2021 Honda Clarity Review

Name: 2021 Honda Clarity Review
Brand: Honda

Price: $28,990

+165

The 2021 Clarity gets the important parts right, with great efficiency and a comfortable ride. We're fans of its build quality, spacious interior and even acceleration. At its best, the Clarity makes a strong case for plug-in hybrids. The downsides include an overly soft ride quality and a frustrating infotainment system.

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30 cars

$24,042 avg. price

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Appraise My 2021 Honda Clarity

Honda Clarity model years

Honda Clarity for Sale

Honda Clarity types

Sedan
Plug-in Hybrid

2021 Honda Clarity Review

by the Edmunds Experts

What's new

The Clarity is unchanged for 2021
Part of the first Clarity generation introduced for 2017

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2021 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid 4dr Sedan (1.5L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.42 per gallon for regular unleaded and $0.16 per kWh for electricity in Illinois.}

Monthly estimates based on costs in Illinois

$78/mo

$172/mo

Avg. Midsize Car

Calculate my fuel costs

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Honda Clarity Reviews

Owner Reviews

4.2

50 reviews

5(70%)

4(8%)

3(8%)

2(2%)

1(12%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

I’m averaging 500+ mpg. Love this car.

D. W., 04/09/2019

2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid 4dr Sedan (1.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Currently I have gone 1,900 miles and still have over 1/2 a tank of gas. I may go 5,000 miles on a single tank of gas (7 gallon tank). Mileage is incredible. I plug in a work for free so electricity cost is low. It usually costs $1.40 cents to charge at home and I can travel 50-60 miles per charge. My daily work commute is 56 miles and I make it 99% of the time on all electric. The …

Best car investment I could make

Susan in Portland, 08/07/2019

2019 Honda Clarity Touring Plug-In Hybrid 4dr Sedan (1.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Pro: I've owned my Clarity Touring for four months now (2300 miles) and taken it on several 300+ mile trips as well as lots of in-town driving. I feel like a genius for having bought one. The PHEV is the best of both worlds, so I don't mind paying a little for gas on a long trip (even though Hybrid Charging does save on the gas, as does its native 40+ miles per gallon. Of all the … vehicles in this price range I've seen around the charging stations, my Clarity Touring is by far the roomiest, most cushy, comfortable, well-built of the lot. Has enough pep to make merging no big deal and the updated tech/safety features are considerable. I don't mind the wheel covers or the fact that there is no volume knob on the infotainment console (my iPhone doesn't have one either). Voice commands, Apple Carplay and Android Auto both work like a charm, and the app, while not super robust, works well enough. I LOVE THIS CAR. Con: The only drawback to buying this car is that Honda doesn't seem to adequately train dealers in how to support them. (Indeed, I'm not sure all dealers even know they are a Honda product with the lack of marketing and distribution!) I am not confident that my local dealer knows a lot about these cars or any quirks they may have, and since Honda has put little effort in educating them, it is not surprising that a few folks are unhappy. I feel for the guys who have had issues that aren't getting resolved, but I would point the finger directly at Honda support and the dealers. Shame on them for not supporting a very high quality product that could otherwise have a much wider market! UPDATE: Clara-T is now almost a year old, with 6k miles. All the hybrid miles are highway (long trips) and do net me over 40 mpg. The really great thing is the in-town range is enough that I can use only electric power. I charge at night so I get those electrons almost free. It is a solid, luxurious, 5 passenger car that makes me look and feel like a genius for snagging one. No issues to date. I still love this car! UPDATE 2021: I still love this car and feel like a genius for buying it. It’s the best car I have ever owned. I’m loving the money I’ve saved, too. UPDATE 2022: Still LOVE THIS CAR! Due to COVID disruption in my life, it only has 15k miles on it, 90% EV. No problems whatsoever. I think the geniuses at Honda America were so wrong to discontinue such a brilliant car, especially now that EVs are really gaining traction (sorry, pun) in the market. I think that the market value of my used Clarity PHEV in these admittedly wacko times makes this the smartest car investment I have ever made.

Love our 2018 clarity!

Kevin, 04/20/2019

2019 Honda Clarity Touring Plug-In Hybrid 4dr Sedan (1.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Love, Love, Love this car. Once you get past the skirts on the rear wheel wells (which apparently many people like) there really is nothing not to like. I mean, we got the $7500 tax credit, and have put over 5000mi since December and have probably filled the 7gal tank about 8x. When on the highway I’ve found I’ll get overall better mpg if I put it in hv mode, leaving the battery charged …

The Clear Choice is Clarity

Curt Barnett, 04/22/2019

2019 Honda Clarity Electric 4dr Sedan (electric DD)

We have owned a Volt for 3 years and our other car was totaled and needed to buy a new car. With GM abandoning the Volt, we looked at all plug-in hybrid options. By far the best choice is the Honda Clarity, and we even like it better than the Volt. It gets about the same electric range (about 47 miles) and total range (400 miles), but it is way more spacious and comfortable. The tech is …

We have a limited number of reviews for the 2021 Honda Clarity, so we've included reviews for other years of the Clarity since its last redesign.

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2021 Clarity Highlights

Type:

Sedan

Trim:

Plug-In Hybrid

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$33,400
EV Tax Credits & Rebates	$4,100 Based on income
Engine Type	Plug-in hybrid
EPA Electric Range	47 miles
Combined MPGe (Electric + Gas)	110 MPGe^{MPGe is the official metric that the EPA uses to measure the efficiency of alternative-fuel (including electric) vehicles. Just like regular MPG shows how far a car will travel on one gallon of gas, MPGe shows how far a vehicle will drive on 33.7kWh of electricity - the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. Combined MPGe is the combined total of 45% city MPGe + 55% highway MPGe.}
Cost to Drive	$78/month
Total Charging Time (240V)	2.5 hours
Seating	5 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	15.5 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	front wheel drive
Warranty	3 years / 36,000 miles

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Safety

Our experts like the Clarity models:

Adaptive Cruise Control: Helps maintain a constant speed and a set distance behind a vehicle ahead of you and can bring you to a complete stop.
Lane Keeping Assist/Departure Warning: Automatically applies steering to help keep your vehicle in the lane and alerts you if you cross over a lane line without signaling.
Honda LaneWatch: Displays live video of the passenger-adjacent lane using a small camera on the side mirror whenever the right turn signal is used.

2021 Honda Clarity Review

Price & Payment

2021 Honda Clarity Review

What's new

Honda Clarity Reviews

Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Trending topics

I’m averaging 500+ mpg. Love this car.

Best car investment I could make

Love our 2018 clarity!

The Clear Choice is Clarity

2021 Clarity Highlights

Safety

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