Scale from 1 to 10?

Overall: 8/10
Value: 10
Nothing compares to its value in Oregon (& Colorado, maybe elsewhere?) $6500 discount + up to $7500 federal tax credit & $5000 rebate (in select places) means you have a mid-sized semi-luxury vehicle for around the same or less than the cheapest throwaway compacts.
It's not perfect in any way, but supremely livable. Comfortable, good driver, easy to charge at home or while out.
Obviously the infotainment is outdated, the regen braking behavior is odd, EV data and app are limited, and styling is controversial. But it works great for my needs in its role. I haven't had an issue with loud engine noise unless I was testing the HV Charge. I believe it happens when going uphill without sufficient EV charge as well, as it tries to generate as much EV power as possible while transporting to use the full HP up a hill.

But yeah, I like it a lot.

 

With Covid and work from home, I don't have access to electric charging. I primarily run the ICE and HV charge to preserve the electric content. That's why I hear that loud ICE noise - I try to keep the ICE running as much as possible.

 

I would give 9. I love the car, but there are few things I can't stand:
1. The metal is so thin (Honda try to minimise the weight by thinning the metal I guess), that I am afraid to push hard on the door, because even if I use my index finger I can make a dent in it.
2. There is an annoying noise coming out of the speaker installed under the left side of the bumper that brought me to the point that I disconnected it. The Honda should of thought of at least a choice in the noise that the driver could set up. The dealer says it is to warn the pedestrians up to 30 km/h speed. Mine was wining up to 50 km/h. This car has cameras on the windshield and a radar under the front grill! Couldn't the engineers of Honda set a simple warning signal when a pedestrian is in sight?! I guess they do not drive this car at all.
3. Honda link updates the information whenever it feels like it. I have noticed that when it is parked near my home that it can tap into my Wi-Fi, I get the updates more frequently (about 20 minutes delay) then when it is parked outside of my Wi-Fi area (about 4-8 hours). Honda could simply add mobile data option for $10 a month or a bit more as Tesla does it and have the update every 5 minutes. Or give an option for the owner to insert a SIM card. I do not know what will happen if I park my car in a shopping center and try to find it after 30 minutes. Will I get it's location, or it will show that the car is at my home?
4. Too many cavities behind the hood and it's sides, the trunk cover, between the seals and the window. Seems like the designers thought that this car will be driven in summer only. The leaves and snow gets into those cavities and it is a challenge to get them out of there.

OK, now the good stuff:
1. The car is spacious, with a comfortable ride.
2. The Adaptive Cruise Control works well, just I would like to have a bit less distance to the vehicle ahead for the minimum setting and a bit faster reaction when I change the lane to take over a slow car. The collision warning system saved me a few trips to the body-shop. Three times the car did brake itself. Do not like much that part, but once it prevented an accident.
3. It holds the lane very well. I do not like the vibration of the wheel when it corrects the direction, but maybe it is done to bring the drivers attention to it. Works well on dry and whet pavement. I doubt it will be useful in a snow conditions, but will test it this winter.
4. Interior design is very well done with a perfect size of the central console screen (I do not like one in Tesla). Vast choice of the screens and menus. A bit clattered and out of logic sometimes, but when you get used to it, it is OK.
5. I really appreciate the right side camera that comes on when you activate the turn signal (you can also do it from the button on the flasher handle). Very useful in a city where people ride bicycles and rollerblade on the pedestrian sidewalks. You can see them before they hit your passenger door.
6. Also a cleaver thing is the glass in the back of the trunk cover that lets you see the low part behind the car when you backup and are looking back (not through the mirrors or the camera).
7. Seats are comfortable (and I have the basic model), the trunk size is very much acceptable (it fits two wheels with tires on and there is a space left for groceries.
8. Almost forgot the best part: I used 17 L of gasoline and $86 CAD of electricity for 5300 km of city driving. Total $106 CAD, i.e. $2 for 100 km! After that I drove it from Montreal to Toronto and I filled up 31L of gasoline for 550 km of mostly highway driving. I was very pleased.
9. The TPSM system does not require sensors in the tires. A big plus for me, because I prefer to use different wheels for winter tires.
10. The climate control from the remote or the smartphone application is my favorite option.
11. You do not need to warm up the engine to leave.

It is a very good car and I like it very much.

 

Why don't you install a charger at your home? Or at least a 120V for slow charger? Even if you are renting, you can ask the landlord install one. They get money for it and charge you by KWh or a monthly fixed charge.

 

The EV mode is the main mode of this vehicle, unless you are not referring to Clarity.
"Excessive regen with a full battery will start the ICE." it prevents overcharging the batteries.
"but why not make EV Mode, EV Mode?" a very strange phrase.

 

I live in an old building. It's just not possible to have charging.

 

I was initially going to buy a 2020 Kia K5 or Accord, which have all the bells and whistles at a good price, but at the end of October 2020 I found a deal for a new base Clarity PHEV where I would end up paying a net of around $14k to $15k after all incentives and discounts - so the value I got was a major factor in my decision to buy the Clarity.

Total Score: 7+ (keep in mind I have less than 1k miles in the car)

Value: 10+
Like mentioned I got an excellent deal, and the value gets better with my electric utility rates reduced by 40%. If I get the car pool lane sticker then the value component increases further.

Driving/Ride/Fun: 4
This is not a car that you can throw into corners and accelerate. The steering feel is negligible. The ride is good enough to be comfortable and is reasonable for this car.

Mission/Purpose/Practicality: 9
For use around town and across So Cal this car shines. Most of the time I run in EV mode, but those times I need to travel great distances I get excellent MPG in HV mode.

