2017 Honda Clarity: What's It Like to Live With?

What do you want to know about?

• Introduction
• Monthly Update for April 2017
• Monthly Update for May 2017
• Performance Tested
• Monthly Update for June 2017
• Monthly Update for July 2017
• Monthly Update for August 2017
• Monthly Update for September 2017
• Monthly Update for October 2017
• Monthly Update for November 2017
• Monthly Update for January 2018
• Surprise Maintenance Costs
• Hydrogen-mageddon
• Wrap-Up

Introduction

What Did We Buy?
We've added a 2017 Honda Clarity to our long-term test fleet. It's one of only a handful of hydrogen fuel cell cars on the market today. We spent six months last year with a Toyota Mirai fuel cell sedan and were pleasantly surprised by how normal it was in day-to-day driving.

Then again, maybe we shouldn't have been that surprised. Although we call them fuel cell cars, they're really nothing more than electric cars that get their power in a different manner. Rather than storing electricity in batteries, cars such as the Clarity have a fuel cell on board that converts hydrogen into electricity.

Honda claims the Clarity is better than Toyota's Mirai in every measurable way. It's the kind of thing you expect to hear given the rivalry between the two companies, but Honda and Toyota are also two companies that have bet big on the whole idea of hydrogen fuel cells. Other competitors have decided that battery-powered electric cars are the way to go. Tesla boss Elon Musk has even gone as far as calling hydrogen cars "fool cells."

It's an issue that will be debated for many years to come. At the moment, all we can do is test what's available now. We already own a Tesla Model X and a Chevrolet Bolt, so the Clarity seemed like a logical choice.

Note that we don't actually own this vehicle. Honda only lets you lease a Clarity, and only a handful of dealerships in California stock it. Not surprisingly, there weren't many available when we started our search. After getting on a few waiting lists, the Norm Reeves Honda Superstore in Irvine was the first dealer to find one for us. There's not much negotiating to do since it's a set lease price of $369 per month. We signed the paperwork, and a dealer rep delivered the Clarity to our office and gave us a tour of its features.

What Options Does It Have?
Once you decide to lease the Honda Clarity, the only other decision to make is what color you want. There are no trim levels or options of any kind. In fact, there are only three colors to choose from: Crystal Black Pearl, Red Bordeaux Metallic and White Orchid Pearl.

Ours is the Crystal Black Pearl with a black interior. It's not the most photogenic color, but in person we like the way the Clarity looks since it makes some of the car's more peculiar design elements less awkward.

Why We Bought It
After our first taste of living with a hydrogen car, we wanted to learn more. Our time with the Toyota Mirai proved that hydrogen is a practical alternative to batteries when it comes to delivering electricity — provided there's a refueling station nearby.

In 2016, there were only a handful of stations in our area. Now, there are 14 stations in greater Los Angeles, with several more planned to come online by the end of the year. It may not sound like much, but with well over 350 miles of range per tank, the Clarity doesn't need daily access.

We were also intrigued by how far the Clarity has come from the limited-production Honda FCX Clarity that came out in 2008. That car seemed more like an experiment than one ready for prime time. This Clarity looks and feels like a real car inside and out, so we expect it to fit right in with the rest of the vehicles in our fleet.

For our latest thoughts and impressions of the 2017 Honda Clarity, follow its progress on our long-term road test page.

Edmunds leased this vehicle for the purpose of evaluation.

Monthly Update for April 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
With limited hydrogen fueling stations beyond the immediate Southern California area, we've been hesitant to push the road-tripping capability of the 2017 Honda Clarity. Therefore, most of the driving during the month of April has been around town, with a few shorter cross-town trips mixed in. This also gave many staffers an opportunity to take a turn at the "fueling" station to literally gas up.

With all the shorter trips, we haven't had a chance to really test out the effectiveness of the rear cargo volume or true long-distance seat comfort. And many of the Clarity's parts are from Honda's parts bin, so some of the pros and cons will sound vaguely like those from our recently departed 2016 Honda Civic. See how many you can match up.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
Average lifetime mpkg: 58.6
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill miles/kg: 62.6
Best range: 216.4 miles
Current odometer: 1,976 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Performance
"The Clarity doesn't have the immediate torque of an electric car, especially starting from a stop. Its mid-8-second zero-60 time puts it solidly in economy car territory, but without any of the issues that come with an economy car transmission. So even though it's not quick, it's smooth and always responds right away to input. It also has well-tuned brakes, which never feel grabby. The smooth driving experience actually adds to the upscale feel of the car.

"There are certainly highs and lows. For me, the low is the handling. This is a heavy car that doesn't look or feel heavy until you try throwing it into a turn. You learn very quickly to brake early. The high has to be the sound. This car finally sounds like the future I always expected. Braking and accelerating are accompanied by whines and whooshes that are straight out of Blade Runner." — Will Kaufman, associate automotive editor

Comfort
"Feels quite spacious inside. Cabin feels broad, there's lots of rear legroom even after I've adjusted the driver seat, and there are three seats back there. Superior to the Mirai, which felt like a narrow Avalon with only two rear buckets. Also, the Clarity's interior design is somewhat normal compared to the Mirai, which seemed weirdly styled to remind passengers the car is unique. My main gripe has to do with the angled sides of the center console, which manages to place a corner right where my splayed knee wants to rest.

"Ergonomically, it's fine except for three issues: the lack of telescopic range on the steering column, that loathsome push-button shifter borrowed from Honda's nine-speed products, and a touchscreen audio faceplate that lacks a volume knob — which has already been improved in the new CR-V, but not here." — Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing

Interior
"Honda did a nice job with the Clarity's interior. The textured wood trim and leather all feel upscale. Really only the switchgear felt like regular old Honda plastics. I'm more willing to forgive the sort of cheap-feeling transmission push buttons because they don't feel out of place in the car where, for example, they do in our Lincoln Continental." — Will Kaufman

Technology-Audio
"It's odd for a car that feels this upscale to lack things like parking sensors and blind-spot monitoring. I do appreciate the automatic cruise control, which, while not the best implementation, works well. The real downer in the Clarity is Honda's simply awful voice control system, which basically forces you to navigate through a series of menus from the same root menu every time you use it. You still have to pay attention to the screen to get what you want, so it doesn't make navigating the infotainment system any less distracting. There really was zero effort made to implement any sort of natural language comprehension. Luckily, the car has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which I wound up using 100 percent of the time." — Will Kaufman

Monthly Update for May 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
The dearth of hydrogen fueling stations outside of the Southern California area limits the number of long trips we'll take in our 2017 Honda Clarity. As a result, the Clarity is settling into life as city dweller with the occasional longer commute thrown in the mix. This is also still just our third month owning the car, so admittedly we are getting our feet wet a bit before diving into range tests.

So far the Honda's proven itself a capable runabout. There is plenty of power for the situations we've encountered thus far. The interior fits us, too. Not just from a comfort perspective but also in the sense that it has cupholders and compartments where we want them, easy-to-use controls and an interior spaciousness we didn't expect from a car of its size. We are still getting to know the Clarity, but already it has a lot going for it.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
In the month of May we accumulated just 688 miles on the Honda. Of that it didn't see much more than 100 miles on the highway; still it was enough to bump our to-date fuel economy totals. Its average is up 1.1 mpkg, though still well below the EPA-estimated 67 mpkg. Our most efficient fill is up, at 66 mpkg, as is the best range, now at 270 miles. It's important to remember we have fewer than 3,000 miles on the car, so expect a lot of change as the test continues.

