[danfuller]

I had a 2011 Volt from 2012 - 2017. Love it. It had some quirks - blind spots, only used premium gas, and bottomed out.

I test drove a Volt last Saturday. Love the new one even more. Looks better, blind spot monitor, uses regular unleaded, and no longer bottoms out.

I drove a Clarity today. I like the looks of the Volt better and the hatchback is useful


Volt wins:
Range 53 vs 47 (small win but a win)
Looks
Slightly less expensive because I have some GM rebate dollars.
I like a hatchback better than a trunk.

Clarity wins:
Huge back seat.
Back seat has air conditioner.
Quality of interior.

This is a hard decision. The hatchback is a lot more convenient than a trunk, but I buy a lot on Amazon now so I don't know if that will be a deal killer. I just love the comfort inside the Honda Clarity. It seems like a decision of comfort vs practicality. Anything that I am not thinking about?

 

[scottf200]

See other threads on this topic.

https://www.google.com/search?q=site:gm-volt.com+honda+clarity+plug

 

[FI Spyder]

You pretty much nailed it. I didn't like the interior (suede on the dash?, black relief wood grain?). The biggy though is trunk not hatch back (couldn't have hauled home my 65" TV from Best Buy). The rear fender, Meh, there has to be a better way. Turn on the engine when flooring it for extra power? As to the details, I didn't get that far.

 

[Edward Tyer]

I Vote Volt!
The Clarity is so far beyond ugly it's fugly.... why oh why did they do this? Did Honda secretly want to limit sales? Somebody somewhere had to have told them that huge numbers of prospective buyers would not be able to stomach the looks!

 

[soutthpaw]

The insight was ugly and this is just a bigger version of ugly. They will sell a lot of them because idiot GM eliminated their main competitor and the brand name alone sells Honda's. 9 years of production level tech behind the Volt, none behind the clarity. If it was not so ugly, it should be more enticing. Maybe GM willl revive the Volt in a year or two.

 

[srmarti]

If I needed the bigger car and the seating capacity, I'd consider the Clarity. I was concerned that my Volt with 4 seats would be a problem, 4 years later the situation is different and I'm usually driving solo. Got three seats available or fold down for cargo. I'm not excited about the Clarity looks, but you don't see that much of the outside while driving. I think the engine going on for the occasional times I might need to use full throttle would bug me a bit. I like that unless it's bitter cold out, my engine stays off until I run out of battery charge.

 

[Steverino]

Do you prefer a hybrid that needs a gas engine at times regardless of battery state of charge, or an EV that has a gas engine as a backup power generator?

 

[VoltAP1]

Do you prefer a hybrid that needs a gas engine at times regardless of battery state of charge, or an EV that has a gas engine as a backup power generator?

This is the biggest difference between them. A 2G Volt is about 5-6 seconds faster to 60 mph on EV only power vs. the Clarity, that's A HUGE difference.

I also think you should easily be able to find a Volt far cheaper than the Clarity unless Honda dealers are putting lots of cash on the hood these days. I got a very well optioned '18 LT Volt for ~$6k cheaper than a Clarity Touring (I wasn't a huge fan of the base Clarity seats, way too high fixed seating position, I was hard up against the roof at 6' 3").

The Volt also has way more useful safety features in the first Driver Confidence pkg (you can also get this on the LT). The Clarity is lacking real blind spot monitoring, rear park assist that's actually integrated into the car (the add on for the Clarity is pathetic), and rear cross traffic alert.

The Volt also handles way better than the Clarity, which can be a minus if you're only after a more luxury/floaty ride, which the Clarity does better.

So ultimately, EV only speed greatly favors the Volt, I liked the handling of the Volt, and the better safety packages had me leaning that way. After seeing what the actual cost differential would be, I went Volt and don't regret it.

The Volt's interior is definitely down on quality vs. the Clarity, I also wouldn't mind another 1-2" of rear leg room for the kids, but those are really my only annoyances so far in the car after about a year. I do like the hatch just as much as I thought, as it gives a way more useable storage space.

