Honda Clarity Named Green Car of the Year

Honda Motor Co.’s Clarity midsize sedan was named Green Car Journal's 2018 Green Car of the Year at this week’s Los Angeles auto show.

The Clarity bested the Honda Accord, Hyundai Ioniq, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Camry for the title. All of the finalists feature some sort of hybrid or electric power.

The Clarity is available in three different powertrain configurations: a plug-in hybrid, full-electric or fuel cell system. The plug-in hybrid, which is expected next month, will team a 1.5-liter Atkinson cycle 4-cylinder engine with an electric motor. The system will deliver a total driving range of 340 miles, including an industry-best 47 miles in electric-only mode.

Honda launched the fuel cell version of the Clarity last December. The battery all-electric variant followed in August. The Clarity EV has a relatively modest range of 80 miles, compared with about 366 miles for the hydrogen-fueled fuel cell model.

Judges praised the Clarity’s array of powertrains and cited its roomy interior and advanced driver assist technologies. The competition evaluated vehicles on their efficiency, performance characteristics, newness, affordability and overall environmental achievement.