Average lifetime mpkg: 59.7
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill mpkg: 66
Best range: 269.9 miles
Current odometer: 2,664 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Performance
"So the Clarity isn't all that fast, no surprise there. It is, however, fast enough, at least in my mind. I've had extensive time behind the wheel, and there are very few situations where the Clarity feels underpowered. Passing on the highway is the only situation where it runs out of shove, but even then it's not an issue. There's also the mental comfort of knowing that no matter how much I mash the gas pedal, the Clarity is not going to run out of power anytime soon. It's a much different mind-set compared to driving a battery-powered EV." — Ed Hellwig, senior editor

Interior
"After getting some solid time behind the wheel, I definitely like the Clarity better than our 2016 Toyota Mirai. Much of it comes down to the interior. It not only feels more spacious inside, but it also has all the convenience features you would want in a commuter car. There are big, well-placed cupholders, a good-size center console and even storage underneath the console that's easily accessible. I also like the simplicity of the design. The climate controls are easy to use, and the menus on the touchscreen make sense at a glance. It all makes for a pleasant driving experience that I like more than expected." — Ed Hellwig

Technology-Audio
"This is the first vehicle I've driven that activates the rearview camera when you initiate the right-turn signal. It comes in handy here in Santa Monica with so many bicyclists, pedestrians and other potential hazards. Such a simple idea that should be standard across all vehicles." — David Landsness, director of video

Utility
"It's a small thing, but I love the light touch required to close the trunklid. My daily driver requires all the muscle my scrawny arms can manage." — Bryn MacKinnon, manager of content operations

Performance Tested

As the only fuel cell vehicle in our fleet currently, the 2017 Honda Clarity is unique but not completely foreign. It delivers a smooth flow of electric power like many of the traditional EVs we've tested, which makes it a comfortable daily driver. Its Honda roots are evident in the form of both interior layout and driving manners. And this isn't the first car with a hydrogen fuel cell that we've tested.

It's certainly not a performance car, but we still took it to the test track to get some numbers and see how they stack up against our 2016 Toyota Mirai. Take the jump to see how the two of them compare in a place where neither is particularly comfortable. It's the battle of the hydrogen beauties.

In the case of these particular vehicles, performance at the track is not the primary attraction. So in that vein, here is a comparison of the fuel economy data we've collected on each to-date:

Honda Clarity (after 2,600 miles)                Toyota Mirai (after 7,900 miles)
Average fuel economy (mpkg): 59.7              Average fuel economy (mpkg): 58.9
Best fuel economy (mpkg): 66.0                     Best fuel economy (mpkg): 74.3
Worst fuel economy (mpkg): 49.3                  Worst fuel economy (mpkg): 41.9
Best range: 269.9 miles                                   Best range: 283.4 miles

Monthly Update for June 2017

Where Did We Drive It?

This month, our 2017 Honda Clarity handled commuter duty. Maybe someday we'll be brave enough to try a road trip, but we haven't gotten there yet. So far, the Hondanburg is proving itself a comfortable, competent and thoughtfully designed alternative to battery electric cars. Then again, we've had it for a few months, so some of the shine is starting to wear off.

Longtime readers might remember our 2016 Toyota Mirai, the only other hydrogen car on the market. In June, we published a head-to-head comparison of the two cars' track test results. It's always interesting to see how vehicles that weren't meant for track driving fare in our vehicle testers' hands.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?

Because of all the commuter miles, we managed a new record. Our best fill in June was 69.8 miles per kilogram (mpkg), handily beating the EPA estimate. Remember, the Clarity is rated higher for city driving than highway driving, so all of that time it spent slowly inching along Los Angeles freeways paid off.

Of course, our lifetime average was bumped up less than 1 mpkg. At 60.6 mpkg it still falls substantially short of EPA estimates. Personally, I blame the awesome whooshing noises brought on by full throttle (noted in April's update and in the Mirai head-to-head mentioned above).

Average lifetime mpkg: 60.6
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill mpkg: 69.8
Best range: 269.9 miles
Current odometer: 3,610 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights
Performance
"Hmm. I remember liking this car the first time I drove it a month ago. I thought it had decent dynamics. But this time it feels heavy and — sloppy is too strong a word — unkempt? Out of sorts? Nothing is wrong, but it steers and moves like overcooked spaghetti. I like my cars to be al dente. Terrible metaphor, but you get the idea. And now I'm hungry." — Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing

"The low-end electric torque on the Clarity is so nice to live with on a day-to-day basis. It's such a great daily driver in city traffic (much like our long-term Bolt) because of how well it gets off the line." — Travis Langness, automotive editor

Interior

"I love the little 'seats' that flip down for the cupholders in the front seat. If I order a short cappuccino from Starbucks (it's a thing, look it up), my cup doesn't disappear into the deep cupholder. The shortened cupholder is also great for my cellphone (if I put it in the tray under the center console, it slides around)." — Bryn MacKinnon, manager of content operations

"While I don't love the gear selector on the center console (borrowed from Acura), I really do enjoy the Clarity's interior. Especially the nearly matte surfaces near the center console. The dashboard and driver (TFT) display are simple, without extravagant extras or flashy chrome. This is an interior that's easy to live with from first glance." — Travis Langness

MPG

"Fueling this thing is weird. It's easy, but you have to take the pump's word for it when it says the tank's full. On two consecutive tanks the fuel economy was the same on the car's meter — as it should have been — but wildly different when I did the math myself. That's because the car didn't really fill all the way on the first tank (even though the pump said as much), so on the next tank the car took a lot more than it should have considering the lowish number of miles I drove. It was underfilled the first time.

"'Underfilled' isn't quite the right term; instead it's better to say that the tank filled to a lower pressure than it should have. Anyway, it amounts to the same thing." — Dan Edmunds

Miscellaneous

"The fact that you can fill the Clarity up just as quickly as you can a gasoline-powered car is a really big plus. If you live in an apartment or somewhere you can't install a Level 2 charger, this is the clear alternative to battery EV power. I might take a Sawzall to those rear fender overhangs, but otherwise I'm really starting to like this one." — Travis Langness

"Can we stop with the it-has-to-look-different-because-it-is-different styling already? This thing is horrid-looking. How does this approach get people interested in buying one? Right! It doesn't." — Dan Edmunds

Monthly Update for July 2017

Where Did We Drive It?

Our 2017 Honda Clarity accumulated yet more commuter miles this month. Somewhere along the way, I drove it through a new psychedelic car wash near my home, but that's about as adventurous as any of us got. No one has taken it on a road trip yet, and that's probably because California's Hydrogen Highway only connects Los Angeles to San Francisco, with a short offshoot that goes to Lake Tahoe.

In other words, nothing on the hydrogen supply side has changed very much since we road-tripped our 2016 Toyota Mirai to Lake Tahoe a year ago. Sure, more stations have been added since then — we can now fill up in Santa Barbara and San Diego. However, these stations and a handful of other new additions were built to expand the pool of potential buyers by establishing more neighborhood locations that owners can use as their primary filling station.

Road-tripping potential has not increased a bit, in other words. We still cannot venture across the desert to Las Vegas or up the eastern flank of California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Non-commuting travel does not yet seem to be a priority for the California Fuel Cell Partnership, and that is going to limit the appeal of hydrogen cars such as the Clarity and the Mirai.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?

No new records were set this month, and our overall average fell a little bit to 59.6 mpkg, which stands for miles per kilogram of hydrogen, the unit that is used to price the amount of fuel dispensed at the pump.

You may have heard of mpge, which attempts to translate alternate fuels into a gasoline miles per gallon equivalent. But I hate to use the term when we're talking about electricity because any talk of gallons makes little sense unless you're an electrical engineer. My tone is slightly different when it comes to hydrogen because the equivalency factor is 1-to-1: 1 kilo of hydrogen has the same energy content as 1 gallon of gasoline. This makes the math very easy; our Clarity's lifetime average of 59.6 mpkg therefore equals 59.6 mpge.

But don't get too excited by the ease of this conversion because it's still useless to a consumer. That's because 1 kilogram of hydrogen is significantly more expensive than 1 gallon of gasoline. How much more? My local pump was charging $15.99 per kilogram of the stuff while the adjacent gasoline pump was asking $2.89 for a gallon of 87 octane unleaded.

Despite an apparent mpg equivalency factor of 1-to-1, hydrogen is 5.5 times more expensive to buy. And that is why I hate mpge as a unit: It's purely an energy density yardstick. It's not the cost yardstick many people assume it is, and in the case of hydrogen it's not even close.

Average lifetime mpkg: 59.6
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill mpkg: 69.8
Best range: 269.9 miles
Current odometer: 3,957 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights
Performance
"The Clarity has enough off-the-line punch to get up to speed quickly when you, for argument's sake, pull out of a side road and turn in front of — well in front of, I must stress, when the maneuver started, at least — a car that's coming on stronger than you estimated. Ask me how I know." — Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing

Interior
"Below the sloping main rear window there's another tiny vertical window between the passenger compartment and the trunk. And then there's another smoked glass window that's cleverly disguised as black paint beneath the trunklid's spoiler. This weird arrangement lets you look through the trunk to see a little patch of road below the main bit that's visible through the sloping main window.