 

[garyg]

Go with the Volt. I have had 4 Gen I and I still own a 2015 but I just picked up a 2018 and after a few days, I can confirm the Gen II is better is almost every single category. I actually cant find a negative when compared to the Gen I. You will definitely be moving up. And the range is really great and the gas mpg is significant improvement. And noise...Gen II is really quite.

As far as the Clarity, it is ugly. They can take those rear fenders and bury them somewhere. I dont buy this GM interiors look cheap nonsense. I have worked on cars for over 40 years and they are all the same stuff: plastic. Not sure why anyone thinks the interior is cheap or cheap looking. I go to the Chicago auto show and I sit in every car for years. I dont see it. My Gen I looked great, and the 2018 has a burgundy/black interior and it is quite a looker. All jet black would be fine with me....And not one piece inside has fallen off, cracked faded, rattled or squeaked on any of the Volts I have owned and I dont park in a garage. I have nearly 180k on all 5 of them and only two saw the shop for service outside of oil changes and tires (low coolant and steering software on another).

And you can make great deal on a Volt. As far as being discontinued, every car on the planet has been discontinued.

I get the more seating area but then I can not remember ever needing 5 places. And there is enough room for me. If I need 5 seats, it would be a mid size car because mid size and less is not really a 5 seat car.

 

[Eagleco]

Honda Clarity: Assembled in Japan with 0% US/Canadian Parts Content

Chevy Volt: Assembled in the USA with 66% US/Canadian Parts Content

If it were a toss up or even a bit in favor of the Clarity, I would go with supporting our economy and our jobs.

High demand for the last of the Volts, may have a positive impact on GM's EV and possibly PHEV plans too.



Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[marcusm]

I’m biased for the reasons Eagleco said. But the unbiased economic truth is find an 18 volt and buy before March and you will do very well with the tax break.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Barry]

They are both great cars and similar in many ways. You can't go wrong either way.

For my family needs, the back seat would be a major deciding factor. We could really use more space than the Volt has. I am constantly carpooling kids and they are getting big now at 13-15 years old. One of their occasional carpool friends is already 6'2". It is a squeeze. It is not so much about the center position, but the skimpy leg and head room. Your backseat needs may be quite different.

The next thing I would look at is driver seat comfort. This will have a big impact on your ownership satisfaction, and it is a very personal thing. I have a definite opinion about these two seats, but it is irrelevant for anyone else's body.

The electric power in the Volt is superior, but the Honda accelerator pedal has a detent so you can easily get maximum performance from it without activating the gas engine, and since I usually drive more for smoothness and efficiency (or am limited by traffic flow anyway) rather than for excitement, I don't think I would see this as a limitation 99.9% of the time. Think about how often you floor the accelerator pedal now.

If you are still on the fence, get your best price for each one. That may make your decision for you. But consider that Hondas generally hold resale value better.

I am not trying to sell you on the Clarity, but wanted to provide some balance and counterpoints to the valid points made earlier in the thread in favor of the excellent Gen 2 Volt.

 

[css28]

My daughter bought a Clarity in April and so far she's very happy with it.
The Clarity gives you much less information in terms of maintenance mode, kWh consumed, etc. and, as others have pointed out, it has no mode guaranteed to keep the engine off.
Anecdotally, the engine behavior seems to be more intrusive for noise level and pitch and the fuel tank is a tiny 7 gallons, so you'll need to fill up more often on trips.

 

[alfon]

Yesterday my wife, and I along with our 90 lb + lab went fishing down to the Tillamook Oregon to film for our
outdoor channel on youtube. Our 2016 Volt did quite well considering winter weather here in the Northwest.

I wonder if the Clarity could do as well under the same conditions. Here is the dash photo on our return I took in our
driveway.

 

[mjones21]

If you plan to regularly use the back seats for rear facing child seats or people more than 5'5" tall, go for the Clarity. The Volt is fine for occasional use, but everyday use would get very tiresome. Yes, it is true that if you floor the Clarity, it will use the gas engine, but frankly most people aren't trying to do max speed 0-60 runs every day and you will still get 95%+ of your driving done in EV mode if you charge regularly.

