By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
BeFirsTrankBeFirsTrank
  • Home
  • Car Reviews
  • Auto Shows
  • Bike Reviews
  • Future
  • New Car
  • Used Car
  • Contact Us !
Reading: Honda Clarity Fuel Cell (2016) review
Share
Aa
Aa
BeFirsTrankBeFirsTrank
  • Home
  • Car Reviews
  • Auto Shows
  • Bike Reviews
  • Future
  • New Car
  • Used Car
  • Contact Us !
Search
  • Home
  • Car Reviews
  • Auto Shows
  • Bike Reviews
  • Future
  • New Car
  • Used Car
  • Contact Us !
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2023 BeFirsTrank News Network
Car Reviews

Honda Clarity Fuel Cell (2016) review

anik
Last updated: 2015/11/05 at 9:12 AM
By anik 6 Min Read
Share
SHARE

The fuel cell car continues to polarise the automotive world. The pro lobby sees them as the long-range personal transport solution of a hydrogen-based society, holding a glass to their exhaust pipe and smugly drinking the car’s waste output as proof of its green credentials. Critics laugh at the wastefulness of using (lots of) electricity to create the necessary hydrogen, only to then stick it in a car that turns it back to electricity for motive power – why not just run the car on electricity alone, and forget the hydrogen? Because of range, and the fact that, like a petrol or diesel car, one powered by a fuel cell can be ready to go again (for 430 miles or more in this case) in moments.

Contents
Next to a Mirai it looks almost handsome…It does look a little heavy around the hips…Fuel cell under the bonnet then?Silent, quick-ish and refinedVerdict

The last-gen Clarity was a very low-volume toe in the water for Honda – just 72 were built. The new one, boasting an energy density improvement of 33%, will be leased in Japan in the near future. It’ll arrive in limited numbers in the UK late in 2016. Price is yet to be set but expect little change from £50-60k.

Low-volume sales of the new Honda Clarity begin in 2016Next to a Mirai it looks almost handsome…

Faint praise perhaps, but the Clarity is a nicely resolved design. Where Toyota went all out to communicate Mirai’s newness through its avant-garde styling, Honda has played things a little more coolly with Clarity, and successfully so. It’s equally agreeable inside, with space enough for five and acres of rear legroom (as you’d expect of a car just short of five metres long), a McLaren style ‘floating’ centre console and a dashboard design that deftly blends futuristic and tasteful. The boot’s ‘big enough for three golf bags’ and a glazed bootlid means rear visibility is good despite the elevated rump.

Click here to read CAR’s Toyota Mirai review.

It does look a little heavy around the hips…

That’ll be the vast main hydrogen storage tank, which sits above the rear wheels, sandwiched between the rear seats and the boot. The gas is stored at tremendous pressure, 700 bar, and to deliver the necessary capacity, around 5kg of hydrogen, the Clarity uses a vast main tank and a second smaller one under the rear floor. Both are made of carbonfibre and lined in aluminium. They’re hugely expensive – the cost of these tanks is the main reason fuel cell cars are so pricey – and Honda is working with GM to try to develop a more affordable, mass-produced fuel cell powertrain, the fruits of which are expected by 2020.

Fuel cell under the bonnet then?

Indeed. By reducing its size and laying the motor unit down, Honda has managed to get the stack, motor and single-speed transmission into what would normally be the engine bay. A modest lithium ion battery under the floor helps out on start up and acts as a buffer between the cell and the motor, ensuring there’s always power on demand.

Silent, quick-ish and refined

Like any good EV, a drive in the FCV is as good as a massage for relaxation and the banishment of stress. The powertrain is slick, pretty quick if you select Sport mode – on a fuel cell car, really? – and almost completely silent, the only noise a little muted tyre roar and the distant hum of the turbo compressor as it works to keep the fuel cell stack in compressed air. Factor in the light, airy and very comfortable cockpit and the Clarity feels less like some rough and ready pioneering prototype and more like a luxury car. Just as well, given the price.

Those seeking driver satisfaction should look elsewhere, obviously. The Clarity is long, pretty heavy (around 1800kg) and set up for comfort not speed. There’s pronounced body roll, largely inert steering and a general disinterest in corner speed, as you’d expect. Nevertheless this is a nice car to drive – a next-gen cruiser in which the motorway miles would fly by.

Verdict

The car is good, very good, but as ever with fuel cell machines the car is not the issue. Current estimates put the UK network at three stations, all in the south. Next year there’ll be seven. But Honda, together with others, is committed to creating a proper network, and by 2018 it expects a chain of 65 stations.

For now though, where you live dictates your suitability for Clarity ownership – that and your willingness to accept lacklustre performance compared to a similarly priced diesel or petrol luxury saloon. In return you’ll be compensated in near-silent refinement and the knowledge you’re not (directly) adding yet more CO2 to the atmosphere.

[“source-carmagazine”]

You Might Also Like

Review of the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure: Best ADV Under 500 cc?

Little Changes, Significant Effect

Astonishing van, astounding proposition! VW ID.Buzz Freight

Audi RS6 Avant GT (US) survey: retro-tastic extraordinary version

CES 2022 Day 1 highlights: Sony confirms PlayStation VR 2, Samsung’s $899 portable projector, and more

TAGGED: Fuel Cell (2016) review, Honda Clarity
anik November 5, 2015
Share
Previous Article Hydrogen-powered Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell costs £53,000
Next Article Yamaha Sports Ride concept sports car for Tokyo 2015

Calendar

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

Latest Trending News

  • Over the Next Ten Years, the Used Car Industry May 8, 2025
  • Beyond the Map: What Modern Vehicle Tracking Can Do for Your Business May 3, 2025
  • What Should My Video Game Room Have? April 28, 2025
  • Personalized advertising fuels growth and drives competitiveness for European businesses April 28, 2025
  • Personalization, AI, and the future of retail April 14, 2025
  • Europe’s New Car Buyers and Selected Sustainability April 8, 2025
  • Motor SRC 500 Review: A Powerful Cruiser April 4, 2025

© 2023 Befirstrank News Network. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?