"But this intricate plan goes pear-shaped if you've got your trunk packed full of luggage, at which point you see luggage in the lower third of your rearview mirror. Or dirty laundry, if that's what your trunk is full of. The possibilities are endless, especially for writers who tend toward gangster-movie scripts." — Dan Edmunds

"I'm already on record as being hostile toward Honda's push-button shift array, which can be very laggy in an 'I'll take your request under advisement' kind of way if you push a button and the computer decides that insufficient time has passed since you pressed the start button or rested your foot on the brake pedal.

"At least here in the Clarity it makes a certain kind of sense. This car is ultimately powered by a direct-drive electric motor. Park, Drive, Neutral and Reverse are pretty much all you need with such a single-speed transmission. Why not use buttons?

"But now Honda/Acura has ridden this ergonomic nightmare to a new low. They've gone and installed it in the Acura NSX supercar. What do the Honda Clarity and Honda Pilot have in common with an Acura NSX? This thing." — Dan Edmunds

MPG
"Filling up the Clarity cost me half an hour today because I had to go to two stations. At the first station, the pump wouldn't work. The pump accepted my card, prompted me to start pumping, and then told me there was an error and I should start over. This isn't my first time filling the Clarity, and I tried three or four times, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't user error.

"Fortunately, another hydrogen station was only about 3 miles away, so I made the drive and ... got free hydrogen, for some reason. The pump just told me to start pumping without asking for payment. I was worried that somehow whoever had pumped ahead of me had managed to leave his payment info in or something, so I tried everything I could to cancel the transaction. I even tried pumping a tiny bit and then stopping so there would be a complete transaction. But every time it went back to the screen that prompted me to start pumping without asking for payment.

"These sorts of errors don't really instill confidence in the hydrogen infrastructure that's being built — particularly the first one when the pump didn't work at all." — Will Kaufman, automotive editor

Miscellaneous
"I happened to bend down and look at something that caught my eye under the Clarity as it sat in my driveway. I hadn't realized how truly weird the rear suspension was going to be. The huge hydrogen tank (indicated) that makes the rear seat good for three-across accomodation also eats into the real estate engineers traditionally use for the rear suspension. Here they've shifted many of the important bits aft to an alarming degree. I've got to put this one up on our lift to have a closer look." — Dan Edmunds

Monthly Update for August 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
Is it a problem that our 2017 Honda Clarity spends nearly all of its time on commuter duty? Not really. That's what it was designed for, so we don't feel as if we're doing anything out of the ordinary by using it mostly for runs to and from the office. In fact, the Clarity excels at handling crowded city streets and tight parking spots, so most of our editors like taking it home at the end of the day.

As our director of vehicle testing, Dan Edmunds, mentioned last month, the limited number of hydrogen filling stations in California reduces the amount of exploring you can do in the Clarity. Its range on a full tank is significant, but it doesn't help if you can't top it off along the way. We still managed to put nearly 1,000 miles on our Clarity in August, though, so it's getting its fair share of miles.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?

Average lifetime mpg: 61.3
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill mpg: 69.8
Best range: 269.9 miles
Current odometer: 4,970 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Performance
"OK, Honda. Real talk. If you truly want to foster interest in your alt-fuel efforts, you have to make a desirable car. Like it or not, the general public responds overwhelmingly to styling. The Clarity, however, looks like a nerd's shoe. Nobody will ever give it long, lingering looks. Make no mistake, the Clarity is an engineering triumph, but you can't even get people interested enough to find out what's beneath its skin because that skin is so goofy-looking. And the Clarity's driving experience is wholly ho-hum. That, too, is a triumph, given the complexity of its propulsion hardware ... but it is not engaging. The car need not be a sports car, but giving something other than merely adequate acceleration and dishwater-dull dynamics would pique more curiosity. Learn the Tesla lesson — make a car that excites. Make it aspirational. Make people want it for reasons other than, 'Well, it runs on hydrogen.' Only then will you get the general public to give a whit about your fuel cell tech." — Jay Kavanagh, engineering editor

"Jay's got some good points here. The Clarity is far from 'fun' to drive, and its styling is unexplainable. Yet I still like driving it. It's comfortable, quiet and performs well enough to keep you out of trouble. Maybe the fact that I have a 35-mile commute makes the Clarity feel so much more useful. When you're just plugging along in the carpool lane with the adaptive cruise control on and the music cranked up, the Clarity feels pretty damn good. I even took it a short weekend trip to a friend's house about 50 miles away and was reminded how quiet it is on the highway when you're actually moving at a decent clip. It may not be 'fun' to drive, but it's no punishment either." — Ed Hellwig, senior editor

Comfort
"Just one quick note about the driver's seat. I find it surprisingly comfortable considering its lack of noticeable bolstering. I've spent several hours behind the wheel at a time and rarely come away with complaints. I have noticed, however, that the center console intrudes into my knee space, specifically my right knee. I find myself resting it on the corner of the console and there's nothing there but a sharp edge. Needless to say, it doesn't feel great." — Ed Hellwig

Cargo Space
"Took the Clarity to go golfing. Its trunk passed the golf bag test without much trouble. The main opening in the trunk fit my average-size bag no problem, but if I had to fit another bag it might have been a tight squeeze." — Ed Hellwig

Miscellaneous
"It was probably a coincidence more than anything, but the last time I filled up our Clarity there was actually a line at the pump. I knew it was coming, too, as I sat behind a Toyota Mirai at the light approaching the station. To my surprise, there was already a Hyundai Tucson fuel cell vehicle filling up at the pump. I had never seen another vehicle of any kind at any of the hydrogen stations, yet there I was sitting in line waiting. It didn't take long, as each car only takes maybe 10 minutes or so at the most to fill up and I think the other drivers were generally surprised to see cars behind them. I guess that's what happens when you're an early adopter of a new technology." — Ed Hellwig

"Let's geek out about windshield washers for a moment. The Clarity oozes its washer fluid out its wiper, right at the interface between blade edge and windshield. A similar setup is found on certain Mercedes-Benz cars (they call it 'Magic Vision Control'). This type of washer system, I submit, is ideal. Less fluid is required for a given amount of cleaning, sure, but there's another, better reason to do it this way — there is no spray to obscure your vision (especially when driving into direct sun). Traditional systems either spray in a fan pattern that provides good coverage and poor visibility or a discrete pee-stream that doesn't impede your forward view but has crummy coverage. The Clarity's system is the best of all worlds, performance-wise, but I suspect it is pricey. Perhaps the engineers did not want to route washer fluid into the 'engine' bay for safety reasons, which forced them to go with the at-the-blades solution? I can only guess." — Jay Kavanagh

Monthly Update for September 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
You've heard this drumbeat before. With one exception, trips in our long-term fuel cell cars like the 2017 Honda Clarity don't stray far from the Los Angeles basin. This is, of course, a consequence of the nascent hydrogen refueling infrastructure. The existence of few refueling options limits the distance, and locations to which, the Clarity can travel.

Hence, the Clarity is cut out for commute duty and local trips rather than road trips. And in September it served duty in precisely that capacity, ferrying editors and Edmunds employees to and from home. Again, a familiar situation for every (OK, both) fuel cell cars we've tested. In the meantime, we've pontificated on the Clarity's place in automobiledom and found new things to like about it.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
This month showed the Clarity suffering somewhat in the fuel economy department, turning in 55.3 miles per kilogram of hydrogen (mpkg). One fill in particular was responsible for dragging down the Clarity's result for the month since there were only three fills in total during September, covering 645 miles of travel.

It's worth reiterating that "miles per" metrics are inherently poor measures of fuel economy. That includes mpkg, though as a yardstick it is far less misleading than miles per gallon equivalent (mpge), which is almost completely useless.

In any case, our Clarity's fuel economy in September slipped a bit from last month and dragged down its lifetime average in the process.