Style: 5
The styling is not something I'm proud of. I have a black car which helps hide the odd shapes of the car. I had the car paint corrected and ceramic coated to help the appearance.

Safety/Convenience: 5
I wish it had Rear Cross Traffic Alert. The Lane Watch is distracting, but I adjust my mirrors so I don't need Blind Spot Monitoring.

Display/Entertainment: 8
I get to use YouTube Music from my phone. Sirius XM for 3 months. Android Auto is nice. Voice Control works OK. I haven't worked through all the nags yet with the menu, but I can live with it.

Cheers

 

EV mode is the default mode upon start up. Yes, I’m referring to a Clarity.

I understand why the engine may start under those conditions. The car gets negative points for this characteristic. It isn’t that I want the battery to be overcharged, I’d rather the car simply use the friction brakes in that situation and not start the engine.

A heavy right foot will send the car out of EV Mode, temporarily. There’s no way, other than properly modulating the accelerator, to guarantee that the car will stay in EV Mode.

Make sense?

I’ve scored the car a 7, as a whole, on its own merits.

 

I really like this car. Let me flag a few points that no one else has mentioned.

WHINE AT 29. Since the day I picked it up (exactly $22K net out the door), the drive train has whined at 29mph. Not at 28mph. Not at 30mph. Only at 29. I got the dealer to acknowledge the whine in writing. They could not determine its source.

POSTAL VAN ENGINE SOUND. The problem with the ICE engine sound it not that it is too loud. It is crude. Crude like an early 80's Subaru. Crude like an International Travelall. Crude like a postal van. Come on - I thought it was made by the Honda MOTOR Company!

SQUIRM INDUCING SEAT. OK, this is where you are going to throw the brickbats at me and loudly proclaim how perfect the seat is for you. Well, I am six feet tall and weigh 190 pounds. After sitting in it for 45 minutes, I am squirming like a kid in church.

The problem was alleviated by having a 4" foam cushion made. (Tried to post a photo of this cushion but this thread is the furthest thing from intuitive, and I have been using computers continuously since 1984)

MY TENTCOT WILL NOT FIT IN THE TRUNK. During Covid, I have taken road trips by camping in a TentCot. It takes five minutes to set up and is far more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. Folded, it will not begin to fit in the Clarity trunk so it has to go in the back seat. Very awkward to get it in and out. And inside rear view mirror becomes unusable. Would buy a RAV4 Prime if the bandits were not charging $10,000 over Monroney.

In the summer of 2019, I drove over 8,300 miles from Austin to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The Clarity performed flawlessly.

Oh, and I don't believe the poster who claimed to get a new one for $14K. Yeah, net after trade in maybe.

This car was an incredible value at $22K. It was available so cheap because they couldn't sell them. I seriously doubt that there will be future versions of it released by Honda since they were such poor sellers.

 

As one of the good attributes about the vehicle, no one mentioned Sport Mode. Seems that everyone is so hooked on maximizing battery mileage, they didn't point it out. Using Sport Mode, which engages both the battery and the ICE at one, you get really brisk performance.

Go ahead, live a little and experience more joy. Lose some battery range and burn some gas on a twisty mountain road. Works for me!

 

Sport Mode just remaps the accelerator input and allows paddle regen to stay set. You can get the same response on any mode, just push the accelerator a bit more.

 

Sorry, I think there's more to it than that, but I don't claim to be technical. No comparison to the acceleration in Sport Mode, compared to HV mode.

 

Your choices for accelerator pedal mapping are ECON, NORMAL, and SPORT. HV is a separate option that can be enabled with any of the three mapping modes. HV gives the Clarity free rein to use gas/ICE and battery/motor as it chooses to maximize overall efficiency. You can be in SPORT and HV at the same time.

 

To be clear, yes I meant Sport Mode and HV Mode at the same time to get max torque/acceleration.

 

I did not trade-in a car, however I should have been clearer that the $14k to $15k was after post-purchase rebates and the federal tax credit which total to $9,500 ($1k from California, $1k from electric utility, $7,500 tax credit). The number is closer to $14,500 (about $15,500 including destination charge).

,Cheers.

 

I don't believe HV makes SPORT mode any more powerful. With or without HV--in any of the 3 accelerator pedal mapping modes--when you mash the accelerator pedal to the floor, you're getting everything the motor and ICE can give you.

 

I did some testing a while back, timing acceleration to a set speed in ECON, “NORMAL”, and “SPORT”, in both “EV” and “HV”. Times were virtually identical with the accelerator “mashed” to the floor. I posted those results here, but may take me a while to find the link.

Edited to add:

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/using-sport-mode-disadvantages.5591/page-2#post-61267

 

I think the only difference HV makes is preventing you to eat battery charge at warp speed when you hit the pedal on sport mode. At least that is what happened to me on a freeway trip when I pressed SPORT but forgot to press HV after refueling. The feeling was the same but the battery has gone down to 3 stripes in 5 miles...

 

Interesting that the quickest time posted was in EV Econ and the second slowest was in HV Sport. Difference is ~8%.

6 tenths of a second doesn’t look like much on paper, but at 60mph it’s about 50’.

 

I’ve opined before that when cornering, the Clarity feels a bit “floaty” to me. And yet, there are lots of twisty roads around us, and if you take a turn fast, the car has remarkably little body lean, even as it “floats” through a turn. Hence, even though it doesn’t feel “planted”, it can still hustle through turns pretty darn well and with little commotion.

Clearly not a Corvette or even a Miata, but does quite well for a big gal.