Questions from a Brand New owner.

Can you accelerate quickly when the clutch is engaged? If I punch it while cruising in Engine drive mode, the clutch disengages and the Clarity accelerates using the traction motor powered by the battery and the engine-driven starter motor/generator (Hybrid drive mode). Honda hasn't hinted that the traction motor can produce more than 181 horsepower by itself.

 

In eco/hypermiler speak, this is called gliding not coasting to differentiate it from traditional vehicles. Traditional vehicles can only glide by putting the transmission in N.

By slightly applying the accelerator pedal in the Clarity, you cancel regen and glide with only the friction from the rolling tires on the pavement and the air going around the body to slow it down. This is the most efficient way to slow down but should only be done when it won't interfere with other drivers.

 

Given that I pretty much only drive in eco mode, acceleration is good. I do notice a slight "hand of god" sensation while in this mode, so perhaps the engine makes all its power with a clutched engine; however, I could also be wrong and simply have grown accustomed to the 121hp electric drive power.

Needs confirmation with sport mode drivers..

I might be doing something right though, just filled up and discovered I'm getting somewhere ~400mi out of the 7 gallon tank

 

Can't help you there. I have to periodically clean the dust off my SPORT Mode button.

 

I haven't had a drink in 40 years, but I punched the sport mode button yesterday and I had to stop at the next bar...

 

Your are really missing out by not using sport mode, particularly around town. It really doesn't reduce EV milage much but makes the car seem like it just had an espresso. Closer to a Tesla experience so give it a try

 

+1

The bad thing is, just like PWR mode in the Prius, you come to like it and want to use it as the default mode which can't be done so you have to select it. Every. Single. Time. I get why tho', it's all about efficiency but.......

 

I agree, but we do need to know that yes we are using a little more energy that we could have, but on the other hand you get to keep elevated regen the whole time you are driving which makes up for it a little, I assume

 

My friend is a tire wholesaler... He said he loves EV's because they 'eat' tires: High-torque starts and constant regen / no coasting takes the rubber off quickly.

 

VERY true. I've owned some very high-torque motorcycles they eat rear tires like gum drops! Lots of reports from Tesla owners going through tires. I don't think we Clarity owners have THAT much to worry about though.

 

You being an expert longtime hybrid owner I would greatly value your insight, pun intended, on sport mode and the best way to use it. For science and the forum please give it a try. Be warned the stories of Sport mode being addictive are 100% true.

However, my theory is that in mild weather almost all of the Sport Mode mileage penalty is related to the ICE being activated more often due to the driver’s behavior with the more aggressive accelerator pedal mapping. If so I further believe 1) a skilled hybrid driver should still be able to get comparable mileage by avoiding ICE activation 2) in trips exceeding the electric range that must run the ICE HV mode for some percent of the trip will have very little mileage penalty with occasional ICE use from sport mode or otherwise because presumably any excess energy from the ICE will go to the battery and be consumed anyway. All you have done is slightly alter the timing of when the ICE would cycle on and off.

 

I wish there was an easier way, but I'm not sure what it would be.

As far as putting the car in neutral, wouldn't you have to depress the brake before it would shift to neutral? Seems even more of a hassle than feathering the accelerator.

 

Hold N button down while in motion and car will switch to N

 

I believe this will work. However, reminds me of what happened to my father in law:

He was concerned that the automatic toll transponders (EZPass, here) were sometimes being inappropriately pinged and charging him. So he kept the transponder in a foil envelope in the glove compartment, and pulled it out when he approached a toll station.

One day, while he was fumbling with the envelope, he ran over the beginning of the concrete stanchion, costing roughly $2k in tire/body work. In retrospect, this was a poor strategy.

So: I don’t think I’ll be putting the Clarity into neutral while moving anytime soon to save a few pennies of electricity or drops of gas. Too risky. To each their own risk/benefit, however.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

First, my previous hybrid experience didn't prepare me for all the modes the Clarity offers--I had a lot to learn. This forum has been a great source of information.

It's difficult for me to admit that SPORT Mode can be as frugal as ECON Mode, but it's true. If the driver can restrain the exuberance SPORT Mode's accelerator mapping engenders, and watches the blue arc carefully to avoid starting the ICE, the Clarity can deliver the same economy in SPORT Mode as in ECON Mode. The exception is that ECON Mode reins in the climate control system by starting the seat heater instead of the resistance heater when you turn on the car (Owners Manual page 191) and by moderating the performance of the air-conditioner (Owners Manual page 195).

 

I use Sport mode around town all the time and the ICE never comes on. The only time it comes on in Sport mode for me is when I use it to enter a highway and it is definitely worth the tiny bit of gas used to help get up to speed and avoid anyone behind in the entrance lane. And yes it is addictive because it makes the Clarity drive a little closer to a Testla. (I drove with a friend who floored his model 3 and I got pushed into the seat back which is impossible in the Clarity even in the Sport mode, but really- who needs that?)

 

Its huge if you’re running heat. The resistance heater uses something like 6kw. The AC not so much. Ac will only reduce range by a few miles a day.
In the winter I’ll cycle HV mode to use engine heat if I’m driving more than 30 miles that day. AC I don’t even worry about and I keep it at 67.

 

Yes, with ECON Mode running the seat heater instead of the resistance heater, the energy savings are significant. However, there's no way to measure the energy savings accurately. As for the air-conditioner, Owners Manual page 195 says only:
While ECON mode is active, the climate control
system may have reduced cooling performance.