PianotunerNJ
Well-Known Member
ok, so recently (October), my wife decided she was ready to go car shopping and scale back from a big unwieldy Mazda CX-9 crossover. Kids are in high school, less big family rides with extra junk so a sedan will suit us fine. Plus the Mazda was a 20mpg vehicle, give or take. Also, I’ve been driving my Nissan XTerra (2010) for 140,000 miles and again, a 20mpg vehicle.
She narrowed her search down to the new Honda Accord, nice car, hybrid available, seemed worth a look. We were off to the local Honda dealer.
In the showroom, we took a few minutes to poke around the selection of cars, due diligence and all, and sure enough, we stumbled upon a gem. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a car with a sticker in the window that claimed 110 mpg in big numbers at the top! Could this be for real? It was a Honda Clarity. A car that’s a hair smaller than the Accord, has a slightly weird style, awkward rear wheel aesthetic, looks like a hatchback but isn’t, but I was intrigued by the tech. It’s a plug in hybrid which means it has a battery for electric only driving, and a gas motor for increased range. Claiming upto 47 miles of electric before gas is needed (conditions apply), it has a total range of about 350 miles with electric and gas total and gets about 45mpg on gas as a standard hybrid. So, after some test driving she decided to pull the trigger on the touring model, leather, few extra bells.
We went ahead and installed a home charging unit for about a grand, set up on 240volt line, 32 amps, charges car fully in about 2.5 hours ata cost of about $.75 per charge (according to online research, not my personal calculation for the record). Also, she has charging stations at her office (big corporate office) so it’s possible for her to charge both at home and at work. She’s now commuting on 99% electric and has pinned the meter on her dash at 199.9 mpg.
With my XTerra getting long in tooth, and being a pig and all, and after experiencing how nice a car the Clarity is, I decided I needed one too! I got the base model for a few grand less, no leather, no power seats, but same drivetrain and safety tech, same efficiency and same comfortable ride. So, now we’re a pair of nerds with matching cars (hers white, mine black). Even though I only charge at home and do burn some fuel most days, I’m averaging about 125mpg through my busy Christmas season, not too shabby.
The best part of this story is that, due to the large battery these cars have, it qualifies for a $7500 federal tax credit, and in some states there are state incentives that help offset charger costs, ez pass tolls, and other savings. So, if you are fortunate enough to be earning at a level that obligates you to a federal tax expense over $7500, you may claim that credit in full. Also, turns out the price can be negotiated down a bit so we shaved about 13% off the sticker price for each car. In my case it was a total of about 11k off the sticker price. With the credit and negotiated price, this is a really nice car for the money, and it barely uses any gas.
When you do need gas it has a massive 7 gallon tank to account for about 300 miles of range, so generally your pumping like 5/6 gallons or under $15 a tank by today’s price of about $2.50 a gallon here in NJ.
I’ve waited all my life to get my first electric car. I know this one is a compromise, but the fact that we, as a household, went from $500+ a month in fuel costs to about $50. I was over $300 a month and the savings now makes most of my car payment, and I’m polluting much less which feels good. I know gas is cheap now, but with the cliamate crises poised to become public issue number 1, I doubt cheap gas is long for this world. Either way, the clarity is part of the solution, and I’m thrilled with mine.
She narrowed her search down to the new Honda Accord, nice car, hybrid available, seemed worth a look. We were off to the local Honda dealer.
In the showroom, we took a few minutes to poke around the selection of cars, due diligence and all, and sure enough, we stumbled upon a gem. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a car with a sticker in the window that claimed 110 mpg in big numbers at the top! Could this be for real? It was a Honda Clarity. A car that’s a hair smaller than the Accord, has a slightly weird style, awkward rear wheel aesthetic, looks like a hatchback but isn’t, but I was intrigued by the tech. It’s a plug in hybrid which means it has a battery for electric only driving, and a gas motor for increased range. Claiming upto 47 miles of electric before gas is needed (conditions apply), it has a total range of about 350 miles with electric and gas total and gets about 45mpg on gas as a standard hybrid. So, after some test driving she decided to pull the trigger on the touring model, leather, few extra bells.
We went ahead and installed a home charging unit for about a grand, set up on 240volt line, 32 amps, charges car fully in about 2.5 hours ata cost of about $.75 per charge (according to online research, not my personal calculation for the record). Also, she has charging stations at her office (big corporate office) so it’s possible for her to charge both at home and at work. She’s now commuting on 99% electric and has pinned the meter on her dash at 199.9 mpg.
With my XTerra getting long in tooth, and being a pig and all, and after experiencing how nice a car the Clarity is, I decided I needed one too! I got the base model for a few grand less, no leather, no power seats, but same drivetrain and safety tech, same efficiency and same comfortable ride. So, now we’re a pair of nerds with matching cars (hers white, mine black). Even though I only charge at home and do burn some fuel most days, I’m averaging about 125mpg through my busy Christmas season, not too shabby.
The best part of this story is that, due to the large battery these cars have, it qualifies for a $7500 federal tax credit, and in some states there are state incentives that help offset charger costs, ez pass tolls, and other savings. So, if you are fortunate enough to be earning at a level that obligates you to a federal tax expense over $7500, you may claim that credit in full. Also, turns out the price can be negotiated down a bit so we shaved about 13% off the sticker price for each car. In my case it was a total of about 11k off the sticker price. With the credit and negotiated price, this is a really nice car for the money, and it barely uses any gas.
When you do need gas it has a massive 7 gallon tank to account for about 300 miles of range, so generally your pumping like 5/6 gallons or under $15 a tank by today’s price of about $2.50 a gallon here in NJ.
I’ve waited all my life to get my first electric car. I know this one is a compromise, but the fact that we, as a household, went from $500+ a month in fuel costs to about $50. I was over $300 a month and the savings now makes most of my car payment, and I’m polluting much less which feels good. I know gas is cheap now, but with the cliamate crises poised to become public issue number 1, I doubt cheap gas is long for this world. Either way, the clarity is part of the solution, and I’m thrilled with mine.