Long trips, running gas engine a lot, related question

PHEV Newbie said "The drive system is exactly the same as the current Accord, Insight, and CR-V hybrids (CR-V sold in Europe) except it has a much bigger battery"

My concern is the horsepower / weight ratio.

My point is: Seems the Clarity has tried to use a slightly smaller ICE with the benefit of a larger battery, but has not fully utilized the increased battery size.

 

The Clarity's LiOn battery pack has a temperature management system (TMS) and those have been show across the industry to greatly extend battery life compared non-regulated LiOn packs (air cooled).

My Energi's air-cooled pack can't handle fast charging (240v) in the sun on a hot afternoon and immediately driving off in EV mode while the pack is very hot. If above 113F, the computer will only allow HV mode in that scenario but at least it's trying to protect it! Since I mainly charge it at night and most of those are mainly partial charges to boot, mine hasn't shown as much degradation as many others have (fingers crossed). Early Leafs (also air-cooled) are also well known examples of heat degradation whereas the volt with a TMS and also has been around as long as the Leaf have a great battery life track record.

FWIW

 

Given your name Atkinson are you a person or a Clarity engine posting on this forum?

 

You are absolutely correct. Accord and CR-V hybrids have 2.0 litre engines even though the vehicles are hundreds of pounds lighter. When your Clarity battery is depleted, the HP/Weight ratio would be similar to a hypothetical Honda Pilot pure hybrid if they were crazy enough to design it with a 1.5 litre ICE and a 1.7 kWh battery. In my experience, it's actually worse because it seems to avoid using any battery power at two bars and rely on revving the ICE like crazy. However, if you maintain a significant charge (60% or higher), it will draw from both the battery and ICE in HV mode to give you plenty of power when needed and no "angry bees". I think it's a disservice for PHEV makers to market their cars as "Drive all electric for XX miles and then let the hybrid system take over". Basically, they're telling you go ahead and deplete the battery. While that is appealing from a marketing point of view, the reality is a different matter. In the Clarity at least, the ICE is just too underpowered on its own when the traction battery is depleted.

 

Clarity engine is port-injected. That alone will make it much less likely to have issues in comparison with direct injection turbo engines that are the norm these days. If you are doing that sort of miles frequently I think it might be a good idea to switch to synthetic oil though.

 

Also what kills the engine is usually stop and go, highway miles are usually good for engine.

 

All I can say is I have 17,000 miles on my 2018 (purchased 11/2017) Clarity PHEV; my guess is 40% or more are highway miles in HV due to long Texas drives; it runs great whether EV or HV, and only the rolling hill miles at 80mph (yes, that is legal in West Texas) can strain the engine a bit. One key factor for highway driving - DO NOT RUN DOWN THE BATTERY THEN SWITCH TO HV - start with a full EV range, manually switch to HV on the freeway, and you'll always have a reserve of power for those fast passing moves or uphill grades.

WE love the Clarity, and I'm astounded that it has more foot room (driver and passenger) than my wife's 2018 Odyssey.