Average lifetime mpkg: 60.4
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill mpkg: 69.8
Best range: 269.9 miles
Current odometer: 5,375 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Interior
"The Clarity seems to be the only car in our fleet right now that insists on restoring the driver's seat to the saved memory position attached to each key's driver profile. I understand the value of this feature to some, but it means that if you're sharing a key with someone else in your family, the seat will always be wrong for one of you when you get in. It's redundant if you have your seating position saved anyway and an annoyance in a shared car."— Will Kaufman, associate automotive editor

Technology-Audio
"I'm a fan of head-up displays in cars, and our Clarity has a good one. The numbers are easily legible and don't get washed out in the sunlight. For a while, this was the only Honda where you'd find a head-up display, but now the 2018 Accord will offer one in the Touring trim." — Ron Montoya, senior consumer advice editor

Miscellaneous
"To echo J-Kav's comment from last month, the Clarity's styling isn't doing it any favors. This point was underscored recently with the advent of the all-new 2018 Honda Accord, a genuinely graceful thing that makes the Clarity look like a designer's bad dream from the '80s. To be fair, the rival Toyota Mirai has a similarly intimate relationship with the ugly stick, so at least looking weird is the FCEV segment norm right now. But why didn't Honda work harder to make this thing look cool? It's closer to the Pontiac Aztek (yeah, I said it) than the BMW i8. We need more designs like the latter if alternative-energy vehicles are to win broader acceptance." — Josh Sadlier, senior manager, content strategy

"Personally, I really like the Clarity. Issues with hydrogen infrastructure aside, I'd definitely consider leasing one if I needed a daily commuter and didn't have reliable access to a Level 2 electrical charging station. But I don't know if hydrogen has a future.

"Right now, Toyota and Samsung are promising breakthroughs in battery technology by 2020. It seems likely that electric cars will gain range and shed weight more easily than hydrogen cars, which will always need a big, heavily reinforced tank in their trunk. Electrical infrastructure is expanding, and charging stations seem largely more reliable and easier to install than hydrogen stations. Looking at battery electric and hydrogen technology, I have to wonder if hydrogen cars are going to wind up as another truncated stump on the automotive evolutionary tree, like steam cars or propeller cars. I'm still sad about propeller cars." — Will Kaufman

"I filled up as usual at our local station, but when I was done I could not get the nozzle to release from the car. It seemed that the collar was pulling back like it should, and I could move the handle in and out a little and rotate the nozzle, so it wasn't frozen in place. (They get very frosty as they fill.) I stood there for three or four minutes as another Clarity pulled up behind me. I called the number on the pump for help and was told that maybe the outer sleeve of the collar wasn't pulling back far enough.

"It was true. There was maybe another one-thirty-second of an inch of space, so I pulled back on the collar some more while holding the nozzle in. It worked. The extra travel released the retaining balls that ring the nozzle like an air compressor connector, and I was done.

"My first clue should have been how cold and frosty the nozzle had been when I arrived. That indicates someone had been there just before me, and maybe some slush inside was gumming up the works. I don't know. I've filled up at this station a dozen times, and this is a new hiccup. A new SAE hydrogen nozzle is in the works, so maybe this kind of stuff will soon cease to be an issue." — Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing

"The Clarity isn't a very popular car around the office, and I'm pretty sure that's the result of a spate of fueling issues (detailed in previous updates). The issue isn't the car per se; it's that no one wants to be a victim of the whims of the unreliable hydrogen infrastructure. It's unfortunate that the fueling stations' unreliability has made us skittish because the Clarity itself is a good, comfortable commuter."— Will Kaufman

Monthly Update for October 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
There's a pattern here, and that pattern is that the Clarity is the last car to be chosen when the car list circulates among our editors. Our 2017 Honda Clarity has some idiosyncrasies associated with refueling, of course, which inherently limits its appeal. But I suspect that even if it was a conventional car, Honda's fuel-cell science project wouldn't fare much better. For all its innovation, the Clarity is relentlessly humdrum.

Nobody said that a vision of the future would be enthralling. Whether that future comes to pass is another question entirely, but it certainly couldn't hurt to attempt to cultivate genuine enthusiasm by creating desirable future-y vehicles in the first place. Could it?

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
Despite its relative unpopularity, the Clarity covered 694 miles in October. In the process, it delivered 59 miles per kilogram of hydrogen (mpkg), which is a far cry from its EPA combined rating of 67 mpkg.

I'll use this space to remind new readers (because you, the loyal Edmunds reader, already know this) that "miles per" metrics are inherently poor measures of fuel economy. Mpkg doesn't escape this criticism, though it is far less offensive than miles per gallon equivalent (mpge), which is almost completely useless.

Average lifetime mpkg: 59.2
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill mpkg: 69.8
Best range: 269.9 miles
Current odometer: 6,069 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

Utility
"While there is little for me to say about the Clarity, well, there is little to say about it. I do like that it has good pickup and acceleration. There is that electric, Prius-y 'wind-down' sound as you're braking, which is a good reminder of the reason it exists. I enjoyed the space inside and the interior overall, but it's nothing to write home about. I think Honda has good intentions here; [it] just needs to do some refining on the infotainment (distracting to use while driving) and certainly the appearance." — Sarah Johnston, community manager, content

Miscellaneous
"Again, the hydrogen nozzle froze to the car. I futilely yanked, jostled and jiggled the handle (what is this, a toilet?) to dislodge it and when none of that worked, it eventually, mysteriously, came free. I'm still not certain exactly what I did to make it relinquish its grasp on the Honda, so I'll probably have to go all primate on the thing again next time I refuel it. Sigh." — Jason Kavanagh, senior road test engineer

"I have many car-crazed friends that appreciate all manner of vehicles. Yet they are consistently befuddled by the Clarity. Their frustration in attempting — and failing — to understand its raison d'être is clearly evident. They stammer, point, furrow their brows and puzzle vocally. It's not that they can't appreciate the Clarity's innovative powertrain (on the contrary, they understand how huge a feat it is to produce such a beast). It's that they simply can't compute why it exists. The underlying question is: 'What is the problem this car attempts to solve?' All I can really come up with is, well, it's a zero-emission vehicle that edges out every EV's range and demolishes their refueling time. That's about all I can come up with." — Jason Kavanagh

"Starting this thing up in my garage makes me feel like I've been teleported into the dry cleaning basement of a large hotel. Complete with hissing and assorted whirring, it's surprisingly loud and makes the Clarity feel more like a science experiment/test bed than a vehicle you're supposed to buy." — Kurt Niebuhr, photo editor

Monthly Update for November 2017

Where Did We Drive It?
It takes time to adopt any new technology and learn the ins and outs of using it. And that was the idea for the 2017 Honda Clarity long-term car. Having our staff get more experience with the operation and fueling process of a hydrogen vehicle is important. All the whirring, pumping noises from the fuel cell stack and foibles at the gas station ensure our editors get some experience with this rare power system, and we in turn can let readers know when it's ready for prime time.

Most months, we get a few tank-fulls of data to let you know what the fuel economy is like. But for November, our car only moved 323 miles and experienced two fills.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
Our two fills this month totaled 5.49 kilograms of hydrogen for 323 miles of driving. That's a monthly average of 57.9 miles per kilogram (mpkg) of hydrogen, which is still less than the EPA rating.

Average lifetime mpkg: 59.2
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill mpkg: 69.8
Best range: 269.9 miles
Current odometer: 6,393 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
None.

Logbook Highlights

MPG
"Talk about range anxiety! I left last night with 95 miles remaining. When I left my house this morning, I had 83. By the time I filled up, it was down to 70. I tried to fill up at a local station, but it was out of fuel, even though the California Fuel Cell Partnership Station Map said that it was up and running. Not super accurate, obviously.

"This morning, I had to enlist Rex to help get it filled and it still took us about 30 minutes to figure the whole thing out. Rex and I had a hell of a time trying to get the pump to work. First, we couldn't get the nozzle to latch. When we did, the pump would just stop and we'd have to start the whole process over again. We tried both H35 and H70 settings (hydrogen pressure), and both settings would sort of half fill then stop. Between us both, we spent around $50 to fill the car back up.

"All in all, the infrastructure for this vehicle is just not there yet. I'd much rather have range anxiety in an electric vehicle than one that runs on hydrogen. I also had visions of the nozzle flying off at high velocity and the Hindenburg disaster as we filled up. It's going to take a lot more than a free fuel card to get people to really adopt this technology. That being said, it's neat to play with." — Abigail Bassett, senior director, video & social media

Comfort
"One thing of note that drives me absolutely crazy is the high-pitched hum that's present from the moment you switch the car on. I noticed it even with music going and over wind noise. On a long road trip, this would drive me bonkers and I imagine that it would drive everyone in the car insane too." — Abigail Bassett

Monthly Update for January 2018

Where Did We Drive It?
Where we go in our 2017 Honda Clarity is still limited by the refueling network. There is a dense network of hydrogen stations near our Santa Monica offices and up to 40 miles south of us. Too far beyond that requires range-calculated planning. So we tend to keep the car in the hands of those living near headquarters.

