Loved my Prime, but battery range pushed me to Honda Clarity

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by CyberDyneSystems, Jul 27, 2019.

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  1. CyberDyneSystems

    CyberDyneSystems Junior Member

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    So I guess this is my fond farewell. I'll check in on occasion.

    There was so much I loved about the Prime, and I will miss it. That said, my dream was not fulfilled by the Primes less than energetic ability to provide a 25 mile charge 8 months out of the year.

    In short, my commute is exactly 24 miles one way. I usually can charge at work. My house is solar powered, so the idea of driving to work on solar power was a dream come true. Toyota's claimed 25 mile range seemed to fit like a glove.

    Of course Prime owners all quickly realize that you don't actually get 25 miles on battery, (particularly if 2/3 of the miles are highway) most of the year if you live in a climate like New England. Mid winter I was lucky to get 17 miles. This is of course true of any plug in,. but I was just cutting the margin too close with the Prime and my 24 mile commute.
    Yes, I was aware of this before buying, but at the time, (2017) the Prime still appeared to be the best bet for me. Even after the Clarity was announced, it was a good $10K more than the Prime base, so I would have made the same decision.

    What I really did not understand was the effect it would have on me! That "range anxiety" I did not think would effect me, the hybrid owner, with the Primes' best in class overall combined mileage. But it did. It really did. The second year of owning the Prime, I would literally end up in a bad mood arriving at work based on battery range. If I could not charge, OH MAN did that hurt! The entire trip home on hybrid/gas. Ouch.

    Long and short, some finances changed and I went to test drive the Honda Clarity. 47 Mile battery range would mean getting to work on battery 100% of the time, and round trip in the summer (it bumps up to 60 or so, just like the Prime can get to 30 miles in summer months)

    I don't know if it's kosher to post about the Clarity in here in the Prime forum, so i won't go into it unless asked. Suffice it to say I am quite happy with the trade in (trade-up) on a number of levels. I'll miss the Primes' hatchback, it's superior auto-piloting (way smoother) and vastly more comprehensive and easy to read on screen displays,. among other things. But the key concern, the drive to work, the battery only range, has been solved.

    Let me know if anyone would like a comparison with the Clarity.

    Jake
     
    #1 CyberDyneSystems, Jul 27, 2019
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  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Congrats on your new Clarity!

    You know what I like about PriusChat? We’re all inclusive. We’ve never shunned a member away just because they switched vehicles. We’re always willing to learn about other vehicles and it helps if the owner was a former Prius owner - that way, we can get a comparison and it can also help future members or current members make a decision.

    Clarity and Volt are probably the closest competitors to the Prime and there are plenty of comparisons on the web between them. What we don’t have are owner comparisons - those will be more detailed as an owner will catch the smaller details that are not apparent to an auto journalist or someone who rented any of those vehicles for a day or two.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Jul 27, 2019
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  3. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    I understand your decision, but for $10K more you will have to drive a whole lot of miles to recoup the savings from gaining a few EV miles a day.
     
    #3 jb in NE, Jul 27, 2019
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  4. schja01

    schja01 Senior Member

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    You can buy a lot of gas for $10K
     
    #4 schja01, Jul 27, 2019
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  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Keep in mind that $10k also buys a bigger car and nicer interior materials among other things. (Doesn’t the Clarity get a bigger tax credit too?)
     
    #5 Tideland Prius, Jul 27, 2019
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  6. schja01

    schja01 Senior Member

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    How much lost on depreciation/trade in of the Prime?
     
    #6 schja01, Jul 27, 2019
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  7. Blue-Adept

    Blue-Adept Active Member

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    I almost did the same. Nice car. But when I ran the numbers It would take 390,000 Miles to make the break even the way I drive.
    Clarity is a great car, if the numbers added up I would have got one!

    Just got a survey from Toyota asking me what range I wanted in the next Prime. I said 75 to 100 Miles. Anyone else get the survey.

    Blue
     
    #7 Blue-Adept, Jul 27, 2019
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  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Aim high. Then they’ll target 50 miles lol.
     
    #8 Tideland Prius, Jul 27, 2019
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    50 mile battery will push the mpg down and reduce the gas tank. you can't have it all
     
    #9 bisco, Jul 27, 2019
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there are other forums where clarity owners (and others) post their experiences. all the best!(y)
     
    #10 bisco, Jul 27, 2019
  11. thefranchise713

    thefranchise713 Junior Member

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    I'd love to hear about it.

    I'm kind of in the same boat. Right now I can't charge regularly, but I'm hoping to eventually get to somewhere I can. After that, I still have a 16 mile commute one way, which means I'll always be using a few drops of fuel regardless. The other annoyance on the Prime is the air cooled battery--definitely can feel the hybrid performance back down when the battery gets toasty, and there's not much I can do about it.

    Today I spent most of my day in an ICE--got 44 MPG out of it, and it was nice not having range anxiety, nor having to feel a transition between an ICE/battery in hybrid mode. Made me think twice about what I purchased.
     
    #11 thefranchise713, Jul 27, 2019
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  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    ya, it sounds like you made a mistake. trading to a clarity could be a bigger mistake.

    I've never noticed any performance problems with a toasty battery, but perhaps buffalo is warmer than boston
     
    #12 bisco, Jul 27, 2019
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  13. thefranchise713

    thefranchise713 Junior Member

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    Oh yeah--definitely not moving to a Clarity, especially at this point. But, we've had a hot streak here where I've noticed the difference.
     
    #13 thefranchise713, Jul 27, 2019
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  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if you can bank 44 in a gasser, what's the point of driving a hybrid? i'd probably look around for something appealing, and not have to deal with all the nonsense
     
    #14 bisco, Jul 27, 2019
  15. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    Do you have data to support the toasty battery theory? I've driven my Prime on 100+F days with no observed performance drop in EV mode.
     
    #15 jb in NE, Jul 27, 2019
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  16. thefranchise713

    thefranchise713 Junior Member

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    ^ Anecdotal, my apologies.
     
    #16 thefranchise713, Jul 27, 2019
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  17. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Two to three thousand can buy a lot of gas, and that is why most people don't even move into a hybrid, let alone a plug in.
     
    #17 Trollbait, Jul 27, 2019
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  18. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    With the current Federal kickbacks a Prime can cost the same or less than a Prius. After you buy it, it's cheaper to operate then a regular Prius.
     
    #18 jb in NE, Jul 27, 2019
  19. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    And the $3000 saved by getting a Corolla hatchback will still buy a lot of gas.

    If a person is using length of payback for not getting a longer EV range PHEV over the shorter range one, then they should have stuck with a traditional ICE car for the same reason.
     
    #19 Trollbait, Jul 27, 2019
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  20. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    This depends on your driving patterns. if you can achieve 90% EV in town, that's quite a bit different than 20% EV.
     
    #20 jb in NE, Jul 27, 2019
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