Honda Clarity EV

Honda held a test drive event this weekend for the all-electric version of their Clarity vehicle platform, and we learned answers to several of the hanging questions about the vehicle.

The range, which we recently reported would be around 80 miles, will actually be a bit higher-than-expected at 89 miles.  The car also comes with DC charging standard.  This isn’t so bad compared to many other EVs on the market, but in a world where the Bolt EV and Model 3 exist, this range spec is starting to look a little dated.  Even worse, the price is higher than other “near-100-mile” EVs, with a factory lease price of $269/mo, $1,999 down (including first month’s payment), though a very generous 20,000 miles per year.

The Clarity EV will be available as a compliance vehicle in California and Oregon, in “select dealerships” starting August 1st.  With a price/feature package like this, though, it might be dead on arrival, especially compared to what else is available these days.  Check below the break for why.

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In a new article based on comments made by Steve Center, vice president of environmental business development at American Honda Motor, Automotive News reports that Honda’s EV version of their Clarity vehicle platform will focus more on size and price than long range. They expect that Honda will release the car with about an ~80 mile range and an expected pricetag in the area of $35,000.

While Honda would like to have released with a larger battery, the size constraints of the Clarity platform and price constraints of Honda’s brand identity led them to decide on a smaller battery than many other future EVs which have recently been announced by other automakers.

Honda’s previous EV efforts have been the “EV Plus” of the late ’90s and the Fit EV. Both were very limited production, and the Fit EV is only available in some states and only via lease. The Clarity EV will be their first serious, larger production BEV effort which can be purchased by consumers instead of only leased.

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