Since our last update, we drove the Clarity over 1,700 miles and we learned a few things about the car. For one, don't count on all filling stations being open when you drive up. They are down for maintenance with some regularity. We also experienced a wiper failure and an oil change. But this car doesn't have any oil, you say. Read on for an explanation.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
So, to be exact, we drove 1,742 miles since our last update in November, a big enough tally to impact some of our lifetime stats. On the downside, our average fell 0.4 mile per kilogram (mpkg). But thanks to a 40-mile commute in each direction, Manager of Content Production Kelly Hellwig smashed the previous range record of 269.9 miles.

Average lifetime mpkg: 58.8
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (68 city/66 highway)
Best fill mpkg: 69.8
Best range: 309.8 miles
Current odometer: 8,135 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
"The Clarity windshield wipers aren't working," read the email in my inbox. A quick look confirmed that the wipers operated fine but there wasn't much fluid coming out. The reservoir was full, so it wasn't for a lack of juice. I checked for debris next. This wiper design does not have spray nozzles. Instead, the fluid lines run right up through the wiper housing, and the liquid essentially drools across the windshield when the driver pulls the lever. Of the eight openings, five were clogged with some sort of goop. I couldn't decide what it was, but my fingernail cleared it out just fine. Wipers fixed.

Just before sitting down to write this update, the Clarity asked for an A1 service. This is funny because in Honda-speak "A" is an oil change and "1" is a tire rotation. Considering the Honda is a fuel cell vehicle and there is no oil, we're curious to hear what the dealer says. But we imagine this is just the same system used in the combustion engine cars, so when it sees 7,500 miles on the odometer it calls for A1 service. We'll get the tires rotated at our next opportunity.

Logbook Highlights

MPG
"The lack of range anxiety in this car is a huge plus over most EVs. Not only does it have substantial range, but the ability to pull into a station, top it off in 10 minutes and have all that range back again is a huge plus. Granted, there aren't many places to do that, but for those who live near a station, it's way less aggravating than dealing with overnight charging." — Kelly Hellwig, manager, content production

"Using the H2 Station Finder app for live updates is key when it comes to knowing whether pumps are available or being serviced. There aren't many options out there. So pulling up to a pump to learn it's broken and now you have to drive across town, or several towns, to fill up is frustrating to say the least." — Bryn MacKinnon, manager, content operations

Interior
"My wife really dislikes the Clarity's center console because the storage shelf and USB ports are kind of hidden, and you can't really see what's going on with that shelf from either front seat. I appreciate the open-pore wood console, and I like how much storage space the shelf underneath it offers, even if it's a pain to get my USB cable plugged in. But for my wife — especially after seeing the excellent storage in the new Accord — that console is a deal-breaker." — Will Kaufman, associate staff writer

Miscellaneous
"As nice as the Clarity is in so many ways, it's still not as refined as most cars in its price range. It can be bumpy and loud in the cabin depending on the condition of the road you're on, and even when the road is smooth, it's not always quite as buttoned-down as your average Accord. Maybe it's just loosening up as the miles roll up, but either way, owners should expect a slightly different driving experience." — Kelly Hellwig

"I'll be honest, I don't stand by the filler when the Clarity is fueling. I lock it into place and then step around to the other side of the vehicle. I do this because the pressures at work are ... well ... explosive, and I'm convinced that if there's going to be a failure point it won't be the Honda's ridiculously over-armored tank, but the third-party pump. And I don't want to be standing near it when it goes. Of course this is irrational, and of course I stand by gas tanks filling with volatile chemicals that (as anyone who has watched YouTube knows) are prone to bursting into flames. So what's the problem? Am I a Luddite? Am I just old and frightened of new things? Whatever it is, the Clarity has thus far failed to confirm my fears, but the psychological block remains." — Will Kaufman

Surprise Maintenance Costs

We expected the lease period of our long-term 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell to come with some surprises. It delivered a good one last month. After getting our car back from the dealer for routine maintenance, we received a bill for $365.

We were just shy of one year into our lease in February when the Clarity's maintenance minder said it was time for the A1 service, which the owner's manual translated into a tire rotation and something called an ion exchange filter replacement. We rotated the tires ourselves because we have a jack, a torque wrench, spare time, and little respect for authority. But that "ion exchange filter" bit sounded important, so we started calling dealers.

There are six Clarity-authorized service centers in the greater Los Angeles area, and none that we called stocked the right parts. One dealer estimated two to three weeks before it could get us in, but a service adviser at Norm Reeves Honda in Cerritos said there was a shipment inbound. We set up an appointment and dropped off the car a week later.

We picked up the car shortly afterward and received a bill for $364.93. Labor accounted for $75; the rest was parts. That surprised us, along with another Clarity owner who happened to be picking up his car for the same thing. This customer asked why the maintenance costs weren't covered under the lease and if he could put the $15,000 fuel card that comes with each Clarity Fuel Cell toward service. (You can't.) He also said his previous Honda, a hybrid, wasn't this expensive to maintain.

The price comes from two unique parts that are specific to one of the Clarity's two cooling systems. One of these systems uses the usual water and antifreeze mixture, but the one responsible for cooling the fuel cell uses special hardware — that ion exchange filter — and a substance called insulating fluid.

Insulating fluid works like coolant, but it's different in that it must not conduct electricity, which is a goal of the ion exchange filter. Honda expressly forbids using antifreeze or water in place of the insulating fluid; doing so will destroy the fuel cell.

Like an oil filter, the ion exchange filter degrades over time and needs to be replaced at a set interval. Unlike an oil filter, the Clarity's ion exchange filter currently costs about $100 (part number 3H450-5WM-A01) and, if unopened, has a shelf life of three years.

A little bit of insulating fluid gets consumed through normal operation, so you need to top it off around the time you change the ion exchange filter. Honda sells two types of this fluid for different purposes. For topping off, there's a 20 percent prediluted fluid that comes in 32-ounce bottles (part number OL999-9015) that cost around $100 each.

A full refill of the system takes two 2.5-gallon jugs of 50 percent prediluted fluid (part number OL999-9014) that cost $884 each. That price may be shocking, but it's only required after 12 years or in rare circumstances, such as a fuel cell replacement, so most customers will never encounter it.

Honda bases Clarity service intervals off hours of operation, like with a boat or a plane. The Clarity needs the A1 service after 460 hours, which averages between 8,000 and 12,000 miles for most customers. Do-it-yourself Clarity Fuel Cell owners might think to buy a few jugs to have at the ready, as you would with coolant or diesel exhaust fluid. The problem is an unopened bottle of insulating fluid has a one-year shelf life, and like brake fluid or wine, it must be used once it's exposed to air. You throw away whatever you don't need.

Honda told us it is actively looking at ways to reduce the cost of this time-consuming and expensive experience, including decreasing the size and price of the bottle of insulating fluid, lowering the labor rate, and ensuring that Clarity-authorized service centers have these parts in inventory.

The automaker also plans to reach out to all Clarity Fuel Cell owners in the coming weeks to see their A1 service bills. Honda reps say they'll also update us when the company determines new maintenance costs. Look for that update here when it happens.

Hydrogen-mageddon

Where Did We Drive It?
We last reported on our long-term 2017 Honda Clarity fuel cell vehicle in spring. Honestly, there hadn't been much to report. The Clarity is used for short local commutes and errands most of the time. Not exactly exciting stuff. But something very special happened in July.

Driving the Clarity is easy. It's a sedan. It goes where you point it. It may not be considered fun to drive, but if you didn't know you were driving a fuel cell vehicle, you wouldn't know you were driving a fuel cell vehicle.

But how was fueling the Clarity? Not so easy. At least it wasn't the last few months. In fact, I can't remember when I had an easy time putting freezing-cold hydrogen in the tank of this car. Some things that can make your trip to the hydrogen pump go sideways include:

• • Limited locations with hydrogen pumps can mean there are three cars in line ahead of yours for the single H2 pump.


• • After four or five cars in a row fill up, the hydrogen pump often shuts down for a few hours to warm up (the system becomes "supercooled" when hydrogen passes through it).


