Apr 13, 2017 | by Iqtidar Ali
At last Honda realizes and admits that the automotive world has been electrified and the future is All-Electric.
The Japanese automaker claims that they were the most early creators of electric vehicles as long as two decades ago. Honda also launched their first fuel-cell vehicle FCX Clarity around 15 years ago.
Honda also predicts that 2/3 of their production by 2030 will be pure electric vehicles.
Yesterday at the New York International Auto Show Honda unveiled two new versions of their zero-emission fuel cell sedan, the Clarity Electric and Clarity Plug-In Hybrid.
2017 Clarity Electric
Honda made a great decision by joining the full electric vehicle production. Clarity Electric is expected to be available for customers in late 2017. We were able to get the following details for you about the Clarity Electric.
| Options | Details |
| Type | Mid-Size Sedan |
| Seating Capacity | 5 Adults |
| Range | ~80 miles |
| MPGe | 120/102/111 (city/hwy/combined) |
| Power | 161 hp Electric Motor |
| Battery Pack | 25.5 kWh |
| AC Charging Time @ 240 volts | 3 hours |
| DC Charging | 80% in 30 minutes |
| Estimated Price | $35,000 approx |
Although the EV range is only 80 miles but Honda presents this as a daily runner not a vehicle intended for long trips. Also the main focus of the automaker for now is the plug-in hybrid version which yields long range and price range estimated to be also around the mid 30s.
2018 Clarity Plug-in Hybrid
Clarity Plug-in Hybrid will be available at Honda dealerships across United States by end of 2017.
We can easily distinguish between the Electric & Hybrid variants of the vehicle by looking at the rear lights Hybrid has red color coated and Electric has white ones.
The Plug-in Hybrid utilizes a hyper efficient 1.5 liter Atkinson cycle 4-cylinder engine to generate electricity and in certain situations can directly power the vehicle. This hyper-efficiency can result into a driving range of up to 330 miles EPA+.
Let’s go through some vital information that we have from the New York Auto Show unveil.
| Options | Details |
| Type | Mid-Size Sedan |
| Seating Capacity | 5 Adults |
| Extended Range | 330+ miles |
| Fuel Efficiency (hybrid mode) | 105 MPGe |
| Fuel Efficiency (gas only) | 42 MPG |
| Power | 181 hp Electric Motor |
| Battery Pack | 17 kWh |
| AC Charging Time @ 240 volts | 2.5 hours |
In addition to above options all three versions of the car include Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Fro safety Honda Sensing package is standard on each trim which includes the following options:
- Atunomous Braking (CMBS)
- Road Departure Mitigation
- Adaptive Cruise Control
- Low Speed Follow
- Lane Keeping Assist
Honda claims 2017-18 Clarity models will have an interior that is modern, bright, comfortable, sophisticated with a premium feel at this price point.
Also the interior setup is more environment friendly because most of the material consists of Honda’s proprietary Bio-Fabric.
Although the center screen size is a bit small but we cannot compare this vehicle with a Tesla in range and screen-size at least.