I actually prefer the smaller size of the Volt and my wife does too. It's mostly her car to drive and after test driving a Fusion hybrid she found that car much too large. The Clarity is every bit as big, in fact it's an inch longer and an inch wider.
Also the Clarity suffers from its own form of ERDTT, but unlike the Volt it can happen all year around and in all climates. It's called Engine Running Due To Throttle. Hit the throttle hard for maximum acceleration and the ICE comes on. That won't happen in the Volt, and I love that fact.
yes, that is correct, with gentle driving on not so cold days, the engine came on very rarely, if at all. Instead of a tachometer, there is a round curved bar graph of power. At the higher levels, there are dotted lines. If you call for a higher part of the power curve, the engine will start and add power. In Sport mode, the dotted part falls a little lower, but unlike the Volt (which just re-maps the go pedal, you actually get more power in Sport mode).
Since the wx turned cold, the engine comes on a lot more often, especially with the seat heaters on. The Clarity seems to prefer to supplement the cabin heating with engine power. It's a feature or a curse depending on your point of view.
In the Clarity, the engine coming on from time to time is called normal operation. If the engine coming on in a PHEV is a disqualifying fact, you will not like the Clarity PHEV.
Here is a manual page that describes when the engine starts due to power demand:
Picture is too small (added a better jpeg too), here is the text:
• POWER/CHARGE Gauge
• Electric motor - The degree to which the electric motor is being powered is displayed by the readings on the POWER side.
When you depress the accelerator pedal, the white needle on the gauge moves. The curved blue line on the gauge shows the range within which only the electric motor provides propulsion to the wheels. The length of this line varies depending on the drive mode and the remaining power of the High Voltage battery. When the white needle exceeds the curved blue line, the engine starts and the curved blue line turns white.
• Battery charge in progress - The degree to which the High Voltage battery is being charged is displayed by the readings on the CHARGE side when coasting or during deceleration.
• Electric motor - The power output of the electric motor is restricted when the high voltage battery charge level is running low (one segment on the gauge). If you accelerate aggressively, the engine may start even though the white needle has not exceeded the curved blue line.