If you don't frequently transport others, and if you don't have another vehicle in the household with a hatch style cargo area, I do think the Volt's liftback and fold down rear seats offer a practicality advantage over the Clarity. However, if you have another car in the household with a hatchback, I've found that most crossovers or even small hatches are better suited to hardware store duty than the Volt due to the Volt's relatively high load floor and low roofline.

As you have an Gen 1 Volt, I can say rear headroom is a bit worse in the Gen 2. That didn't matter to me at this point of my life, and it likely doesn't to you as a Gen 1 Volt owner, but it's worth noting.

But, long story short is the decision probably comes down to how much the back seat matters to you versus how much you want a sportier ride. Those are by far the two largest differentiators for these two cars. Another factor that you may want to consider is how long you plan to keep the car. I think if you plan to keep it less than 5 years, you may take a much larger hit on resale than you would with the Honda. If you plan to keep it significantly longer it's probably a wash.

 

[danfuller]

Thanks everyone for your input. I still go back and forth on this one. I drove the Volt and loved it. Afterwards, I drove the Clarity and loved it. The only Volts I can find with blind spot monitors are Prime. Most dealers seem to be willing to take about $4k off MSRP. That puts me at $36k - $2.5 (GM bucks) - 10k (tax credits) = $23.5k for a Volt.

The Clarity base model is good enough for my needs. I don't need leather. That makes the Clarity the exact same price. $33k - 10k (tax credits) = $23k.

Chevrolet usually offers some rebates, but they have none now for the Volt. Honda's model pretty much excludes rebates; therefore, the price is the price. I feel like the Clarity is more care for the money. If Chevy would offer a 2-3k rebate, then that might swing me.

Right now I am in limbo anyway. Buying a car is contingent on getting a new job. My current job comes with an employer paid lease car. The two I am looking at don't come with a car.

 

[miamialley]

The Clarity has a tiny trunk in addition to not be as versatile as a hatchback. The interior of the gen 2 is perfect. The increased electric mileage of the Volt makes it an easy choice for me.

 

[gobble]

I also looked at the Clarity. This would be a tough decision if the Clarity wasn't UGLY. Like capital U G L Y. It's Taurus sized with those awful covers over the rear wheels. It looks like a grandpa car compared to the sort of sporty looking Volt. My wife also said no way because of the looks of the Clarity.

 

[dannycamps]

I would have to think the Volt Premier trim would be better than the Clarity base trim. All things being equal, I'd go for the Volt Premier with the nicer interior.

 

[wbrisett]

Chevrolet usually offers some rebates, but they have none now for the Volt. Honda's model pretty much excludes rebates; therefore, the price is the price. I feel like the Clarity is more care for the money. If Chevy would offer a 2-3k rebate, then that might swing me.

Right now I am in limbo anyway. Buying a car is contingent on getting a new job. My current job comes with an employer paid lease car. The two I am looking at don't come with a car.

Some other food for thought... While not perfect, I certainly like the infotainment on the Chevrolet much better than that on the Honda. In fact, one other issue I have is the same one I have with the brand new Subarus that I've driven recently as loaners. They really feel like the people who did the UI work used to work in the 1980's at Sony. Little buttons here and there for this and that, Honda has some of that, then they pulled back and did the Ford "buttons? We don't need no stinkin' buttons" routine. I really feel that at a minimum a volume knob is required on a car.

Looks are in the eye of the beholder, but I just don't have anything nice to say about the Honda. It's pretty ugly in my book.

Finally, I really like the fact that if I want to run on electric in the Volt I can, no engine at anytime (unless I run out of juice), and if I want to conserve my batteries for something, I can put the Volt into hold which runs the engine.

At the end of the day, it's about what makes you happy. I've owned enough vehicles to understand that if you say 'eh... I can live with that' today, will drive you absolutely bonkers in six months. I don't think there's any one thing that is a total turn off for me on the Honda, but it's all the little things (erm... thinking about that again, maybe the looks, they just don't appeal to me). So, think about the little things before you make your decision.