[Robbiemo]

I suppose I'll be the first one to post here!

We took our new Clarity PHEV on a trip, we go on lots per year, and figured out that we can only do about 200-225 miles per tank because of its small size. I doubt anyone knows if its possible or not yet, but I am curious to see if it is possible to swap in either a civic or an accord fuel tank. I will update this when I figure it out.

 

[firsthonda]

Anything is possible if you spend the money but I am guessing it will cost well over $2,000. My Volt had a small tank (9 gallons?) and I was able to drive from Anderson SC to Long Island NY without a problem. I like too stop and stretch my legs every 200 miles. Is it really worth spending a lot of money to avoid making an extra gas stop?

 

[Cruiter]

Driving conditions ???

Not sure how you're driving the car or what the conditions are but you should get far more than that in normal operation. I just recently got back from a 'day' trip of 205 miles in HV mode. Some stop & go, mostly state highway with cruising speeds between 65 & 70 mph. On returning, I had just over 1/2 on the battery gauge and 1 bar below 1/2 on the gas gauge. That indicates 350 should not be a chore at all to achieve.
If you were just horsing it around in sport mode, then maybe that's what you got.

I suppose I'll be the first one to post here!

We took our new Clarity PHEV on a trip, we go on lots per year, and figured out that we can only do about 200-225 miles per tank because of its small size. I doubt anyone knows if its possible or not yet, but I am curious to see if it is possible to swap in either a civic or an accord fuel tank. I will update this when I figure it out.

 

[stanigu]

I routinely go on fairly long trips. I would say if you're careful, you should be able to do 400 miles+ on a tank of gas.

 

[firsthonda]

I guess it depends a lot on how you drive your car. When the EPA rated new cars for fuel efficiency I was always able to do . The Clarity is rated with an electric range of 47 miles on electric and I consistently do better that 60 miles on a large. Unless you drive like a total maniac you shouldn't have a problem doing better them 400 miles range . I haven't gone on a long trip yet but when I had a Volt I would drive until the battery was depleted then the car switched to gas and I would drive till empty..I personally can not sit in the car long enough without letting my dogs and myself stretch every 2 hours.At the end of 6 to 8 hours I need to stop and sleepm, soI fill up the gas tank and fill up the battery charge As far as I am concerned 6 to 8 hours behind the wheel is as far as I can go and feel safe, anymore and I worry about falling asleep behind the wheel. Before you make assumptions about range take a trip you may be pleasantly surprised at with a combine range of battery power and gasoline. By the way do you think Honda would be so foolish that it would make a vehicle that will only travel less than 200 miles between filliups?

 

[firsthonda]

I did not realize I only 10 minutes to correct typos.

I think I got it right this time


I guess it depends a lot on how you drive your car. When the EPA rated new cars for fuel efficiency I was always able to do better than their estimates. I also have a cousin that has a hard time doing 1/2 the EPAs estimated range. It'll depends on the driver The Clarity is rated with an electric range of 47 miles on electric and I consistently do better that 60 miles on electric range. Unless you drive like a total maniac you shouldn't have a problem doing better them 400 miles range . I haven't gone on a long trip yet but when I had a Volt I would drive until the battery was depleted then the car switched to gas and I would drive till empty..I personally can not sit in the car long without letting my dogs and myself stretch every 2 hours, If I really need to I can always add some gas when I give the dogs a poo and pee break (I also need to pee a lot because I drink a lot of Coke when I drive).At the end of 6 to 8 hours I need to stop and sleepm, soI fill up the gas tank and fill up the battery charge As far as I am concerned 6 to 8 hours behind the wheel is as far as I can go and feel safe, anymore and I worry about falling asleep behind the wheel or not stewing alert because I am tired. Before you make assumptions about range take a trip you may be pleasantly surprised at with a combine range of battery power and gasoline. By the way do you think Honda would be so foolish that it would make a vehicle that will only travel less than 200 miles between filliups?

 

[jkvoriak]

Total Highway range is my biggest disappointment with my PHEV Clarity. Like the original poster, I find that I get around 225 to 240 miles on a tank of gas, running strictly highway miles at around 75mph in HV mode. On route 80 in PA, if you're going any slower, you're typically not flowing with small vehicle traffic. Anyway, I don't mind getting around 40 MPG in HV mode, but only having 3 hours of drive time between refills seems a bit under-engineered.

On the other hand, for local driving in EV mode (errands, etc.) the clarity is fantastic and I can go months without needing to fill up. So much so that I get concerned about the fuel going stale. I've actually switched to name-brand, premium fuel to mitigate any risk of cheapo fuel damaging the engine if it ages too long. With as little fuel as I use, I don't mind paying the premium price.

Luckily, I don't do a lot of long-range driving so the trade off is acceptable. But I do wish the engineers had found the space to add just a couple more gallons to extend highway range.

 

[lahalte]

Drove from Canada to Florida last month. Averaged about 39MPG at 70+. That would make about 3 1/2 hours of riding. Yes, a larger tank would have been nice but the stop did give a break and only took 10 minutes or so of my time. So for a comparison with my other car, it was just one extra stop per day.No big deal.

 

[longfam18]

Total Highway range is my biggest disappointment with my PHEV Clarity. Like the original poster, I find that I get around 225 to 240 miles on a tank of gas, running strictly highway miles at around 75mph in HV mode. On route 80 in PA, if you're going any slower, you're typically not flowing with small vehicle traffic. Anyway, I don't mind getting around 40 MPG in HV mode, but only having 3 hours of drive time between refills seems a bit under-engineered.

On the other hand, for local driving in EV mode (errands, etc.) the clarity is fantastic and I can go months without needing to fill up. So much so that I get concerned about the fuel going stale. I've actually switched to name-brand, premium fuel to mitigate any risk of cheapo fuel damaging the engine if it ages too long. With as little fuel as I use, I don't mind paying the premium price.

Luckily, I don't do a lot of long-range driving so the trade off is acceptable. But I do wish the engineers had found the space to add just a couple more gallons to extend highway range.

I think going 75 is what kills you. I have yet to get less than 45 mpg in HV mode on a full tank, but highway speeds around here are 55 and the freeway is 65. I stick to the slow lane and don't get upset when people pass me, as long as I'm not stuck behind a truck that's going 10 under. I agree that a little extra range would be nice. The hybrid fuel economy is a little underwhelming (especially given the small tank), but I think that's the trade-off for the EV capability and larger size.