• • The Hydrogen Truck Guy might be there to fill up the empty tanks (yay!), but the station's status hasn't updated in your H2 Station Finder app before you leave the office (boo!). So, no H2 for you.

True story: In late August, I waited in line for 30 minutes while three Toyota Mirais in front of me filled their tanks. The first two guys got their hydrogen but needed three people and a few minutes each to help them disconnect the nozzle from their cars.

The woman in front of me kept getting booted off the system after a minute of fueling until the Hydrogen Truck Guy showed up and told us the tank was empty, and it would take him 30 minutes to refill it. I had a meeting to get to, so I headed back to the office and tagged Vehicle Testing Assistant Rex Tokeshi-Torres into the ring to get it done later.

But none of these experiences compare to the Hydrogen-mageddon we experienced in mid-July.

It was July 17, a Tuesday, and I needed to fuel up the Clarity. I checked the trusty H2 Station Finder app on my phone and was greeted with red circles filled with exclamation points for all of the Los Angeles area hydrogen stations, except for one in nearby Manhattan Beach. When the circles are red, it means the station is offline. If the station is offline, you can't get hydrogen.

I was curious to learn why so many of the stations were offline at the same time, so I called the customer service line for the app, which is owned by Air Liquide, I think. (There are a lot of players in this game, and it's hard to keep it all straight.) The nice man who answered said that both of the stations nearest to our office were offline because they were out of fuel. He couldn't say when there would be fuel because his team had been asking for "them" to schedule refuelings but hadn't heard anything. And he said he couldn't give me an update until he had an update of his own.

He was really apologetic (in the slightly beaten-down tone of someone who has been dealing with a slew angry hydrogen customers). And so I said, "You've got the suckiest job right now, don't you?" He laughed the Laughter of Relief and I laughed, and we became friends. So the Clarity wouldn't be getting any fuel today. It was at about a third of a tank, so I was probably safe for a couple of days, but it wasn't a great feeling.

The circles were all red the next day, too. The California Fuel Cell Partnership replied to my tweet from Tuesday asking if anyone knew what was going on, saying that someone or something called True Zero would be providing more info in a webinar the next day. The Clarity remained unfueled, and I started making alternate transportation plans for Thursday, just in case. I'm lucky. I have a gasoline-powered personal car and access to a whole fleet of gasoline-fueled cars I can turn to.

On Thursday, my buddy Rex drove the Clarity to a hydrogen station about 10 miles away from the office that finally came back online and successfully filled the tank. He had to wait TWO AND A HALF HOURS. He really is a prince.

Meanwhile, I listened in on the webinar. They didn't give a lot of answers about the shortage. They acknowledged there had been supply issues and encouraged owners to join Facebook groups for their vehicle for more information and to create an account on the California Fuel Cell Partnership website to get text updates about specific stations. I tried and couldn't get it to work. They talked about a lot of hydrogen stuff that had nothing to do with the shortage.

And then one by one, over the next couple of weeks, most of the stations went back online. Air Products (which is the company that runs the stations closest to our office, and the one Rex refueled at) wrote astatement about the situation.

Hydrogen-mageddon 2018 is over. But I've developed a pretty strong anxiety response whenever I need to fuel up that car. Yeah, driving the Clarity is pretty much like driving any other car. Fueling the Clarity (or any hydrogen vehicle, really) is its own thing entirely, and I don't like it. The lady in the Mirai ahead of me in line was seriously considering turning her car in and getting a gasoline-powered car. She was fed up, and I don't blame her.

TL;DR: The hydrogen fuel infrastructure isn't quite ready for prime time.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Did It Get?
Average lifetime mpkg: 61.3
EPA mpkg rating: 67 combined (67 city /66 highway)
Best fill mpkg: 69.8
Best range: 309.8 miles
Current odometer: 11,395 miles

Maintenance and Upkeep
"Received this from Honda regarding maintenance costs:

"'The Clarity Fuel Cell service fees have been reduced since the vehicle's launch in December 2016. As Honda works to advance electrified vehicles into the mainstream, two important factors are: 1) ensuring a positive customer experience at the dealerships; and 2) low cost of ownership.

"'Honda is actively issuing loyalty gift cards to Clarity Fuel Cell customers who have experienced a higher-than-expected fee for their first service with a $400 credit toward their next Clarity Fuel Cell service. [We received our card recently and will use it for the Clarity's next service appointment — Ed.]

"'The new average fee for a Clarity's first service, before tax, is around $200. Although this could be more than the first service for an Accord, the Clarity Fuel Cell requires fewer service visits over the span of the three-year lease period than an Accord. Therefore, over the life of the lease, a Clarity Fuel Cell customer is spending about the same as an Accord customer.'" — Carlos Lago, manager, feature content

Wrap-Up

What We Got
We took delivery of our 2017 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell in March of that year. The appeal was partially its fuel cell technology. How feasible is a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to live with every day? Is the fueling infrastructure ready? We were also lured by our pleasant six-month experience with the fuel cell Toyota Mirai. Honda claimed the Clarity was better than Toyota's Mirai in "every measurable way." We had to find out for ourselves. The Clarity Fuel Cell was lease-only, and we secured one for $369 per month for 36 months.

What We Learned
A three-year lease meant we had the Clarity three times longer than a usual long-term car. That worked to our advantage because we experienced things we never would have in just 12 months' time. We averaged 6,367 miles per year and learned a lot. Here is a preview:

• The infrastructure is inconvenient and in some cases unreliable.
• Fueling the Clarity has its idiosyncrasies and is sometimes very time-consuming.
• Our best range of 328 miles fell well short of the 350-mile EPA estimate.
• Service was so expensive Honda sent us a $400 prepaid credit card.
• It drives much like a gasoline hybrid.
• It's as roomy and comfortable as other Hondas of this size.

Read on for all of the details.

Performance

"The Clarity doesn't have the immediate torque of an electric car, especially starting from a stop. Its mid-8-second zero-60 time puts it solidly in economy car territory, but without any of the issues that come with an economy car transmission. So even though it's not quick, it's smooth and always responds right away to input. It also has well-tuned brakes, which never feel grabby. The smooth driving experience actually adds to the upscale feel of the car.

"There are certainly highs and lows. For me, the low is the handling. This is a heavy car that doesn't look or feel heavy until you try throwing it into a turn. You learn very quickly to brake early. The high has to be the sound. This car finally sounds like the future I always expected. Braking and accelerating are accompanied by whines and whooshes that are straight out of Blade Runner." — Will Kaufman, content strategist and news editor

"So the Clarity isn't all that fast, no surprise there. It is, however, fast enough, at least in my mind. I've had extensive time behind the wheel, and there are very few situations where the Clarity feels underpowered. Passing on the highway is the only situation where it runs out of shove, but even then it's not an issue. There's also the mental comfort of knowing that no matter how much I mash the gas pedal, the Clarity is not going to run out of power anytime soon. It's a much different mind-set compared to driving a battery-powered EV." — Ed Hellwig, senior editor

"Hmm. I remember liking this car the first time I drove it a month ago. I thought it had decent dynamics. But this time it feels heavy and — sloppy is too strong a word — unkempt? Out of sorts? Nothing is wrong, but it steers and moves like overcooked spaghetti. I like my cars to be al dente. Terrible metaphor, but you get the idea. And now I'm hungry." — Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing

"The Clarity has enough off-the-line punch to get up to speed quickly when you, for argument's sake, pull out of a side road and turn in front of — well in front of, I must stress, when the maneuver started, at least — a car that's coming on stronger than you estimated. Ask me how I know." — Dan Edmunds

See our Honda Clarity versus Toyota Mirai performance comparison here.

MPG

"Fueling this thing is weird. It's easy, but you have to take the pump's word for it when it says the tank's full. On two consecutive tanks the fuel economy was the same on the car's meter — as it should have been — but wildly different when I did the math myself. That's because the car didn't really fill all the way on the first tank (even though the pump said as much), so on the next tank the car took a lot more than it should have considering the lowish number of miles I drove. It was underfilled the first time. 'Underfilled' isn't quite the right term; instead it's better to say that the tank filled to a lower pressure than it should have. Anyway, it amounts to the same thing." — Dan Edmunds

"Filling up the Clarity cost me half an hour today because I had to go to two stations. At the first station, the pump wouldn't work. The pump accepted my card, prompted me to start pumping, and then told me there was an error and I should start over. This isn't my first time filling the Clarity, and I tried three or four times, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't user error.

