The Chevrolet Volt, now in its second generation, has long been the king of mass-market plug-in hybrids.
With 53 miles of battery range, its electric performance is exceeded only by the BMW i3 REx range-extended electric hatchback.
But the BMW’s starting price is close to $50,000, taking it well above the Volt’s $35,000 range, and its styling is more polarizing to boot.
DON’T MISS: 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid first drive
Last year, the Toyota Prius Prime entered the market and posed the first serious threat to the Volt.
While it has only 25 miles of range, it has higher rated fuel economy when running in gasoline mode, not to mention the Prius name and Toyota’s legendary reputation for reliability.
This year, another contender ups the ante by offering a plug-in hybrid powertrain with 47 miles of rated range, but in a mid-size five-seat sedan body.
Which plug-in hybrid would you buy today if you had to?
— Green Car Reports (@GreenCarReports) December 12, 2017
That would be the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, by far the highest-volume version of an unusually styled sedan that is also available in a few areas with a hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain and as a battery-electric vehicle with only 93 miles of range.
We were curious to see how our Twitter followers ranked the various plug-in hybrid competitors.
READ THIS: Should we buy a Toyota Prius Prime, Chevy Bolt EV, or Volt?
Because it’s so expensive, we didn’t include the BMW i3 REx.
Instead, we threw in the aging Ford Fusion Energi, now in its fifth model year, rated at 20 miles of electric range, also a five-passenger mid-size sedan. (And we’d suggest many will view it as better-looking than the Clarity.)
2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid drive, Napa Valley, Caifornia, Dec 2017
We asked survey participants which one of the four vehicles—Chevy Volt, Ford Fusion Energi, Honda Clarity Plug-In, or Toyota Prius Prime—they would buy if they had to buy a plug-in hybrid.
The Volt won a decisive victory, with more than half of all respondents (51 percent) giving it the nod.
The new Honda Clarity Plug-In and the Toyota Prius Prime split almost all of the rest of the votes, at 22 percent apiece.
CHECK OUT: Will Toyota Prius Prime outsell Chevy Volt this year?
The Fusion Energi getting a mere 5 percent of the votes.
Through November 2017, sales of the Volt and the Prime have been neck-and-neck, so we look forward to seeing how the Clarity Plug-In alters that balance for 2018 now that it’s on sale at Honda dealers across the country.
As always, please note that our Twitter polls are far from scientifically valid, due to small sample size and self-selection by those who choose to participate.
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