Having just turned in my
Having just turned in my regular gas-burning Malibu LT lease I was looking hard at Hybrids (Malibu, Accord, Sonata, etc.) as I have a 56 mile round trip work commute (28 miles each way - hey, it's California, so I should say I have a 1 hour, 16 minute commute (38 minutes each way - but at least I am against traffic).
While sitting at Honda having my wifes Accord tranny fluid changed, I happened to be looking up the dealerships inventory and spotted the Claritys. Honestly, I have never even heard of them before, even though I live in California. My only other PHEV was test driving a Volt (which was way too small for me). I test drove one the next day and was pretty impressed. The one thing that really jumps out about the Clarity is the bigger battery pack than other PHEVs, which makes it almost meet my commute needs (and for the time being, the company I work for lets the one Tesla EV owner here plug in during the day for free).
The downsides I see with the Clarity is 1) that funky styling ; 2) the price tag (Li-On batteries do cost a lot); 3) the really limited gas range (7 gallon talk) for a combined range of 340 miles or so (assuming that the battery really delivers the 2.75 miles per KWh and that the gas really does deliver 42 mpg - both of which are doubtful in hilly California); and 4) San Diego has some of the most expensive electric rates in the nation, so if I do end up having to plug in at home I am looking at up to $0.54 per KWh on peak; $0.30 off peak and $0.25 super off-peak (so I'd be looking at between $9.18 and $4.25 to charge it). So basically, running on electric costs either the same per mile as a VW TDI or twice as much as a VW TDI per mile (depending on what time I charge it)