"Fortunately, another hydrogen station was only about 3 miles away, so I made the drive and ... got free hydrogen, for some reason. The pump just told me to start pumping without asking for payment. I was worried that somehow whoever had pumped ahead of me had managed to leave his payment info in or something, so I tried everything I could to cancel the transaction. I even tried pumping a tiny bit and then stopping so there would be a complete transaction. But every time it went back to the screen that prompted me to start pumping without asking for payment.

"These sorts of errors don't really instill confidence in the hydrogen infrastructure that's being built — particularly the first one when the pump didn't work at all." — Will Kaufman

"Talk about range anxiety! I left last night with 95 miles remaining. When I left my house this morning, I had 83. By the time I filled up, it was down to 70. I tried to fill up at a local station, but it was out of fuel, even though the California Fuel Cell Partnership Station Map said that it was up and running. Not super accurate, obviously.

"This morning, I had to enlist Rex to help get it filled and it still took us about 30 minutes to figure the whole thing out. Rex and I had a hell of a time trying to get the pump to work. First, we couldn't get the nozzle to latch. When we did, the pump would just stop and we'd have to start the whole process over again. We tried both H35 and H70 settings (hydrogen pressure), and both settings would sort of half fill then stop. Between us both, we spent around $50 to fill the car back up.

"All in all, the infrastructure for this vehicle is just not there yet. I'd much rather have range anxiety in an electric vehicle than one that runs on hydrogen. I also had visions of the nozzle flying off at high velocity and the Hindenburg disaster as we filled up. It's going to take a lot more than a free fuel card to get people to really adopt this technology. That being said, it's neat to play with." — Abigail Bassett, senior director, video & social media

"The lack of range anxiety in this car is a huge plus over most EVs. Not only does it have substantial range, but the ability to pull into a station, top it off in 10 minutes and have all that range back again is a huge plus. Granted, there aren't many places to do that, but for those who live near a station, it's way less aggravating than dealing with overnight charging." — Kelly Hellwig, manager, content production

"Using the H2 Station Finder app for live updates is key when it comes to knowing whether pumps are available or being serviced. There aren't many options out there. So pulling up to a pump to learn it's broken and now you have to drive across town, or several towns, to fill up is frustrating to say the least." — Bryn MacKinnon, special projects manager

Comfort

"Feels quite spacious inside. Cabin feels broad, there's lots of rear legroom even after I've adjusted the driver seat, and there are three seats back there. Superior to the Mirai, which felt like a narrow Avalon with only two rear buckets. Also, the Clarity's interior design is somewhat normal compared to the Mirai, which seemed weirdly styled to remind passengers the car is unique. My main gripe has to do with the angled sides of the center console, which manages to place a corner right where my splayed knee wants to rest.

"Ergonomically, it's fine except for three issues: the lack of telescopic range on the steering column, that loathsome push-button shifter borrowed from Honda's nine-speed products, and a touchscreen audio faceplate that lacks a volume knob — which has already been improved in the new CR-V, but not here." — Dan Edmunds

"Just one quick note about the driver's seat. I find it surprisingly comfortable considering its lack of noticeable bolstering. I've spent several hours behind the wheel at a time and rarely come away with complaints. I have noticed, however, that the center console intrudes into my knee space, specifically my right knee. I find myself resting it on the corner of the console and there's nothing there but a sharp edge. Needless to say, it doesn't feel great." — Ed Hellwig

"One thing of note that drives me absolutely crazy is the high-pitched hum that's present from the moment you switch the car on. I noticed it even with music going and over wind noise. On a long road trip, this would drive me bonkers and I imagine that it would drive everyone in the car insane too." — Abigail Bassett

Cargo Space/Utility

"It's a small thing, but I love the light touch required to close the trunklid. My daily driver requires all the muscle my scrawny arms can manage." — Bryn MacKinnon

"Took the Clarity to go golfing. Its trunk passed the golf bag test without much trouble. The main opening in the trunk fit my average-size bag no problem, but if I had to fit another bag it might have been a tight squeeze." — Ed Hellwig

Interior

"Honda did a nice job with the Clarity's interior. The textured wood trim and leather all feel upscale. Really only the switchgear felt like regular old Honda plastics. I'm more willing to forgive the sort of cheap-feeling transmission push buttons because they don't feel out of place in the car where, for example, they do in our Lincoln Continental." — Will Kaufman

"I love the little 'seats' that flip down for the cupholders in the front seat. If I order a short cappuccino from Starbucks (it's a thing, look it up), my cup doesn't disappear into the deep cupholder. The shortened cupholder is also great for my cellphone (if I put it in the tray under the center console, it slides around)." — Bryn MacKinnon

"While I don't love the gear selector on the center console (borrowed from Acura), I really do enjoy the Clarity's interior. Especially the nearly matte surfaces near the center console. The dashboard and driver (TFT) display are simple, without extravagant extras or flashy chrome. This is an interior that's easy to live with from first glance." — Travis Langness, reviews editor

"After getting some solid time behind the wheel, I definitely like the Clarity better than our 2016 Toyota Mirai. Much of it comes down to the interior. It not only feels more spacious inside, but it also has all the convenience features you would want in a commuter car. There are big, well-placed cupholders, a good-size center console and even storage underneath the console that's easily accessible. I also like the simplicity of the design. The climate controls are easy to use, and the menus on the touchscreen make sense at a glance. It all makes for a pleasant driving experience that I like more than expected." — Ed Hellwig

"Below the sloping main rear window there's another tiny vertical window between the passenger compartment and the trunk. And then there's another smoked glass window that's cleverly disguised as black paint beneath the trunklid's spoiler. This weird arrangement lets you look through the trunk to see a little patch of road below the main bit that's visible through the sloping main window.

"But this intricate plan goes pear-shaped if you've got your trunk packed full of luggage, at which point you see luggage in the lower third of your rearview mirror. Or dirty laundry, if that's what your trunk is full of. The possibilities are endless, especially for writers who tend toward gangster-movie scripts." — Dan Edmunds

"The Clarity seems to be the only car in our fleet right now that insists on restoring the driver's seat to the saved memory position attached to each key's driver profile. I understand the value of this feature to some, but it means that if you're sharing a key with someone else in your family, the seat will always be wrong for one of you when you get in. It's redundant if you have your seating position saved anyway and an annoyance in a shared car." — Will Kaufman

"My wife really dislikes the Clarity's center console because the storage shelf and USB ports are kind of hidden, and you can't really see what's going on with that shelf from either front seat. I appreciate the open-pore wood console, and I like how much storage space the shelf underneath it offers, even if it's a pain to get my USB cable plugged in. But for my wife — especially after seeing the excellent storage in the new Accord  — that console is a deal-breaker." — Will Kaufman

Audio and Technology

"It's odd for a car that feels this upscale to lack things like parking sensors and blind-spot monitoring. I do appreciate the automatic cruise control, which, while not the best implementation, works well. The real downer in the Clarity is Honda's simply awful voice control system, which basically forces you to navigate through a series of menus from the same root menu every time you use it. You still have to pay attention to the screen to get what you want, so it doesn't make navigating the infotainment system any less distracting. There really was zero effort made to implement any sort of natural language comprehension. Luckily, the car has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which I wound up using 100 percent of the time." — Will Kaufman

"This is the first vehicle I've driven that activates the rearview camera when you initiate the right-turn signal. It comes in handy here in Santa Monica with so many bicyclists, pedestrians and other potential hazards. Such a simple idea that should be standard across all vehicles." — David Landsness, director of video

"I'm a fan of head-up displays in cars, and our Clarity has a good one. The numbers are easily legible and don't get washed out in the sunlight. For a while, this was the only Honda where you'd find a head-up display, but now the 2018 Accord will offer one in the Touring trim." — Ron Montoya, senior consumer advice editor

Maintenance

"It was a shock when we received the bill for the initial service. The second service wasn't too bad but that may have been because I was readying myself for a similar bill." — Rex Tokeshi-Torres, vehicle testing technician

"The Clarity Fuel Cell service fees have been reduced since the vehicle's launch in December 2016. As Honda works to advance electrified vehicles into the mainstream, two important factors are: 1) ensuring a positive customer experience at the dealerships; and 2) low cost of ownership. Honda is actively issuing loyalty gift cards to Clarity Fuel Cell customers who have experienced a higher-than-expected fee for their first service with a $400 credit toward their next Clarity Fuel Cell service." — American Honda Motor Co.

