After 3 years of low sales, Honda has announced they will stop producing the Accord plug-in electric vehicle. At the New York Auto Show earlier this month, Honda announced their plan to expand the Clarity vehicle from being just a fuel-cell electric vehicle to also offer versions with a plug-in hybrid power train as well as a fully electric version.
Although the fully electric version will only have a disappointing 80-ish mile range (think 2011 Nissan LEAF not 2017 Chevy Bolt), the plug-in hybrid looks to be a solid entry into the space.
Honda Clarity PHEV
With a 17 kW-h lithium ion battery pack, the Clarity plugin will have an electric range of 42 miles – that’s the second highest in the class, only behind the 2017 Chevy Volt’s 54 miles. However, the Clarity is a much larger mid-size sedan with room for 5 people.
Using a 181 horsepower electric motor and a 1.5 liter atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder motor, the Clarity Plug-in is expected to achieve 105 MPGe on the U.S. EPA test cycle.
Honda Clarity EV
For the fully-electric Clarity BEV (battery electric vehicle), the power comes from a 161-hp electric motor and is paired with a 25.5 kWh battery pack which will likely net drivers around 80 miles of range.
The EV has an option for SAE Combo DC Fast Charging, and will hit California and Oregon later in 2017 as a lease-only program.
