Yahoo Finance 2017 Honda Clarity vs. 2016 Toyota Mirai
From the June 2017 issue
This is a fantasy comparison test, but not our usual kind. There is no exotic sheetmetal on display here, no towering horsepower or physics-defying handling. Certainly nobody daydreams about driving 300 miles without leaving Los Angeles. But that’s exactly what we did to evaluate the Honda Clarity and Toyota Mirai, tracing a path between each of the area’s hydrogen stations to assess the reality of owning one of these fuel-cell-powered cars.
Yes, you read that correctly. No longer does hitching your wagon to the periodic table require leasing a carmaker’s science project with a promise to return it, whether or not you’re done driving it, at least not if you spend $58,385 for the Mirai. A federal tax credit expired at the end of last year, but a $5000 rebate from the state of California still reduces this amount. Even so, goosed lease rates mean most of those traveling the hydrogen highway will remain tenants. Toyota will let you drive a Mirai for $349 a month for three years, including free hydrogen. A similar deal from Honda runs $369. Its second-generation Clarity—on sale since December 2016—is lease-only, with a nominal $59,365 MSRP. The cars are available solely in California.
Certainly these kinds of numbers would make good financial sense for plenty of drivers, especially considering both the Clarity and Mirai are eligible for California’s white “clean air” HOV-lane stickers through January 1, 2019. Regardless, Toyota moved just 1034 Mirais in 2016, its first full year on the market, which is less than the number of Camrys it built per day last year.
For cars that portend a transportation revolution, these two have rather mundane aspirations. Aside from their powertrains, the engineering is primarily aimed at mimicking the experience of each company’s mass-market mid-size sedan, those hundreds of thousands of gasoline-burning Accords and Camrys that Americans buy every year. And not the V-6 models, but the four-cylinders, as the Clarity and Mirai have similarly modest power specs, their electric motor/generators rated at 174 and 152 horsepower, respectively.
The Mirai is the subject of countless car-designer nightmares. Its interior feels cramped and can seat only four.
There is one pissing match the Toyota wins. Located to the left of the steering wheel is a button labeled H2O. It forces the Mirai to evacuate its exhaust system, which, according to the owner’s manual, is useful for leaving the ensuing puddle of water outside the garage before you park. Take that, Honda! As this unique (and also a bit silly) feature uses the same plastic button in the selfsame dashboard hole that the company uses in all manner of vehicles, it also calls attention to the Mirai’s biggest disappointment: its Toyota-ness, which makes what could and should be a special car altogether too common.
At night, if you stand back far enough, and you’ve had a few drinks, and you’re wearing your old pair of glasses, from some angles the Clarity looks almost elegant. In the harsh light of day, however, its profile calls to mind a Citroën CX that’s melted under the Orange County sun. If the Honda is still less scorching to the eyeballs than the Toyota, that’s because the Mirai simply must be considered among the worst-looking cars of all time. It’s right up there with the Pontiac Aztek and the Daimler SP250, a pair that seems to have provided styling inspiration for the Mirai’s slab sides and puckered face.
Honda’s step backward in exterior design is offset by progress everywhere else. That this is the second generation of the company’s fuel-cell sedan is obvious in nearly every point-to-point comparison with the Toyota. For instance, Honda thought to integrate the locations of hydrogen stations into its nav unit, rather than requiring the driver to run an app on a smartphone, as the Toyota does.
The Clarity actually feels almost worthy of its luxury-car price tag, with a high level of refinement throughout. It is well appointed inside, with enough faux open-pore wood and imitation suede that it’s nicer than not only the Mirai, but also any other Honda product. The Clarity is also extremely quiet, especially when stopped in traffic, with only the faintest whirring sounds drifting into the cabin. Its three-passenger back seat feels cavernous compared with the Mirai’s.
Both of these cars are heavy, topping two tons, but only the Clarity manages its weight with any grace. Its wider tires on larger wheels postpone the inevitable understeer only briefly compared with the Mirai, but the Honda is much better composed and its ride is far more comfortable. The Mirai is tuned so softly that when pushed even moderately it will bounce into the limits of its suspension travel. The Clarity soaks up the road with an effortlessness that’s sophisticated but never fun, as evidenced by its low skidpad grip of 0.79 g.