"The new average fee for a Clarity's first service, before tax, is around $200. Although this could be more than the first service for an Accord, the Clarity Fuel Cell requires fewer service visits over the span of the three-year lease period than an Accord. Therefore, over the life of the lease, a Clarity Fuel Cell customer is spending about the same as an Accord customer." — Carlos Lago, manager, feature content

Miscellaneous

"The fact that you can fill the Clarity up just as quickly as you can a gasoline-powered car is a really big plus. If you live in an apartment or somewhere you can't install a Level 2 charger, this is the clear alternative to battery EV power. I might take a Sawzall to those rear fender overhangs, but otherwise I'm really starting to like this one." — Travis Langness

"I happened to bend down and look at something that caught my eye under the Clarity as it sat in my driveway. I hadn't realized how truly weird the rear suspension was going to be. The huge hydrogen tank (indicated) that makes the rear seat good for three-across accommodation also eats into the real estate engineers traditionally use for the rear suspension. Here they've shifted many of the important bits aft to an alarming degree. I've got to put this one up on our lift to have a closer look." — Dan Edmunds

"OK, Honda. Real talk. If you truly want to foster interest in your alt-fuel efforts, you have to make a desirable car. Like it or not, the general public responds overwhelmingly to styling. The Clarity, however, looks like a nerd's shoe. Nobody will ever give it long, lingering looks. Make no mistake, the Clarity is an engineering triumph, but you can't even get people interested enough to find out what's beneath its skin because that skin is so goofy-looking. And the Clarity's driving experience is wholly ho-hum. That, too, is a triumph, given the complexity of its propulsion hardware ... but it is not engaging. The car need not be a sports car, but giving something other than merely adequate acceleration and dishwater-dull dynamics would pique more curiosity. Learn the Tesla lesson — make a car that excites. Make it aspirational. Make people want it for reasons other than, 'Well, it runs on hydrogen.' Only then will you get the general public to give a whit about your fuel cell tech." — Jay Kavanagh, engineering editor

"It was probably a coincidence more than anything, but the last time I filled up our Clarity there was actually a line at the pump. I knew it was coming, too, as I sat behind a Toyota Mirai at the light approaching the station. To my surprise, there was already a Hyundai Tucson fuel cell vehicle filling up at the pump. I had never seen another vehicle of any kind at any of the hydrogen stations, yet there I was sitting in line waiting. It didn't take long, as each car only takes maybe 10 minutes or so at the most to fill up and I think the other drivers were generally surprised to see cars behind them. I guess that's what happens when you're an early adopter of a new technology." — Ed Hellwig

"To echo J-Kav's comment from last month, the Clarity's styling isn't doing it any favors. This point was underscored recently with the advent of the all-new 2018 Honda Accord, a genuinely graceful thing that makes the Clarity look like a designer's bad dream from the '80s. To be fair, the rival Toyota Mirai has a similarly intimate relationship with the ugly stick, so at least looking weird is the FCEV segment norm right now. But why didn't Honda work harder to make this thing look cool? It's closer to the Pontiac Aztek (yeah, I said it) than the BMW i8. We need more designs like the latter if alternative-energy vehicles are to win broader acceptance." — Josh Sadlier, senior manager, content strategy

"I filled up as usual at our local station, but when I was done I could not get the nozzle to release from the car. It seemed that the collar was pulling back like it should, and I could move the handle in and out a little and rotate the nozzle, so it wasn't frozen in place. (They get very frosty as they fill.) I stood there for three or four minutes as another Clarity pulled up behind me. I called the number on the pump for help and was told that maybe the outer sleeve of the collar wasn't pulling back far enough.

"It was true. There was maybe another one-thirty-second of an inch of space, so I pulled back on the collar some more while holding the nozzle in. It worked. The extra travel released the retaining balls that ring the nozzle like an air compressor connector, and I was done.

"My first clue should have been how cold and frosty the nozzle had been when I arrived. That indicates someone had been there just before me, and maybe some slush inside was gumming up the works. I don't know. I've filled up at this station a dozen times, and this is a new hiccup. A new SAE hydrogen nozzle is in the works, so maybe this kind of stuff will soon cease to be an issue." — Dan Edmunds

"Again, the hydrogen nozzle froze to the car. I futilely yanked, jostled and jiggled the handle (what is this, a toilet?) to dislodge it and when none of that worked, it eventually, mysteriously, came free. I'm still not certain exactly what I did to make it relinquish its grasp on the Honda, so I'll probably have to go all primate on the thing again next time I refuel it. Sigh." — Jay Kavanagh

"Starting this thing up in my garage makes me feel like I've been teleported into the dry cleaning basement of a large hotel. Complete with hissing and assorted whirring, it's surprisingly loud and makes the Clarity feel more like a science experiment/test bed than a vehicle you're supposed to buy." — Kurt Niebuhr, vehicle test editor

"Personally, I really like the Clarity. Issues with hydrogen infrastructure aside, I'd definitely consider leasing one if I needed a daily commuter and didn't have reliable access to a Level 2 electrical charging station. But I don't know if hydrogen has a future.

"Right now, Toyota and Samsung are promising breakthroughs in battery technology by 2020. It seems likely that electric cars will gain range and shed weight more easily than hydrogen cars, which will always need a big, heavily reinforced tank in their trunk. Electrical infrastructure is expanding, and charging stations seem largely more reliable and easier to install than hydrogen stations. Looking at battery electric and hydrogen technology, I have to wonder if hydrogen cars are going to wind up as another truncated stump on the automotive evolutionary tree, like steam cars or propeller cars. I'm still sad about propeller cars." — Will Kaufman

"The Clarity isn't a very popular car around the office, and I'm pretty sure that's the result of a spate of fueling issues (detailed in previous updates). The issue isn't the car per se; it's that no one wants to be a victim of the whims of the unreliable hydrogen infrastructure. It's unfortunate that the fueling stations' unreliability has made us skittish because the Clarity itself is a good, comfortable commuter." — Will Kaufman

Maintenance & Repairs

Regular Maintenance:
We really did not know what to expect in terms of maintenance when we leased the Clarity because our experience with the Mirai only lasted for six months.

However, we were ill-prepared for the $395 sticker shock when we took it in for its first scheduled maintenance. Details are in that link, but the short version is that it amounted to a tire rotation and an ion exchange filter replacement. The latter, along with the insulating fluid necessary to cool the fuel cell, was the majority of the cost: $290 to be exact. There are only six Honda dealerships in the greater Los Angeles area authorized to service Clarity Fuel Cells and parts aren't always stocked. So we learned to call first.

Honda adjusted prices during our lease. One year later, our second service cost $159.46. Labor and insulating fluid fees were split about 50/50 this time. Six months prior to turning the car in, we had a tire rotation done for $41.88, which was our last out-of-pocket expense for maintenance.

Issues and Repairs:

We misjudged our surroundings while parking, causing some damage to the Clarity. Cost of body repair: $1,204.77. Cost of embarrassment for scraping a pole: unimaginable. It was out of action for one week.

Service Campaigns:

While doing a cursory search by VIN on the NHTS website, we found three campaigns for the Clarity, which you can find more information about here.

Fuel Economy and Resale Value

Observed Fuel Economy:
After three years, we put 19,102 miles on the Clarity, predominantly commuting and a making few local trips on the highway. Our lifetime combined average of 61.3 miles/kg is lower than the EPA estimate of 67 miles/kg. Our single best fill averaged 76.2 miles/kg, our worst was 43.4 miles/kg, and our maximum range on one tank was 328.2 miles &mdash this distance was well below the EPA-estimated 350 miles.

Resale and Depreciation:
Edmunds leased this vehicle, so resale and depreciation were not available.

Summing Up

Bottom Line:
As a car, the 2017 Honda Clarity delivered everything we expected. Comfort, roominess and tech were on par for the class, if not a tick ahead. As an alt-fuel vehicle, the Fuel Cell was less impressive. Maintenance was expensive, range was lower than expected, frozen fuel nozzles caused delays, and sometimes stations were out of hydrogen for days.

Disclaimer: Edmunds leased this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.