated steering wheel is a godsend for folks like me from Toronto. Everything else is just extra for me. I’ve tried driving with heads up display and they were a bit distracting in the Mazda’s.

    Edit: thought you meant the HUD. That special display is like the ones that read g-force? I misinterpreted what u meant.
     
  23. lordsutch

    lordsutch Member

    To me, the biggest omission is the 2018 Clarity having the previous-generation safety features (no driver's side blind spot warning, camera instead of mirror warning on the passenger's side, no rear sensors), although since I'll be coming from a car that's old enough to have basically no sensors at all, even the limited features on the 2018 model would be an upgrade.

    Since the same infotainment and safety equipment has been shipping since the March 2016 release of the fuel cell model in Japan, there's some likelihood that Honda is planning to refresh those components at least for 2019, particularly since a low-volume car like the Clarity would benefit by using the same new components that are going into the Accord and Civic. Plus I can't see Honda launching the Clarity PHEV later this year in a gadget-obsessed market like Japan with safety hardware that's over two years old, so unless they're going to run separate production lines whatever changes are made for the Japanese market should come to North America too.
     

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