https://www.cars.com/articles/top-10-car-reviews-of-2019-suvs-aim-to-please-but-honda-clarity-is-clear-fave-405775/
Thanks for sharing this. The accompanying review by Mr. Wiesendelder is well worth clicking on and reading. It has a lot a good info and insights and is mostly spot on except for 2 items I’ll quibble with below. I would use it to educate others about the Clarity (with corrections) and am planning on bringing copies of it to our Drive Electric Week event coming up. It’s a good article and with some great insights into PHEVs in general and an honest appraisal of the Clarity. However I have some disagreements. 1 He states that when the gas and electric motors are working together (as in Sport, HV, or battery depleted) that the acceleration is “not linear or consistent”, “a little wonky”, and has “some amount of acceleration awkwardness”. That is the polar opposite of what I have experienced in my first year and a half. For me, the acceleration has been totally consistent, linear, and smooth at all times and across all power modes; so I totally disagree with those statements. Am I just blessed with a unusually perfect drivetrain or is this the case for everyone else? 2 “Unfortunately, there’s some braking awkwardness in the Clarity, too, but numb, vaguely disconnected brake-pedal feel is common among hybrids and electric vehicles, both of which employ regenerative braking. If anything, the Clarity’s pedal feel is above average for regenerative braking.” Well, I have to totally disagree with this assessment too. I’ve read and seen the tech on how Honda went to great lengths to make our braking seamless between friction and regen, while having normal pedal travel and feedback. And I, and many posters here, have reported how smooth it is in actuality and that it’s extremely difficult to even tell when the friction brakes are engaging. I also disagree that the brake pedal feel is “awkward, numb, and vaguely disconnected” but I admit that this assessment can be somewhat subjective. But still, that’s not what I’m experiencing every time I use the brakes. I get plenty of pedal feel and feedback and to me, and all who have driven my Clarity, it feels identical to normal engine vacuum powered brakes. Nobody on this forum has complained about this either, so I don’t get his take on this. Does anybody have a complaint about the brakes (other than wanting more regen or level holding outside of Sport)? So all in all, a rather fair review of PHEVs in general and the Clarity in particular that is far better than most of the reviews that have been shared here. I just think some of his preconceived notions or prior EV experiences biased his appraisal of the Clarity’s acceleration and braking. (I’m assuming he did actually drive it!)
Ken, I agree that acceleration and braking is about as smooth and consistent as could possibly be. I suspect that author drove several cars and had a memory mix-up when writing the article. The Clarity is a class act all around.
I know, that's why we are having trouble determining how much friction braking is blended into regen when using the brake pedal. While this is being sorted out I have been trying to use the paddles more since we know or at least have pretty good confidence that the paddles are full regen. Even though using the paddles in Econ or Normal mode is “a little wonky”. The one think that I hate about the paddles though is the loud and long warning tone when you press the paddle when ACC is active. I get the point it is trying to let the driver know that using the paddles turns off ACC, but after the 200th time I think I get it by now. No way that I know of to turn this warning off. I had someone riding in my car who got concerned when they heard it, they thought something was wrong. So now I try and remember to not use the paddles and ACC together if someone else is in the car.
Just push the center button on the ACC control which turns it off. Then use the paddle and you won't get the beep. I too wish it would auto cancel without the beep.
When the light changes or someone cuts in front of me I'm not going to be pushing any buttons I'm either pulling the paddle or stepping on the brake. In fact I think I'm done with the paddles I was actually hoping that since no one else has complained about it maybe I missed some obvious setting but apparently not.
The only warning tone setting you can change is the universal volume. Default is mid, you can change to high or low.
Below in one place are links to the three recent Cars.com articles. I thought the second one with eight likes and four dislikes was a pretty fair brief description. Top 10 Car Reviews of 2019: SUVs Aim to Please, But Honda Clarity Is Clear Fave By Matt Schmitz July 12, 2019 https://www.cars.com/articles/top-1...lease-but-honda-clarity-is-clear-fave-405775/ 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid: 8 Things We Like (and 4 Not So Much) By Nick Kurczewski July 1, 2019 https://www.cars.com/articles/2019-honda-clarity-plug-in-hybrid-8-things-we-like-and-4-not-so-much-405294/ 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid Review: A Rare Winner of Its Kind By Joe Wiesenfelder April 19, 2019 https://www.cars.com/articles/2019-honda-clarity-plug-in-hybrid-review-a-rare-winner-of-its-kind-1420758010673/
I agree with the second being pretty fair. I don't have a problem with the 4 dislikes listed, although the small fuel tank doesn't bother me at all, so it wouldn't be on my list. I've gotten comfortable with the styling so that one isn't a real bother to me (although I would get rid of the wheel spats if I had the choice). Similarly, I have made peace with the driving modes, so ok for me there. I do agree that the infotainment system could stand an upgrade, hard to not leave it on my list. Mine has spazzed out on me a couple of times and had to reset after the car was stopped. I'd put the lack of info reported to the driver on my list though. I agree pretty strongly with all 8 of the likes. I like that the car is not a hatchback. I know that puts me in the minority, since hatchbacks can haul so much more. The Tesla Model S just always seemed to miss the mark for me as a hatchback, and I was glad that the Clarity was not. Wouldn't have kept me from buying the car if it was a hatchback, and maybe it isn't even logical, but I like it with a trunk.
I also prefer a trunk. The Gen I Prius that I owned had a trunk, the Gen II had a hatch and I didn't like it as much. I am really happy to be back to having a trunk. A hatch adds cabin noise by making the cargo area part of the passenger cabin as well as increasing the area that has to be heated and cooled. It has a larger and clunkier door to open every time just to unload a bag of groceries. And I guess I'm still remembering a car that I had where the hatch pistons lost their gas and were expensive to replace. And a hatch is less secure or at least seems so, I just prefer being able to keep things locked in the trunk instead of hiding them with a flimsy tonneau cover, just psychological I suppose. I'm trying to remember didn't we get a valet key that doesn't give access to the trunk? Or am I thinking of a previous car. Sure the ability to carry a large volume of cargo is nice in the rare cases where you need it, but I have another car for that. For an only car though I can understand the desire for a hatchback, but for me I am enjoying what is probably a dying breed, four door sedans with a trunk.
